Beldornie Tower

Beldornie Tower

Originally a property of the Earls of Yarborough dating to the 16th or early 17th century, this building was virtually rebuilt around 1840 in Gothic-Jacobean style, with a west wing added in 1880. It comprises two storeys plus basement and attic, rendered and painted, with a gable-end slate roof.

The south entrance front features three gables with saddle stones and kneeler finials to east and west; the latter is stepped. Three casement windows occupy the first floor with an oriel to the east. The ground floor has a mullioned and transomed bay window to the west with one two-light casement and dripstone, and a large eight-light mullioned and transomed window to the east. Both have rendered chamfered surrounds. The slate roof includes a gabled porch with an ogee-arched doorway and dripstone. The double doors are panelled below with four lights above, and feature heavy tracery to a pointed fanlight.

The north front displays coursed rubble with ashlar quoins. The basement is constructed of rubble and may derive from the original house. The 1880 west wing is set back on this elevation. At the western corner of the main block stands a tall octagonal red brick tower with stucco concave cornice and crenellation rising from a rubble base; parts of this tower may also originate from the original structure. The main block has a stepped gable with pendant finials instead of kneelers. A casement window in the gable and a three-light casement to the first floor have rendered surrounds. The ground floor features a large crenellated bay of five lights. The tower contains slit and casement windows in rendered surrounds. The west front of the main block between the tower and 1880 wing has a single window. A stepped gable with a chimney designed as a finial marks this elevation. The ground floor displays a four-light mullioned and transomed window in a rusticated rendered surround.

The interior is largely contemporary with the west wing and later alterations. However, it contains fine late Elizabethan and Jacobean oak panelling introduced in the 19th century, though some pieces may belong to the original house. The hall features arcaded panels reaching halfway up the wall, divided by Ionic fluted pilasters on pedestals, with shell motifs in the arches and cherubs' heads above. The living room contains an ornate overmantel dated 1660 which stylistically relates closely to decoration found at Aneton Manor House and Sheat Manor House at Gatcombe, where panelling dates from the first half of the 17th century. The carving employs an architectural framework of Ionic columns and strapwork details with figurative sculpture.

The study bookcases have been faced with assorted carved pieces removed from elsewhere in the house, including two figures purporting to represent Elizabeth I and Raleigh. The overmantel in the living room may have been altered. The shutters contain panels of grotesque decoration with profile "antique" heads in roundels; these panels may also be 17th century but differ markedly in style from the other carvings. The mantlepieces in the study and living room are of French mid-18th-century type with marble fronts.