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Summary

Description

Possibly William Nixon, circa 1860; 1902 NE wing and later alterations by James Gillespie & Scott. 1933-5 converted to hospital administrative block by Williamson & Hubbard. 2- and 3-storey, 3-bay Tudor Jacobean villa with 4-stage entrance tower. Rock-faced squared rubble with ashlar quoins and polished dressings. Stugged base course, band course incorporating hoodmould over W door, eaves course and cavetto cornice to tower. Step-moulded, pointed-arch doorcase with attached columns and floreate capitals. Curvilinear gables and dormerheads, corbelled and domed turret, strapwork pediments; crenellated windowheads and wallhead to tower and NW, hoodmoulds; moulded, stop-chamfered arrises.

W (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: projecting stair tower with deep-set part-glazed panelled timber door and decorative ironwork to glazed panels below multi-pane pointed-arch fanlight; small stone shield over with later lamp and stepped hoodmould adjoining cill of 2nd stage bipartite window with hoodmould and strapwork pediment; further hoodmoulded bipartite window to 3rd stage and finialled gable above with narrow hoodmoulded light: return to left with hoodmoulded window to 1st stage and blank 2nd stage giving way to crenellated wallhead; return to right with window to outer left at 3rd stage below crenellated wallhead with grouped shouldered stack and brattishing at ridge. Recessed bay to right of centre with slightly advanced, crenellated bipartite window at ground and 2 windows above each breaking eaves into finialled dormerhead with small cusped quadripartite foil on tympanum. Deeply recessed bay to left of centre, ground floor with 2 hoodmoulded windows and further small light to outer left, 2 windows to 1st floor, bipartite window and crenellated wallhead above; corbelled turret with window and 3 glazed (?) oculi below spike-finialled dome to outer left angle.

S ELEVATION: 4-bay. Bay to left of centre with 2 hoodmoulded windows at ground, bipartite window breaking eaves into monogrammed dormerhead above; slightly advanced bay to outer left with crenellated, canted tripartite window at ground and bipartite window with strapwork pediment above, further small hoodmoulded light in gablehead; bay to right of centre mirrors that to left, with shouldered entrance below small window in narrow bay to outer right.

E ELEVATION: variety of elements including recessed bay to left with projecting rounded stair tower and small conical roof and porch to outer left; advanced range to right with 3 1st floor windows breaking eaves into dormerheads and broad gable on return to left.

N ELEVATION: later dry-dashed extension not included in this listing.

Plate glass glazing in timber sash and case windows, except to E with some top-opening windows to ground. Grey slates; alternating bands of fishscale pattern to conical roof (E) and tower roof (W). Coped ashlar octagonal grouped stacks, ashlar-coped skews with moulded and finialled skewputts.

INTERIOR: some fine decorative plasterwork cornices and panelled ceilings; panelled timber dadoes, shutters and architraved panelled doors. Vestibule with quadripartite rib-vault and floreate bosses, high panelled dado with linenfold upper panels and mosaic tiled floor. 2-lead part-glazed screen door with flanking screens and full-width multi-pane fanlight leads to inner hall with paired marble Corinthian columns and pilasters, marble fireplace and fender: black marble fireplace to principal ground floor room. Dog-leg staircase with decorative timber balusters, newel-post finials and timber handrail; 1st floor landing with rectangular and circular rooflights of decorative-astragalled coloured glass. Grey and white marble lined bathroom with roll-top cast-iron bath, oval marble-topped hand basin on chrome stand and chrome fittings.

FORMER COACH HOUSE, STABLES AND COTTAGE: squared rubble, slated range with segmental- and round-headed openings. Hendry Road (E) elevation with blocked hoodmoulded cart-arch below lunette to centre gable, further gable to right with 2 small windows at ground and large window (converted hayloft) in gablehead; lower piended range to left. (This arrangement by Gillespie & Scott, 1899). S elevation with square-section coped gatepiers flanking entrance to small courtyard with variety of elements including large round-arched stone water trough. N elevation with lower centre range (former stable) flanked by higher gables, that to left of former cottage (possibly by Forbes Smith, 1899).

BOUNDARY WALLS: coped rubble boundary walls.

Statement of Special Interest

In 1875 Forth Park was owned by Daniel Hendry, merchant. The Mansion House was advertised for sale in 1893 after his death, at which time it boasted "Entrance Hall, Dining Room, Drawing Room, Parlour, Billiard Room, 5 Bedrooms, Dressing Rooms, etc, with large conservatory entering off the Hall. Offices include(d) 3 Stalled Stables, with Loose Box, Coach House, Harness Room, and a Gardener's Lodge" (FFP); the ground extended to approximately 3 acres and the 'Upset Price' was ?3000. It was purchased by John Nairn who commissioned James Gillespie & Scott to carry out numerous alterations until the 1930s. In 1934 the house and grounds were gifted to the town by Mrs R Wemyss Honeyman (daughter of John Nairn) of Westdean. The subsequent conversion to administration block with nearby newly built maternity hospital was carried out by William Williamson at a cost of ?12,000, and officially opened on 23rd November, 1935. Possibly designed by William Nixon whose N range of St Andrews University's United College Quadrangle boasts similar Tudor Jacobean design and detail.

References

Bibliography

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