Building record MAB9204 - DOUNESIDE HOUSE

House, former farmstead, and associated estate.

House, former farmstead, and associated estate. At the time of the OS 1st edition (1870) the farmstead was named Burnside and comprised three rectangular buildings, the two easternmost set at right angle. To the north is a pond and sluice with a lade leading to an outshot on the north side of the north building. To the west, the third building is on the opposite side of a watercourse running south from the pond. By the time of the 2nd edition OS map (surveyed 1990 and at which time it was named Douneside), the northern most building had been extended to an L-plan, and a smaller structure added to the south. To the west of the watercourse the earlier rectangular plan had been replaced by an essentially T-plan building on a different orientation. Current maps show that this has since been further enlarged. A photograph of 1896 shows the original Douneside House to be a 'superior cottage' which formed the core of the estate fermtoun. It was one and a half storey. The present Douneside House is dated 1907 but is probably the product of three phases circa 1907 to circa 1917, with some work by Clement George, built on a 19th century core. These works substantially extended the cottage resulting in a 2-storey, 4-bay rectangular, asymmetrical Scots Revival house with 2-stage castellated entrance tower to the centre and additional single storey, gabled bay to outer right. Built of harled granite with polished granite margins to openings and detailing, comprising base course, eaves course, crowstepped gables. The south entrance tower, roll-moulded reveal to entrance, has a continuous string course over a plaque bearing the inscription 'AR 1907', a tall rectangular window to the second stage with oculus above, and a tower terminating in crenellated parapet. Symmetrical flanking bays comprise stone mullioned bipartite windows to ground floor, semicircular-arched pediments to wallhead dormers breaking eaves above, and lean-to verandah supported on 'Highland' pine log columns. There is a shouldered gable to slightly advanced bay to outer left, advanced canted bay to ground floor with crenellated parapet, and a corbelled corner turret with candle-snuffer roof to outer left corner. On the north elevation wallhead dormers break the eaves. The east side has a corbelled oriel window to left return. In the centre is a service courtyard with numerous modern additions. The west elevation shows an irregular, 2-storey arrangement of gables and turrets forming additional range abutting northwest corner terminating in octagonal summerhouse Multi-pane upper case, plate glass lower, sash and case windows. Roofed in grey slate with lead flashing and coped gable stacks. Internally a timber panelled lobby leads to an ornately carved central staircase. The room to the left has Adam-style plasterwork to the ceiling to room to left. The home farmhouse dates to circa 1900, and comprises a 2-storey, 3-bay, L-plan house. Built of coursed granite with stone mullioned, bipartite windows flanking a central doorway to the south-facing, principal elevation. Gabled dormers break the eaves to the upper storey. There is a 2-storey, 2-bay, advanced gabled bay to the rear with cat-slide roof over a single storey outhouse to the left return. Stone cheese press to coped rubble garden wall. 4-pane windows, grey slates, lead flashing and coped skews with scrolled skewputts and gable stacks. Alpha Cottage dates from circa 1900 and is a single storey, 3-bay, rectangular-plan timber kit house with hipped corrugated iron roof and tall harled brick gable stacks. A central doorway is flanked by canted by windows. The Scots Revival style gatehouse is single storey and double bay, on a cruciform-plan with a small flat roofed extension to the rear. Built of harled granite with moulded and painted margins to openings and quoins and crowstepped gables. There is an angled, advanced entrance porch with crenellated parapet, and tripartite stepped rectangular windows to the gable ends with blind arrowslits to gableheads. The boundary walls are of coped rubble granite terminating in square-plan droved granite granite piers with tall pyramidal caps. Douneside House is now a residential and conference centre. Photographic survey of several of the buildings was carried out in 2014 ahead of proposed alterations.

Period Notes
Present house largely c.1907-1917

Author unknown, , PRESS & JOURNAL, 02/06/16 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1416.

Aug 6 2016 , AAS-GR-16-08-017 - 035, AAS-GR-16-08-017 - 035 (Ground Photograph). SAB35522.

Dec 15 2014 , DEV/APP/3635, DEV/APP/3635 (Ground Photograph). SAB20810.

Record last edited

Oct 7 2025 8:32AM