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

LUFFNESS, HOUSE WITH EAST WING STABLES AND YARD. THE PEND, ITALIAN GARDEN AND SUNDIALSLB6551

Status: Designated

Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Category
A
Date Added
05/02/1971
Local Authority
East Lothian
Planning Authority
East Lothian
Parish
Aberlady
NGR
NT 47488 80470
Coordinates
347488, 680470

Description

Baronial Mansion with complex building history. On site of, possibly incorporating parts of earlier castle sacked 1548, nucleus of present house is T-plan tower house of 1584 - panel with date and initials of builder, Sir Patrick Hepburn and wife, Isobel, reset in SW bartizan. Tower House largely obscured by 19th century additions. William Burn extended house to NW, 1822 and filled in SW corner. Thomas Brown added kitchen wing, 1825 and W extension, 1841. David Bryce, 1846-1874, added gunroom and stable courts to SE, service wing to NW and further additions including interior remodelling. Work continued by D and J Bryce, 1891, billiard room addition, Barbour and Bowie, 1907.

TOWER HOUSE: clearly of more than 1 period, indicated by change in quoins and window mouldings above 2nd string course of stair window. 1584 tower orientated E-W, stair continued in square tower to S. Random rubble with ashlar dressings; 2 wide-mouthed gun loops remain visible at ground level, others in 2 bartizans carried on chequered and rope moulded corbels at SW and NE corners. Stair to upper levels contained in turret in SE re-entrant angle carried on squinch arch.

19TH CENTURY ADDITIONS: 1802-3; 2-storey wing with canted bay at E end added to NE of main block. Large roll-moulded windows at ground and 1st floors; polygonal hipped roof (see Gilpin drawings) replaced with gables inset with re-used panels of foliate carving by Thomas Brown 1841. SW angle between stair tower and main block infilled by William Burn, 1822, with 3 storey wing, slightly recessed on plan, of contrasting red squared rubble. Ground and 1st floor windows flanked by re-used 17th century decorative panels, heraldic panel to gable (see notes). SW skewputt, also re-used, bears Hepburn initials SPH and EH. All openings with broad stop-chamfered surrounds, bipartite window openings, blacony with scrolled Jacobean brackets at 1st floor. Dog-leg stair at NW gable, probably Burn, with similar balustrade. Thomas Brown, 1825, 2-storey kitchen block to NE in picturesque style; masons Hunter and Bowman of Aberlady. Large arched service door with ornamented surround, large trefoil window above, under overhanging bracketted cat-slide eaves. Adjoining block at right angles with 2 tall round arched windows, steeply pitched gabled bellcote dormer corbelled out and breaking eaves at centre round arched opening to bell. Giant blind arcade with window above on N return. 1846. Main entrance on E elevation enlarged by David Bryce, with stone benches flanking doorway. 3-storey round tower corbelled to square at upper storey (probably Bryce), with service access and tunnel from the N, terminating in The Pend to main road; large round arched gateway with 2 orders of facetted blocks, possibly incorporating earlier stonework topped by blind parapet carried on square corbels. Interior remodelled by Bryce (see below). EAST WING, AND STABLES: David Bryce and later John Bryce, Baronial styel, between 1846 and 1891; adjoining house to SE, connected by screen wall with archway. EAST WING: dated 1891 2-storey wing with turret and arcade at

