stirling-1963-vol-1/05_082

Transcription

INTRODUCTION : THE MIDDLE AGES AND LATER
size, Ballencleroch (1665, No. 325) and Dalnair (1682, No. 328); while at Broomhole (No. 384)
there are the remains of an extremely simple house of this type in which the wing is nothing
more than a small semicircular projection housing a turnpike-stair.
A more common 17th-century plan, and one which derives more closely from the tower-
house, is the L-plan, of which Auchenbowie (No. 296), Kersie Mains (No. 300), Orchardhead
(No. 305) and Newton (No. 306) are good examples. In all these buildings the design
incorporates a feature which appears in some of the later tower-houses, such as Stenhouse
(No. 200) and Gargunnock (No. 215), the stair-tower being extruded in the re-entrant angle
between main block and wing. The entrance-doorway is placed at the foot of the stair-tower
from which access may most conveniently be obtained to both main block and wing at all
levels. Another feature derived from the tower-house tradition is the emphasis that is placed
on vertical planning, all the examples mentioned being tall, upright buildings occupying a
comparatively small ground-area. Only at Auchenbowie does the ground floor appear to have
been vaulted, but the traditional practice of placing the principal apartments on the first floor,
and of reserving the ground floor for cellerage and kitchens, is followed at Auchenbowie
and at Kersie Mains. At Orchardhead, and perhaps also at Newton, which is so much resembles,
the kitchen occupied the ground floor of the wing but the main block contained living-rooms
at this level. Although probably a little earlier in date than the other three examples mentioned,
Kersie Mains is in some respects more advanced in design as its staircase is of the scale-and-
platt variety and not a turnpike, while the windows of the principal façade are all symmetrically
disposed. Perhaps the most remarkable 17th-century house in the county is Bannockburn
House (No. 295), a substantial mansion built on an H-plan. The design is a symmetrical one
and is notable for the generous scale of accommodation that it provides, while the provision
of two main stairs makes circulation easy. The house contains some fine plaster ceilings of the
Restoration period.
While the majority of 17th-century houses derived their characteristic features from the
tower-house, the same cannot be said of the type of dwelling-house introduced about 1700,
which retained its popularity as a small laird's residence for more than a century. The typical
18th-century house of this class is a plain rectangular block, two storeys and an attic in height.
The plan, which is symmetrical, comprises a central staircase on either side of which there is a
single large room on each floor. The symmetry of the plan is reflected in the elevations in
which the windows are regularly disposed, the principal façade invariably containing a
centrally-placed entrance-doorway on the ground floor. The kitchen occupies one of the
ground-floor rooms, while the other is utilised as a parlour, or, where there is a separate
drawing-room on the first floor, as a dining-room. Examples of this type include Borrow-
meadow (No. 292), Braes (No. 297), Dalquhairn (1711, No. 318), Middle Ballewan (1702,
No. 326), Auchentroig (1702, No. 336) and Gartinstarry (1789, No. 337). At Old Ballikinrain
(No. 332) and Craigivairn (No. 330), which may be ascribed respectively to the first and second
halves of the 18th century, the same layout was adopted, but a wing was added to give extra
accommodation, the resulting plan being T-shaped. A better method of providing additional
accommodation, however, was to increase the depth of the house, making it capable of
accommodating four main rooms on each floor. Plans of this type were adopted at Birdston
(No. 322), at Mains of Glins (1743, No. 334) and at Arnprior (No. 339).

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