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Summary

Description

Late 19th century. Octagonal boarded timber gazebo / summer house with crowning finialled ogee roof and ogee-headed openings in garden of later 19th century villa. Originally sited as centrepiece of compartmentailised walled garden. Narrow 2-leaf ogee panelled doors with windows to upper half and small quatrefoil lights above. Flanking sides with windows. Side flanks with 4-light windows, timber mullioned and transomed. Rear flanks blank with quatrefoil lights to centre rear flank. Polygonal zinc ogee roof with additional ogeed canopy over entrance, ball finial to tapered apex bearing weathervane with flag. Lead flashing. Diamond-pane glazing: coloured glass.

INTERIOR: patterned terracotta floor. Benches to 7 sides with box seats and carved arms too rear flank. Sliding diminutive peep-hole hatches and quatrefoil lights to side and rear. Decorative compartmentalised ribbed polygonal plastered roof with corbels, masques fleurons and lion bosses, fleuron boss to centre.

TOOL SHED: late 19th century. Rectangular, polychrome brick tool shed in S corner of walled garden. Segmental headed off-centre doorway, chevron-boarded timber door. Piended slate roof with cast-iron rooflight.

Statement of Special Interest

The Hill Street gazebo is a remarkable structure in terms of material quality and design, and of survival. It is sited in the garden of a relatively standard suburban villa. The inspiration for the polygonal form came from the 18th century when favoured as part of the classical ideal, in echo of antique temples, and used to punctuate formal gardens or policies. A close parallel of such predecessors with the Dumfries gazebo can be found at Dunglass, East Lothian, 1718. The Hill Street structure is a rare survivor of a late 19th century revival of this building type within the suburban landscape, necessarily more domestic in scale (also seen, for example, at Woodbank House, Balloch, destroyed by fire and 18 Abercromby Street West, Helensburgh). A larger, local and contemporary octagonal pavilion (circa 1879) stands in the grounds of Dumfries Crichton Hospital. The ogee roof used for the neighbouring and near-contemporary post office at the corner of Galloway Street, Dumfries, suggests that the same tradesmen may have been employed and that one roof might have been the particular inspiration for the other. The decorative detail of the Hill Street gazebo sets it apart from simpler variants and distinguishes it among its building type. The accompanying tool shed is well constructed and appropriately sited within the walled garden and confirms the original patron's particular interest in his/ her garden.

References

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