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Summary

Description

Circa 1720, with remains of additions by Brown & Wardrop, 1869-72, and repair work following their demolition, HA Wheeler, 1956. 2-storey with high basement, 3-bay laird's house. Originally U-plan. Predominantly painted harl, with whinstone and sandstone to rear.

E (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: HA Wheeler, 1956. Concrete scale-and-platt staircase with flanking lamp standards (see below) leads to central segmental-arched doorway; 2-leaf timber and glass door; fanlight; flanking single windows. Regular fenestration at 1st floor. Small window at basement to outer right; plaque above carved with an owl (crest of MacTaggart family); small-pane window at basement centre; plaque of lion partially hidden beneath foliage at basement to outer right (crest of Stewart family).

S (SIDE) ELEVATION: 7-bay grouped 3-4. 2 storey, 3 bays to left by Brown & Wardrop, 1869-72. 3 segmental arches at basement to 3 bays to outer left; timber and glass door to centre arch, small-paned windows to flanking bays; single window above to outer right; single central window forms crowstepped gable; ball-finial. 4-bays to right of 1720 house; 2-bays to outer right form crowstepped gablehead; regular fenestration at basement, ground and 1st floors, with exception of bipartite window at basement to outer left.

N (SIDE) ELEVATION: 3-bay with later 1869-72 courtyard addition to outer right. 3 single windows at basement, bipartite window at ground and single window at 1st floor in bay to outer left, forming gablehead; 2 single windows at basement, single windows at ground and 1st floors to bays to centre and right. Descending stepped wall forms courtyard entrance; square-plan gatepiers with ball-finials flank entrance; ball-finials to outer corners; single window to left wall; lean-to garage to right wall. COURTYARD: S ELEVATION: single timber door to outer left; 2-leaf timber door to left; small recessed opening; single timber door to right; 3-light small strip window to outer right. E ELEVATION: timber and glass door to left; single window aligned above at 1st floor; narrow window at 1st floor to outer left; single window to right at ground; single window to right at 1st floor breaks eaves to form gable. N ELEVATION: lean-to at ground; 2 timber doors to right; narrow small-paned stair window above; small window and timber door to centre at ground; 2 single windows aligned above; single window to outer left at ground.

Variety of glazing patterns including plate glass, 4- and 12-pane timber sash and case windows; rooflights. Swept grey slate roof; crowstepped skews; skew-putts; gablehead corniced stacks; polygonal cans.

INTERIOR: 18th century staircase and plain classical decoration. Caryatid chimneypiece of circa 1870 moved from Brown and Wardrop addition. Box bed in servant's attic. Servant's bells.

LAMP STANDARDS, GATEPIERS, SUNDIAL, OWL STATUE AND GATE: Low iron lamp standards at corner-turn of Perron staircase. See N ELEVATION for gatepiers. Red sandstone base to polygonal sundial to S of house; gnomon. Owl statue to S in woodland garden (MacTaggart family emblem), carved by John Rhind 1871-2. Decorative iron gate to SE of house, notable for its square-plan piers.

Statement of Special Interest

B-group with the walled garden, East Lodge, and the boundary walls, gates and gatepiers. A postcard shows the extent of the Brown and Wardrop addition and the Book of Plans for this work survives.The estate originally belonged to the McCullochs, who built the house circa 1720. It was sold to the Maxwell family circa 1730, who retained it until the late 18th century when it was purchased by Sir William Douglas. He kept the estate for less than 10 years, and in circa 1797 sold it to John MacTaggart, a fellow local who had amassed his wealth in shipping during the American War of Independence. He and his son, later Sir John, greatly improved the grounds of the estate, laying them out as shown in the 1st edition of the OS map in 1850. The INVENTORY OF GARDENS AND DESIGNED LANDSCAPES notes that the extent of the designed landscape has remained consistent with that shown on the 1st edition OS map and includes some 970 acres. (The original U-plan is a form typical of the late 17th century, exhibited at houses such as Drummonie and Methven (both listed separately in Perth and Kinross).)

References

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