Ogilvie Almshouses

Ogilvie Almshouses are residences for estate staff, built in 1926 by William Gilmour Wilson as part of the Thorpeness village development for Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie. The building is constructed of concrete and brick with applied timber framing and has plaintiled roofs. It features a continuous two-storey range with a central gateway and projecting end pavilions. The gateway is two storeys high, with a central stone stilted carriage arch flanked by four-centred pedestrian passageways under square heads. Foliage carving is present in the spandrels, and above the arch are date plaques reading 19 and 28, along with a coat of arms and shields on either side. The second floor has two 2-light mullioned windows, each with two transoms, and there is one blind niche on either side. The building has a setback stepped parapet with a central statuary niche beneath a crocketed ogee canopy, and a high hipped roof with lead termini finials.

The interior of the gateway features brick piers that separate the pedestrian passages from the carriageway. The rear face of the gateway is broadly similar to the front. The flanking wings have exposed concrete blocks at the plinth course and applied timber studding on the first floor. Each side has two four-centred doorways located in the centre under projecting gabled two-storey porches, and at the ends under a pentice roof of full-height projecting gabled bays. The windows are wooden mullioned with leaded glazing. The interior has not been inspected. The almshouses are part of a good group and are one of the principal buildings in this resort village. Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie, the owner of the Thorpeness Estate, conceived the project and commissioned the architects involved in designing the village.