Building record MAB13356 - MAYEN HOUSE

Mansion house, built in 1788, with substantial additions and internal remodelling.

Mansion house, built in 1788, with substantial additions and internal remodelling by A Marshall Mackenzie, architect, between 1892-1893, and extensive remodelling by Acanthus Architects of Huntly between 1995-1996. Mayen was purchased by Major Alexander Duff in 1785, and this house replaced the earlier house, that became the Mains of Mayen, as the main house (MAB13353).

The mansion is a large east-facing, 2-storey house over a raised basement, with a 3-bay frontage and 5-bay return south elevation. It is harled, with tooled granite margins and dressings. There is a band course and angle quoins to the frontage, with 1893 dated rainwater goods. A substantial pair of coped granite stacks are in the centre of the piended platform roof, with additional ridge stacks at the gabled rear. The centre door on the east front is masked by an 1893 gabled porch and reached by a flight of steps oversailing the raised basement, with an ornamental cast-iron balustrade. The outer bay fenestration is set in long shallow round-headed recesses, rising from the basement to frame ground floor tripartites and first floor Venetian windows. There is also a simple round-headed centre first floor window. A quasi-Venetian dormer was added in the 1995-1996 remodelling. The plain, long, south-facing return elevation has an additional canted end bay at the southwest rising to full height, added by Mackenzie, ending at the ground floor, and raised to full height in 1996. The two dormers above it are also from 1996. There is an off-centre projecting canted window at the basement and ground floor only. There is a plain irregular rear that has been remodelled after some demolition, with a centre stair window with 2-pane glazing. There is a wide, partly canted bay to the west of the south face, which is all that remains of Mackenzie's addition from 1892-1893. The addition originally formed an L-plan rear service court, extending much further west than now. This addition was mostly demolished between 1995-1996 and two new rear additions were built in its place.

The house initially had two flanking detached wings, recessed from the centre. The south wing was probably demolished by Mackenzie between 1892-1893, but the north wing is intact. This detached wing is a 2-storey, 3-bay south-facing building, set back at the northwest. It is probably a former kitchen. It is constructed from harled and harl pointed rubble, with tooled granite dressings. There is an irregular 3-bay east frontage, and a large later rear, possibly a garage entrance. There are some blind windows with 4- and 12-pane glazing, an off-centre ridge stack and a piended slate roof.

The interior of the house was largely remodelled by Mackenzie and restored between 1995-1996. Inside the main house, the entrance hall has a reeded Corinthian screen, and original raised and fielded panelled doors with corniced overdoors. There is an 1893 wooden staircase with barley-sugar twist balusters, and swag carved decoration to the outer tread ends. There is a re-modelled arcaded and pilastered first floor landing. The dining room has a black 1893 carved and columned chimneypiece, and some decorative plaster ceilings and cornices.

SDD, n.d., BLDS OF ARCH & HIST INTEREST, ROTHIEMAY 12 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1827.

Author unknown, n.d., LEOPARD MAGAZINE, p.15 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1074.

Author unknown, n.d., LEOPARD MAGAZINE, p.20 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1074.

Record last edited

Sep 11 2026 12:43PM