Description

James Sellars, 1867. 3-storey, asymmetrical, rectangular-plan, Scots Baronial house. Stugged squared and snecked sandstone with polished stone margins and dressings. Base course; string course; crowstepped gables.

N (MAIN) ELEVATION: asymmetrical, 2 bays, curved wall to outer right, corbelled to square at upper stage. Gabled porch at ground right, angle buttressed, roll-moulded arris, ashlar saw-tooth coped roof; ashlar coping to gable, ball finial. Deeply-moulded, round-headed door, outer rope-moulded archivolt; 2-leaf panelled door; Minton tiles, vestibule cast-iron door, glazed. Sandstone armorial plaque to right of porch, fish consuming fish (?) on geometric background of interlocking circles. 3 ascending round-headed under stair lights at ground to left, large, stepped-cill, transomed and mullioned stair window responding directly above, roll-moulded string course running from upper moulding of outer right corner steps to form hoodmould; knotted label stop; window at 2nd floor, apex stack; narrow window outer right at principal floor, crowstepped gabled dormerhead above. Lean-to, crowstepped bay to outer left, arrowslit at centre.

S (REAR) ELEVATION: asymmetrical. Crowstepped gable to left with rounded stair turret interlocking at outer left corner, corbelled to square bastion at upper stage (see W elevation). Windows symmetrically disposed at gable, 2 narrow windows at ground, tripartite window at 1st floor, bipartite window at 2nd floor. Recessed block to outer right, window at 2nd floor, timber bargeboarded dormer above. Low, lean-to, 2-storey block in re-entrant angle (former service block); broad modern door at ground, large pedimented dormerhead above.

Patio area in front of outer left gable delineated by low sandstone walls with ashlar chamfered coping; curved entrance area framed by solid corniced dies capped by urns; floored by tiles.

W (SEAWARD) ELEVATION: 3 bays. Outer left bay with curved wall, corbelled to square at attic, crowstepped gable. Narrow window at ground left, window off-centre to left at principal floor, roll-moulding from upper corbel forms hoodmould, knotted labelstop, roll-moulded reveals. Small window in gablehead; 2 gunloops, 1 arrow slit at regular intervals to outer right of bay. Centre bay with 3 closely spaced windows at ground, (base course forms cill line); tripartite windows at 1st floor, roll-moulded reveals; small oriel on deeply moulded corbelling above, stepped plastic moulding, cannon head decoration, billeted cornice; gablet breaking eaves above, moulding along skews. Decorative cast-iron railings forming balustrade to right and left. Outer right bay curved as stair tower to outer right, corbelled to square bastion at upper stage. Small door advanced at ground, lancet light above; corbelling at corner with upper corbelled course, chamfered moulding deliniating area below bastion; gun-loop at centre of bastion; castellated parapet on deeply moulded corbels.

E ELEVATION: tall gable to left, tall stair turret set into re-entrant angle to right, narrow lean-to bay to outer right. Turret corbelled above ground floor, arrowslit windows, deeply-set upper windows under roll-moulded string course, upper stage with gun-loops at regular intervals, dentil cornice, fishscale candlesnuffer roof, lead finial.

INTERIOR: not seen 1993.

BOUNDARY WALL AND GATEPIERS: stepped rubble wall with harl pointing, quartz sea boulder coping. Solid piers, stugged arrises, corniced, ashlar pyramidal caps, gun-loop decoration at centre of pier.

Statement of Interest

A house, called Dundarden, and exhibiting a similar plan is shown on the 1st edition map. It is possible that Cove Castle was a reworking of an earlier house and Sellars may have reused some of the stone for the castle. Cove Castle is an early work by James Sellars (1843-88), who designed many churches and commercial buildings in the Glasgow area. The house is a good example of a controlled Scots Baronial style.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17775078

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

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  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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