Description

Circa 1700. 2-storey, basement and double attic, 5-bay classical mansion, gutted by fire, 1966; formerly with single storey pavilion additions to E and W. Harled sandstone rubble with ashlar dressings; chamfered reveals. Base course, moulded cornice. Tie-plates.

N AND S ELEVATIONS: identical, regular fenestration to each bay at each floor, small windows to basement. Pedimented doorway at centre with bead and hollow surround, narrowly luged, and pulvinatred frieze, reaching cill of 1st floor window. Stone stairs leading to each door, oversailing basement to N (front) elevation, formerly with railings. Shaped gabled dormerhead to centre bay with scrolled skewputts and oval oculus. Oculus flanking door on S elevation, to left.

E AND W ELEVATIONS: shaped gablehead almost completely decayed (1989), with scrolled skewputts retained; centre window to 1st and 2nd floor, blinded at 1st. Basement door, off-centre; evidence of former pavilions.

Formerly with 12-pane glazing pattern to sash and case windows. Currently roofless and without floors.

RETAINING WALLS: sandstone rubble retaining walls adjoined to E and W by S elevation.

Statement of Interest

The house was probably built for one of the Hamiltons, from whom Colonel James Gardiner bought the property, and was known as Olivstob. Gardiner was born 1688, and was a loyal Hanovarian soldier, who died at the Battle of Prestonpans, September 1745, on his own land. The shaped gableheads have a strong dutch flavour, and the classical form and double-pile plan of the house are significant; Gardiner's military connections may have provided an English architect. The end elevations formerly included broad, paired stacks, bridged and with attic window in between. The interior suffered from a fire in 1852, but was still occupied as a farmhouse before the second fire in 1966. Bankton House garden house/dovecot (originally 1 of 2) and the Colonel Gadiner Monument are listed separately. The Lothian Building Preservation Trust are investigating a possible restoration (1991).

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Bankton House at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q4856796

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)