Building record MAB38312 - HOSPITALFIELD HOUSE, ARBROATH

Mansion house, now in use as an arts centre, built circa 1840-70 by Patrick Allan-Fraser on site of the Hospital of Arbroath Abbey.

Mansion house, now in use as an arts centre, built circa 1840-70 by Patrick Allan-Fraser on site of the Hospital of Arbroath Abbey. The site was that of the Hospital of St John the Baptist, first mentioned in 1352 and the interior of the mansion is believed to contain medieval fragments. The main house, said to have provided the inspiration for 'Monkbarns' in Sir Walter Scott's 'The Antiquary', was built without an overall plan, incorporating elements out of context from English, Scottish and European architecture. It is a large two and three-storey building in the Baronial style, towered and turreted, with ornate detail, constructed of red sandstone and slate. The antiquarian Miller, writing in 1860, stated that 'The older or central part of the present mansion house of Hospitalfield is evidently a part of the ancient Abbey hospital. This is proved by the remains of several old doors and other indications about the walls of the house and especially by one side of an ancient door which was lately discovered during some alterations in the front wall, a few yards west from the modern door'. The southernmost part of the south east wall is reputed to date from the 17th century but owing to harling and the modern windows in the wall, no diagnosis can be made. The grounds of the mansion contain several associated estate buildings. There is a north lodge, a two-storey gatehouse, also in Baronial style, built of rubble and slate, circa 1860. It has a depressed three-centre arch with oriel over, round corner tower and single-storey lodge. A rectangular lean-to dovecote, constructed of rubble and slate with crowstepped flanks, dated to the 17th century and remodelled during the second half of the 19th century. The farm building has a single-storey south front, in rubble and slate, with Baronial centre piece. It dates to the mid-19th century and earlier. Finally there is a Fernery, a mock ruin containing a plant house, from the second half of the 19th century. In 2001 SUAT undertook a site evaluation consisting of 4 trenches in the scheduled area in advance of a planning application for a proposed single house. The site was 80m south of Hospitalfield House. Nothing of archaeological significance was found. A watching brief was subsequently carried out by SUAT in 2003, over the excavation of a service trench. The watching brief over the plot of the new build revealed archaeological evidence, in the form of ditches, for the former late 18th century drive that passed through the site of the new build being monitored, the water pipes associated with the 19th century pumphouse, and 19th/20th century field drains and one 19th/20th century domestic sized sewer pipe. The watching brief on the service trench revealed deposits containing brick and mortar believed to relate to foundation material for a 19th century footpath and a now unused mid-19th century drive leading to the main entrance on the southwest side of Hospitalfield House. Of interest was the finding of one sherd of residual medieval pottery in a deposit of brick and mortar demolition deposit. Nothing that could be related to the medieval Hospital and Chapel of St John the Baptists or any other medieval features of deposits were found. An evaluation was carried out in 2011 by Alder Archaeology on ground west of the Red Lion Caravan Park ahead of a proposed extension to the caravan park, encompassing areas east and west of Geordie's Burn. A total of 16 trenches were dug. To the west of the Burn a major deep sewer had effectively removed any archaeological deposits. The remains of the 19th century Lodge and driveway leading to Hospitalfield House were located, and an earlier cobbled surface/driveway found to the west of the later driveway. No remains relating to the Hospital of St John the Baptist were recorded. A desk-based assessment was carried out by ARCHUS in 2015 ahead of proposed redevelopment. Subsequently, a watching brief was carried out by ARCHAS in 2015 during excavation of a series of geotechnical trial pits and boreholes around the Hospitalfield complex. The excavations were of limited scope and no archaeological features or artefacts were recorded. Only one of the 18 trial holes revealed any structural remains, likely of 19th century date. A Level 1 Standing Building Survey was carried out in June 2018 by ARCHAS Cultural Heritage prior to proposed redevelopments, including recording the fabric of the 'Lean-to' shelter, brick outbuildings, greenhouse, cottage, existing studio buildings and the Fern House. The structures that were surveyed had very little structural changes to their fabric since their initial construction, whilst it is possible their function may have changed. Both the Studios and Cottage have potentially seen their interiors altered and modified over the years.

Period Notes
Mentioned in 1352. Built circa 1840-70

Miller, D, 1860, [Untitled], 125-7 (Bibliographic reference). SAB7188.

Easson, D E, 1957, [Untitled], 136 (Bibliographic reference). SAB9612.

Cowan and Easson, I B and, 1976, [Untitled], 169 (Bibliographic reference). SAB11691.

SBS Arbroath, 1982, [Untitled], 32-3 (Bibliographic reference). SAB10894.

Adams, D G, 1984, [Untitled], 17 (Bibliographic reference). SAB8970.

PERRY, D, 1998, A NEW LOOK AT OLD ARBROATH. IN TAYSIDE AND FIFE ARCHAEOLOGICAL JOURNAL, 4 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1457.

HALL, D.W., 1998, MEDIEVAL HOSPITAL GAZETTEER, MEDIEVAL HOSPITALS (Bibliographic reference). SAB785.

GAZETTEER

SUAT, 1999, ARCHAEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF A PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AT WESTWAY, ARBROATH, DBA (Bibliographic reference). SAB3291.

SUAT, 2001, Archaeological evaluation at Hospitalfield House., REPORT (Bibliographic reference). SAB3343.

SITE EVALUATION

SUAT, 2003, WATCHING BRIEF ON GROUNDWORKS AT HOSPITALFIELD HOUSE, WESTWAY (Bibliographic reference). SAB4827.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2012, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND. NEW SERIES, VOLUME 12, 2011, pp.28-9 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5536.

ARCHAS CULTURAL HERITAGE LTD, 2015, HOSPITALFIELD HOUSE, ARBROATH, ANGUS: ARCHAEOLOGICAL DESK BASED ASSESSMENT, DBA (Bibliographic reference). SAB5589.

ARCHAS CULTURAL HERITAGE LTD, 2015, HOSPITALFIELD HOUSE, ARBROATH, ANGUS: ARCHAEOLOGICAL WATCHING BRIEF, MONITORING TEST PITS, WB report (Bibliographic reference). SAB5543.

ARCHAS CULTURAL HERITAGE LTD, 2018, HOSPITALFIELD HOUSE, ARBROATH, ANGUS: STANDING BUILDING RECORDING, DATA STRUCTURE REPORT, SBS Report (Bibliographic reference). SAB7847.

Name Book (County), n.d., [Untitled], Book No.4, 23-4 (Bibliographic reference). SAB6024.

Author unknown, n.d., THE COURIER, 31/01/14 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4000.

Sep 4 2016 , AAS-GR-16-09-074 - 117, AAS-GR-16-09-074 - 117 (Ground Photograph). SAB35450.

Sep 14 2013 , AAS-GR-13-09-327 - 380, AAS-GR-13-09-327 - 380 (Ground Photograph). SAB35312.

Record last edited

Feb 18 2025 3:02PM