Stable Range, Newmills House And Currie Riggs, 1 And 3 Newmills Road, Currie, Pentland Hills, Edinburgh

Description

Later 18th century with additions in late 19th century, circa 1935 and later. 2-storey and attic, 3-bay, L-plan block, now divided into 2 houses. Ashlar fronted with rubble and partial harl at rear; No 3 Newmills Road with white-painted harl and grey-painted sandstone dressings. Blocking course; string course; quoins.

NE ELEVATION: 4-bay with single storey bay to outer left; later stores advanced at NW corner. Slightly advanced bay at centre; pilastered and corniced polished sandstone doorcase, paterae detail above pilasters, 9-panelled flush door; plate glass fanlight, Edinburgh handle; window above. Mid 19th century full-height canted windows in bay to outer left; windows symmetrically disposed in bays to right, that to outer right lower. 2 canted slate-hung dormers. Single storey block against SE gable; blind window in wall. Circa 1950s block advanced at NE corner facing SE; 2-bays, cement-rendered; segmental-headed window to outer left, timber, glazed 2-leaf door.

SW (REAR) ELEVATION: 4-bay main block with former kitchen and laundry wing abutting onto NW corner, originally single storey raised to 2-storey in late 19th century. Tall stair window at centre; windows symmetrically disposed in bay to right; modern rubble-faced single storey block recessed to outer right. Gabled porch, with half-glazed modern door at penultimate bay to left, small window above; window at 1st floor to outer left. 4-bay cement-rendered wing; windows asymmetrically disposed, bipartite at 1st floor outer left; square dormer at outer right.

SE ELEVATION: gable; window off-centre to left at centre 1st floor; 2 small windows symmetrically disposed at gablehead; small window at ground left. Single storey, heavily-pointed rubble piend-roofed block advanced at ground outer right against garden boundary wall; multi-paned windows.

NW ELEVATION: No 3 Newmills Road, Currie Riggs; white-painted render with grey-painted sandstone, rendered and coped boundary wall. 2-bay block to left, windows symmetrically disposed at 1st floor; 2-bay,

piend and platform-roofed block to right with wallhead stacks. Flat-roofed, canted single storey addition advanced at ground; 2-leaf glazed door, glazed canted corner; window at 1st floor to outer left; swept dormer at centre; stepped wallhead stack to right. Stepped advanced flue and stack at right return, tripartite window to right; SW gable to right, modern window at ground outer left; opening at 1st floor, lower portion blocked as smaller window; square, tripartite dormer at centre of roof.

12-pane sash and case windows; modern multi-paned window at No 3 Currie Riggs. Grey slate roof; piend and platformed at wing; sandstone, coped apex stacks at main house; rendered and coped wallhead stacks at Currie Riggs.

INTERIOR: main house with good columned vestibule; stone cantilevered stairs, cast-iron balusters; delicate plasterwork; shell and floral rosettes.

GARDEN WALL, TOPIARY HEDGE, BEE-BOLES AND DRAW WELL: High rubble wall with ashlar coping bounds garden; curved at N corner with wooden garden door leading to main front of house. YEW TOPIARY HEDGE bounds an area at SE and SW, hedge to SW now heavily pruned. Foundation remains of DRAW-WELL (now blocked) at N end of garden. Honey-coloured sandstone gatepiers immediately to left of SE gable (leading to kitchen area); rubble wall with harl pointing and semicircular coping swept down to low wall. 6, ashlar lined, segmental-headed BEE-BOLES in thickness of wall; wall sweeps upwards towards W end; small greenhouse on brick base against wall at W.

STABLES E ELEVATION: 2-storey, rubble-fronted brick, rectangular-plan stable to W of house. 2 openings at ground outer left, cart door to outer right with rubble and brick bothy advanced to right; bipartite gabled window, formerly hoist breaking eaves (upper floor and W elevation now converted to domestic use). Single storey curved rubble wall to right of bothy.

W ELEVATION: curved elevation at N end of W elevation, facing N on Currie Riggs ground; rubble with droved and stugged sandstone margins; window at ground to outer left, boarded hoist door breaking eaves at curve; large window at ground at bay to right with small barred granary-type window above. Taller domestic block to outer right (on Newmills Farm land); half-gable breaking eaves at centre, window to right with tall stack to left, tall, narrow brick stack to right of gable. Long rectangular-plan, rubble stables and stores to W, aligned W-E. Grey slate roofs.

BOUNDARY WALL AND GATEPIERS: low rubble walls with slab coping bounding house along Newmills Road; sandstone gatepiers with ashlar pyramidal caps.

Statement of Interest

The house was built in the later years of the 18th century for Alexander Davidson. Dr John Stuart of Register House lived in the house in the 1860s and early 1870s. The kitchen wing was raised from single storey in the late 19th century. In 1939 the house was divided with additions and alterations carried out on the parts that constitute No 3 Newmills Road, Currie Riggs; these being the upper storey of the kitchen wing, all of the laundry wing and the later N wing. A 19th century photograph in possession of the owner shows the windows to have been plate glass sash and case. The garden has a number of interesting features and was apparently laid out along formal if modest lines. The area surrounded by the Yew hedge has some evidence of planting, now grassed over. Newmills Farm adjacent to the SW is listed separately.

External Links

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