ground floor, 1st floor corbelled out to E, pedimented dormerheads with finials breaking eaves, dormer to E with blank circular panel, possibly for a clock. Sash and case windows with 2-pane lower, 9-pane upper sash glazing pattern. Crowstepped gables, bracketted eaves, grey slates, ashlar coped wallhead and paired diamond stacks, piended rooflight. Dated initialled panel to gable at rear. BILLIARD ROOM: Barbour and Bowie, 1907; single storey addition to garden elevation of gunroom. Canted 5-light bay to left with crenellated parapet, 2 windows to right breaking eaves in semi-circular pedimented dormerheads with dated initialled panel and scrollwork. Polygonal turret advanced at right with 4 windows. Crenellated curtain wall and 2 canted bays at ground linking to main house. STABLE YARD: enclosed by battlemented wall with blind arcade at ground, turret at NE corner with candlesnuffer roof; finial and weather-vane. Entrance through large round arched battlemented gateway in curtain wall; further gateway to E with square gatepiers. STABLES: 2-storey, double-pile block with 2 doorways and windows at ground, 6 windows at 1st floor breaking eaves in pedimented dormerheads. Now converted to housing, forestair to 1st floor to E. Turret with weather-vane. Part of court to W glazed over. Sash and case windows with 12-pane glazing pattern, crowstepped gables, grey slates. Sash and case windows; predominantly 2-pane glazing pattern with some 12-pane glazing at rear. Crowstepped gables, ornamented stone finials, raised grouped diamond stacks by Burn. Grey slates, some decorative gutter fixtures. Mounting block in courtyard. INTERIOR: largely by David Bryce; remodelling of entrance hall with glazed doors formed like yetts, fireplace 1849. Library extended to SW by Burn, interior by Bryce 1874, with geometric plasterwork ceiling and cedarwood panelling, Wirth Brothers, Edinburgh, encompassing bookshelves, with block cornice and plant ornament. A double sided chimneypiece divides room into 2 with Jacobean motifs and pilasters wuth plant ornament to cedarwood overmantels. Wide newel stair to 1st and 2nd floor in S stair tower by Bryce, top floor and attic served by turret stair. Some original moulded door surrounds and tiny wall chambers survive. ITALIAN GARDEN: sunken parterre to S of house laid out in wheel of radiating beds enclosed by lawn. Until World War I, extended into moat with herbaceous borders. SUNDIALS: wall mounted sundial featuring sculptured soldier's head near well in S court. 2nd sundial dated 1759 as centrepiece of Italian garden.

Statement of Special Interest

The site of Luffness is an early Norse settlement: graves have been found within the grounds and foundations. The barony was associated with the de Lindsay and Bickerton Families in the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries, the remains of a Carmelite Friary are situated with the policies to the W which received a grant in alms from the estate (see INVENTORY NO 1). The present house is built on the site of an early 16th century fortification, of which extensive remains can be found in the grounds. Evidence of 4 corner tower, 1 now accommodating an ice house, and a wet moat are visible. The fort is said to have been constructed by General de Thermes to defend Aberlady Bay and access to Haddington during the "rough wooing" in the early 1540s. The fort was ordered to be destroyed in 1551, the Hepburn family taking possession in the 1580's built the present tower house on the foundations of the earlier keep. Luffness was bought by the Earl of Hopetoun in 1739, and has since been occupied by the Hope Family. it is thought that the 17th century sculpted ornamental plaques re-used on the E and SW additions by Burn may have come from the 1st Hopetoun House. Walled garden to W, garden walls, Gardener's House, Water Tower and Dovecots are listed separately, linked in an A Group.

References

Bibliography

C McWilliam LOTHIAN (1978) p319. J Small CASTLES AND MANSIONS OF THE LOTHIANS (1883). S Thorez ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY OF LUFFNESS - ARCHITECTS REPORT by Ben Tindall (1988). J Martine REMINISCENCES AND NOTICES OF FOURTEEN PARISHES OF THE COUNTY OF HADDINGTON (1890) p11. D Croal SKETCHES OF EAST LOTHIAN : "LUFFNESS" (1873) pp200-207. RCAHMS INVENTORY : EAST LOTHIAN No 1. Land Use Consultants & HBM AN INVENTORY OF GARDENS AND DESIGNED LANDSCAPES IN SCOTLAND (1986) Vol 5 p15-02. A Fiddes and A RowaN DAVID BRUCE 1803-1876 (1976) p126. NEW STATISTICAL ACCOUNT (1837) p252. Plans in NATIONAL REGISTER OF ARCHIVES : Luffness Register House Edinburgh.

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.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

Images

There are no images available for this record, you may want to check Canmore for images relating to LUFFNESS, HOUSE WITH EAST WING STABLES AND YARD. THE PEND, ITALIAN GARDEN AND SUNDIALS

There are no images available for this record.

Search Canmore

Printed: 29/03/2024 13:28