British Listed Buildings

Listing Text

Circa 1830, style of Archibald Simpson, Aberdeen. Austere 2-storey over raised basement, 5-bay mansion. Grey granite ashlar, bull-faced granite raised basement frontage and return E gable (to Castle Street); harled rear and W return gable with sandstone ashlar margins. Shallow giant angle pilasters and advanced centre bay fronted by single storey coupled columned Greek Doric portico approached by flight of steps oversailing basement. Finely detailed panelled front door with side lights, panelled pilaster jambs, modillioned and corniced lintel and
decoratively glazed rectangular fanlight. Blind centre windows,
ground and lst floor, in E return gable. 12-pane glazing in ground
floor windows, 9-pane in basement, rear and return gable lst floor windows, all timber sash and case; front lst floor windows are 10-pane horizontal glazed casements.
Shallow piended slate roof with paired rear corniced stacks and single rear wallhead stack; modillioned soffits to front and E return gable; non-traditional roofing felt to portico. Decorative basement cast-iron spearhead railings with urn finials to stiffeners and matching pedestrian gate.
ENCLOSING WALLS: rubble and harled rubble walls enclose rear yard.
INTERIOR: finely detailed interior with pair fluted Greek Doric
hall screen columns, imperial staircase with ornate cast-iron
balusters and polished wood handrail. Pair circa 1800 white painted statues, 1 female bearing ewer and basin, 1 male with grapes and vine, on wooden plinths, stand in hall. Panelled doors with panelled door jambs; room left (W) with decorative plaster cornice and ceiling, shaped and beaded panelled doors and matching window shutters. Some rooms, including former dining room, subdivided as offices; no chimneypieces survive.

1841 and 1851 census.

The 2 statues in hall probably originally stood in dining room (now subdivided), the grapes, vines, basin and ewer signifying food and drink. St Catherine's was almost certainly built for John Joseph Robinson (c.1791-c.1850), son of George Robinson and his wife Bathia Garden, like his father and elder brother, George Garden Robinson, John Joseph was a merchant in Banff.

Source: Historic Scotland

Listed building text is © Crown Copyright. Reproduced under licence: PSI Click-use licence number C2008002006.