Description
Circa 1614, 2-storey, originally rectangular-plan fortified house, made irregular-plan by single and 2-storey 18th century additions; internally reconstructed and externally embellished in 1893-4 by James MacLaren following a fire; single storey L-plan service wing circa 1920; some alterations at NE elevation by France Smoor, 1980. Rubble sandstone construction, harled with droved, margined angles at SW elevation and at circa 1920 service wing, weathered whitewash elsewhere, ashlar dressings, some margined quoins, grey slate roof. Windows at W elevation single and bipartite, 8-pane sash and case with droved and chamfered margins, pedimented dormerheads; 12-pane at dining room wing at S; various patterns at NE elevation; many ground floor windows barred. Bartizans are corbelled and have moulded wallhead course, lead rainwater goods and finialled conical roofs; crowstepped gables with skewputts at W elevation; gable and ridge stacks, mostly harled with ashlar margins and moulded cornice.
W ELEVATION: 2-storey entrance porch to left re-entrant angle (mid 18th century); plain ashlar doorpiece surmounted by heraldic panel with strapwork-like volutes and segmental pediment, base course, margined angles, two 4-pane windows at 1st floor, parapet with gabletted crenellation, window at right return. 2-bays at right; bay at left at original wall plane has bipartite windows at ground floor, heraldic panel above, dormerheaded window at 1st floor, advanced gable at right (mid 18th century) with bipartite at ground floor, corbelled 1st floor, window with pedimented lintel. Mid 18th century wing advanced at far left; blocked door, single and bipartite window at ground floor,
3 dormerheaded windows at 1st, bartizan with window at left; left return gable has bipartite at ground floor, central nepus gable with gun-loop opening, date stone (1894) and gable stack with weathervane.
SW ELEVATION: original gable at left; section of garden wall beyond,
2 windows at ground floor, small off-centre window at 1st, angle bartizans (with window at right), stepped left skew, gable stack, 12-pane window at ground and 1st floor (dormerheaded) at right return. Single storey mid 18th century wing at right has two 12-pane windows at left, round-headed door formed from window and window at right, piended roof.
SE ELEVATION: window at left, paired window at right masked by modern conservatory, segmental window at central gabled dormerhead; lower L-plan, harled and margined, piend-roofed addition at far right, masked by conservatory at left return, 2 windows at SE elevation.
NE ELEVATION: asymmetrical. Small courtyard at centre behind high wall, entrance with coped lintel surmounted by bell in wrought-iron overthrow; harled semi-octagonal boiler house bay at left (1978) with door and 2 windows; gable at far left (mid 18th century with basement door, 2 symmetrical 18-pane sash and case windows, gable stack; harled lower bay at outer left (circa 1894) with 2 windows; original gable at right of courtyard with small window at ground floor left, gable stack, windows at left return elevation; 4-bay (mid 18th century) wing at right with 5 small windows at ground floor, 4 smaller at 1st.
INTERIOR: largely unaltered since the reconstruction of 1894, including panelled hall, well stair with turned balusters, chimneypieces, panelled window reveals. Dining room interior reconstructed 1980.
Statement of Special Interest
Gagie House was built for William Guthrie, and there was a lintel stone ?WG 1614? built into the summerhouse (listed separately) until its removal to Guthrie Castle in the mid 20th century. With the adjoining garden wall or barmkin, Gagie House in its original rectangular form was a fortified house to be compared in type if not detail with Murroes house (early 17th century) and the later part of Powrie Castle (circa 1604), both in Murroes Parish. The evolution of Gagie House is not documented, but the major additions (including the entrance porch and drawing room gable) seem to be mid-later 18th century and may have been part of an extensive scheme to embellish the estate, including the summerhouse (dated 1762) and coach house/stable (dated 1759). An entry in James MacLaren?s card index indicated he was responsible for the reconstruction in 1894 after a fire, this work probably included the pedimented dormerheads, crowstepped gables and the bartizan on the north west angle. There was a further fire in 1980 in the dining room wing, and this was reconstructed by the present owners, architect France Smoor and his wife. The extensive Guthrie papers in the Scottish Record Office were unsuccessfully examined for this list entry, but may contain information pertinent to the house?s development. The ?loupin on stane? referred to by MacGibbon and Ross has been removed. The arms over the front door are inscribed ?SRO PRO VERITATE?, and the panel on the recessed bay to the right ?IL? referring to Isabella Leslie, wife of William Guthrie. The inscription on the kitchen gable at the north east elevation is ?CIM FAS? referring to Franciscus Adrianus Smoor and his wife Clare Isabella Magee. There is a ruined hemmel (animal house), sometimes referred to as a chapel or mausoleum to the west of the house, rubble built but devoid of architectural features except the doorcase, which was ogival headed (stones still on site 1990) and has droved and checked quoins. Gagie House is an A group with the Walled Garden and Sundial, Summerhouse, Gatepiers and Adjoining Walls, and Outer Gatepiers and Adjoining Walls, Coach House/Stable, and Home Farm.