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Summary

Description

1877 hall with Scots Baronial detail, 1878 flagpole, porch extension by J Weekes Jun, 1913, and further modern flanking extensions. Squared and snecked sandstone rubble, rock-faced to sides, with ashlar dressings. Dry dash and blockwork to porch. Moulded cornice. Crowsteps, 2-stage coped and battered buttresses, corbels, pointed- arch door, hoodmould, moulded stone transoms and mullions, stop- chamfered arrises.

W (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: tall 3-bay elevation with crowstepped gable flanked by narrow conical-roofed round towers. Full-width, flat-roofed porch projecting at ground, with steps up to 2-leaf part-glazed door at centre below deeply mutuled cornice, slightly recessed flanking bays each with 3 small windows. Recessed face of original building with corbelled cill giving way to 6-part transomed window and hoodmould incorporating moulded panel inscribed with letter 'B', flanking stepped corbel adjoining gable with blind gunloop. Finialled, 2-stage tower to outer left angle with blind gunloop and narrow window to ground and hoodmoulded window above with flanking moulded panels each bearing blind shield. Outer right angle with slightly lower tower

corbelled from square 1st stage, with 3 narrow windows.

N ELEVATION: 6-bay elevation with dividing buttresses, window to each bay except that to right of centre with door.

S ELEVATION: largely as W elevation but with small bipartite window to outer left bay below short angled crowstep adjoining tower.

3- and 4-pane lying pattern glazing to top-opening metal windows. Grey slates with fishscale pattern to towers. Ashlar-coped skews with moulded skewputts.

Cast-iron downpipes with square section gutters, decorative rainwater hoppers and finials.

INTERIOR: modern porch with steps up to original deeply moulded, pointed-arch, hoodmoulded ashlar doorcase with carved head label-stops. Hall with classical plasterwork mouldings (medallions, bellflower swags and foliate fronds) over windowheads and over niche bearing marble bust of 'Mrs Isabella Blyth Martin' with inscribed marble tablet below.

FLAGPOLE: stepped square concrete base inscribed "The Gift of W Y BLYTH MARTIN 1878" giving way to moulded stone pedestal and pitch pine pole surmounted by weathervane.

Statement of Special Interest

Blyth Hall was gifted to the community by Mrs Blyth-Martin in memory of her three brothers Henry Thomas and Charles, with a further dedication made to her other brothers David and John. The flagpole, erected at the expense of her husband William Martin, was reported in the Dundee Advertiser of 6th September, 1878 as "formed from twofine spars of pitch pine joined together. It is fixed into a large iron cylinder which is bedded in concrete and surrounded by a large stone pedestal. The lower part of the mast is enclosed in an ornamental casting specially planned for the purpose". The pole is variously reported as being 120' extending either to 13' or 30' below the ground, and originating from North America or having been towed across the sea

from Norway. Its design is thought to derive from a similar example at St Marks, Venice.

References

Bibliography

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