Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

OLD LECKIE INCLUDING GARDEN WALLSLB10445

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
A
Date Added
05/10/1971
Supplementary Information Updated
07/04/2010
Local Authority
Stirling
Planning Authority
Stirling
Parish
Gargunnock
NGR
NS 68980 94690
Coordinates
268980, 694690

Description

1530-70 (see Notes). Crowstepped Laird's House returned to original plan-form and sympathetically renovated during early 1970s. Picturesquely located within large policies close to Old Leckie Bridge (scheduled monument), Old Leckie is a good example of the transitional style from Scottish defensive castle to domestic mansion.

3-storey and attic with projecting 4-storey S wing forming T-plan; 3-stage, steeply conical-capped, corbelled stair turret over main door in SE re-entrant with segmental-arched recess over yett; narrow full- height stair tower in SW re-entrant; vaulted ground floor. Harled with ashlar margins to E door and adjacent window. Corbel course.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION: entrance elevation to S with dominant projecting 2-bay gable incorporating spyhole at ground, centre window abutting corbel course, and gunloop to right; 2 vertically-aligned windows high up to left. Small door in set-back bay to left; main door set back on right return within deep segmental arch, moulded panel above to left. Gabled outer elevations to E and W and N elevation with centre gablehead. Asymmetrical fenestration throughout.

Largely multi-pane glazing patterns in timber sash and case windows. Small grey slates. Harled, coped and shouldered gablehead stacks. Ashlar-coped skews and skewputts.

INTERIOR: some fine decorative detail including moulded cornices and timberwork. Vaulted ground floor with inner wall of dining room reinstated and stepped cill at high centre 'viewing' window. Modern E staircase with decorative timber balustrade (timber salvaged from Campbeltown distillery warehouse floor); turnpike stair in SW re- entrant. 1st floor timber-panelled hall (reclaimed from 3 partitioned rooms) with monumental stone chimneypiece incorporating plain lintel and cornice on short half-columns; full-height panelling (see Notes), shutters and 6-panelled doors. Green Room (to W) with 1660 panelling, now with 2 windows to N (formerly 3), timber fire surround with frieze from Edinburgh over door. Bedroom with E wall moved slightly W to incorporate ensuite but garderobe retained. Study with large stone fireplace on half columns uncovered during restoration, small side windows added 1970s.

GARDEN WALLS: coped rubble garden walls with pedestrian gateways.

Statement of Special Interest

Old Leckie is an important example of Scotland's transitional style architecture when the need for defensive castle dwellings was giving way to laird's houses and more settled domesticity. Situated a few miles to the west of Stirling in the fertile Forth Valley overlooking the Gargunnock Hills, the house and policies include a 17th century sundial, courtyard offices of the early 19th century and the remains of a large walled garden. Sir Herbert Maxwell's Scottish Gardens of 1908 includes Leckie even though by that time the old house was occupied by 'workmen and their families' as New Leckie had become the principal residence. Maxwell makes specific mention of the stunning Tropaeolum which still flourishes today. The lands of Leckie belonged to the family from as early as the 14th century and it is thought that Old Leckie was built between the years 1530 and 1570. It was formerly thought to date from the late 17th century. The new dates have been established from the identification of similar masons marks found at Stirling Castle and Mar's Walk. In 1668 Leckie was lost over debts to David Moir, a clerk in Stirling. A later Moir was a staunch Jacobite and on 13 September 1745 Bonnie Prince Charlie spent the night in what is now the Green Room. His son married the daughter of Stewart of Ardshiel. The daughter had been born in a cottage or cave in 1746 after Redcoats had destroyed Ardshiel. In 1829 New Leckie (now Watson House, separately listed) was built a short distance to the east, and the Stewart Arms are displayed on the building. The Younger family, brewers of Alloa, purchased Leckie in 1906, and the current owner's father inherited in 1946. Huge death duties eventually led to the sale of New Leckie. Old Leckie had been left unoccupied and ruinous, but was restored in the early 1970s.

Restoration work included removal of the 18th century east wing and a small piend-roofed 1st floor porch, returning the building to its original plan form. Plans dated 1793 and signed by Joseph? Bowes, Architect are kept at the house. The hall was reinstated by removing partition walls and exposing the monumental fireplace. The lower panelling was saved from the demolished east wing and may date from 1748. It is thought to have come from America. The upper panelling is made from salvaged timber from a Campbeltown distillery warehouse, as was the balustrade for the east stair. It has been suggested that the hall may have been half a storey taller but this is not thought to be the case by the current owner who undertook the restoration work.

Formerly listed as Old Leckie House. Address and list description revised 2010.

References

Bibliography

David MacGibbon and Thomas Ross The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland Vol IV (1892), pp84-5. John Gifford & Frank Arneil Walker Stirling and Central Scotland (2002), p628. 1st and 2nd edition Ordnance Survey Maps (1858-63, 1895-6). Sir Herbert Maxwell Scottish Gardens (1908) www.electricscotland.com/gardening/gardensndx.htm [accessed 15.06.09]. Dictionary of Scottish Architects 1840-1980 www.scottisharchitects.org.uk. Clackmannanshire Libraries George Younger & Son Limited, Alloa (1762-1925). Information courtesy of owner.

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

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