Description

Sir Robert Lorimer, 1913. 2-storey and attic, roughly L-plan, Arts and Crafts style house with entrance forecourt, front door in re-entrant angle, small loggia to S; some dormers, bell-cast piended roof. Deep lintels to some ground floor windows. Squared, coursed sandstone rubble. Regular fenestration to S; irregular fenestration elsewhere.

FORECOURT, W ELEVATION: 2 bays with single-storey section to left. 2-leaf timber panelled door with top-glazing in simple roll-moulded droved ashlar architrave; cornice above with flower motifs. Battered buttress to centre of 2-storey section. Single-storey section with single window and coped wallhead.

FORECOURT, N ELEVATION: advanced, piend-roofed central bay, corbelled out at first floor to left side only; tall staircase window. 2 windows to left and blind wall to right.

W (SIDE) ELEVATION: large canted window with flat roof at ground to left; casement above; piend-roofed dormer to attic. Glazed arch at ground to right.

S (PRINCIPAL/GARDEN) ELEVATION: slightly advanced 2-storey canted bay window to centre; piend roofed dormer to attic above. Advanced piend-roofed bays to left and right. 2-arch loggia to left bay with battered piers (now glazed in); tripartite window above. Tripartite windows at both floors to right-hand bay; ground floor window opening slightly arched.

E (SIDE) ELEVATION: advanced bay to right with outshot to E at ground. Wallhead stack to left; small roof outshot with window between piend roof and stack. Modern glazed door at ground to centre. Irregular fenestration; dormers to attic.

Predominantly 6-pane glazing in timber casements. Plain coped stacks. Large Scottish slates.

BOUNDARY WALL, GATEPIERS AND TERRACE: round-coped random rubble boundary wall; later red sandstone ashlar gatepiers with corniced tops and small round caps to W; small oval opening adjacent. Garden terrace to S with random rubble retaining wall and 5 stone steps to centre.

INTERIOR: tiled entrance lobby. Hall with polished mahogany-veneered panelled doors. Timber panelled staircase with wide steps at bottom. Painted timber panelling to drawing room; original chimneypiece and fender; glazed cupboards flanking fireplace. Dining room with painted timber panelling; roll-moulded stone fire surround with slate inset. Corner fireplace to sitting room (former smoking room) with mahogany or dark stained wood chimneypiece; small darkroom with red window and small sink off morning room. Fireplaces in all bedrooms (including maids' bedrooms), some with original cast iron grates. Timber panelled interior doors with original door furniture. 2 original (or early 20th century) enamelled cast-iron baths; original basins in bathrooms. Large fitted cupboard in former Butler's pantry with cupboards, drawers, and glazed sliding doors at top. Slate shelf in larder. Maids' cleaning closet with porcelain sink off first floor landing. Linen room with fitted shelves.

Statement of Interest

Originally called Dunnotar, and built for J A Will. This was the last house that Lorimer designed in Colinton, and arguably one of best. The planning is particularly good, although it is similar to that of the other houses that Lorimer built in Colinton. The house is set back to the North of its site, so that the principal rooms and main bedrooms face South over the largest possible expanse of garden. The entrance is to the N of the house, and the L-plan of the forecourt provides shelter for the arriving visitor. The kitchen window overlooks the forecourt so that the servants can see visitors as they approach the front door, but the kitchen is shaded from the hot SW sun by the projecting stair tower. The other rooms used by the servants face North and East, and do not overlook the main garden, thereby making it relatively private. The date of the house is very late for Arts and Crafts, and indeed its style can only be so described in the loosest possible way. Like many of Lorimer's other houses in Colinton, it owes more to the vernacular traditions of southern England than Scotland. The interior of this house is particularly impressive and very well preserved. Many of the houses built by Lorimer in Colinton were originally intended as weekend retreats, and consequently had fairly plain interiors. From the beautiful dark timber used in the hall and staircase, and the panelling in the dining room and sitting room, it is evident that a lot of money was spent on the interior of this house. The attention to detail is evident throughout the house ? even the doors of the attic bedrooms have Lorimer handles. The survival of original domestic fittings, such as the magnificent cast-iron baths, linen room, maids' cleaning closet and the darkroom is also highly unusual.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17576565

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

• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)