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Summary

Description

Probably John Burnet (senior), dated 1862 on doorcase; enlarged by John Burnet (senior) in 1874; alterations in 1919 for use as a Carmelite Monestry. Mostly 2-storey with basement and attic large Franco-Scots Renaissance villa. Squared and snecked stugged ashlar, deep base course, string course and cill course, some decoratively pedimented windows, towers, crow-stepped gables, slated predominantly piended roof. Profusion of carved decorative, figurative, and initial ABS & FS motifs.

Northwest Elevation: off-centre advanced entrance block with pedimented doorcase with thistle motif surmounted by engaged pyramidal roof breaking eaves, deeply recessed battlemented block to left. To right, tower set in re-entrant angle of advanced block, further advanced narrow low 2-bay gable to far right.

Southeast Elevation: long asymmetrical garden front, recessed stair tower with entrance door surmounted by pyramidal roof, to far left 4-bay block with 5-light bow window at ground. To right 1-bay crow-stepped gable section flanked by engaged towers. To far right projecting bay at ground, paired crowstepped gableheads above, 5-light bow window to right at ground and 1st floors..

Southwest Elevation: 2-bay gable with corbelled oriel window at first floor, flanked by carved figurative panels depicting LITERATURE and ART.

Northeast Elevation: ground floor obscured by later addition, large crowstepped stack corbelled out at 1st floor. Linked brick laundry buildings to north with decorative ventilators.

Variety of glazing types, some windows mullioned and/or transomed, timber sash and case windows, leaded, stained and painted glass. Grey slates, some iron brattishing. Dominant stacks to northwest and southeast elevations with carved shell motif. Cast iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: ground floor: former drawing room and dining room altered to form antechoir, choir and chapel, choir retains wooden coffered ceiling. Former library now subdivided, 5-light bow window to southeast with upper panels depicting literary subjects. Window framed by impressive timber panelling flanked by intricately carved fluted columns. Glass-fronted bookcases with carved bases. Arcaded frieze with applied plaques, decorative timber ceiling. Further stained/painted glass to northwest. Carved newel-post to main staircase inscribed ¿NOBILIS IRA¿.

Stair tower: 9-panel stained and painted glass window, depicting Stewart ancestry, main panel with Mary, Queen of Scots, inscribed Kier, Glasgow, 1874. 6-panel stained and painted glass window, main panel depicts St Andrew above.

Second floor, former art gallery: top lit room to northwest now subdivided, open timber ceiling with painted corbels supporting carved bracing. Large hooded fireplace. Circular tower room off with dado height panelling and timber ceiling. In hallway facing northwest, large 6-panel stained glass window. Room to southwest, now subdivided with false ceiling. Impressive painted timber coombed ceiling supporting gabled top light at apex with fluted paterae. Large ceiling panels of painted glass depicting amongst others, Cimabue, Donatello, Inigo Jones. Some panels repeated, some reversed.

Some marble and cast iron fireplaces, some decorative cornices, further stained and painted glass.

Gate Piers and Boundary Walls: massive gothic-inspired square gate piers with tapered caps to main entrance, to left of stables entrance and to entrance to south, now infilled. Lesser square piers with ball finials intersperse highly ornate railings with matching gates. Coursed squared stone wall to south of Mansionhouse Road with later infill and stone substitute. High coursed squared stone wall to Millbrae Road. Severely altered stone stepped terrace in garden to southeast.

Former Stable Block (29a): circa 1862, single-storey and attic L-plan former stable. Squared and snecked stugged ashlar, courtyard elevation painted. Altered. southeast courtyard elevation, decorative applied timber truncated gable. southwest elevation, to left dormer with engaged pyramidal roof; tall stack, to right high level small square glazed windows.

Statement of Special Interest

Originally called Rawcliffe Lodge/House. Lodge(s?) now demolished. Balustrading to bow window and projecting bay window on southeast elevation has been removed. At some point 4 windows were created in the art gallery on the top floor of the southeast elevation.

Built for Alexander Bannatyne Stewart (1836-1880) of Messrs Stewart & McDonald, wholesale clothing warehousemen, whose large warehouse spanned Buchanan, Argyle and Mitchell Streets in Glasgow. They had outlets as far afield as Dublin, Toronto, Sydney and Port Elizabeth. Stewart was married in 1862 and both his and his wife's intials appear throughout the building. The carved head wearing a hat on the northwest elevation is reputed to be Mrs Stewart. Stewart had two main interests: flowers and art. He was President of the Glasgow Horticultural Society and of the Royal Fine Art Institute of Glasgow. The large glasshouses which existed at Rawcliffe have long since disappeared. His obituary in the Glasgow Herald noted that the picture gallery at Rawcliffe was 'one of the finest and largest in Scotland' and 'embraces examples of the early Italian and Spanish schools, and also numerous paintings by native Scottish and English artists'. One Hundred Glasgow Men describes more about the collection, 'upon the floor were cases containing beautiful specimens of early jewellery, illuminated manuscripts, and other rarities'.

Documentary evidence relating to Rawcliffe is particularly scarce. It is presumed that the Stewart family stayed on in the house until probably the First World War. The house lay vacant until being purchased and inhabited by the Order of Carmelite Nuns in 1918. The nuns created a chapel and choir on the ground floor from the former drawing and dining rooms and carried out other alterations, including adding the later harled block between the house and stable. The Nuns were the last makers of altar bread in Scotland and only discontinued this in 2003. Stewart also owned Ascog Hall, Bute (LB12064).

The Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts catalogue of 1874 shows that the major addition of 1874 was by John Burnet Senior. It may be that Burnet designed the original building in 1862 and this attribution is supported on the grounds of its similarity to Newfield House in Ayrshire (now demolished) of about the same date.

Supplementary information added to the listed building record updated in 2017.

References

Bibliography

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