Fairlawne

Fairlawne is a country house with a complex history, originally built in the earlier 17th century and substantially rebuilt for Sir Henry Vane between 1630 and 1655. Additions were made in 1680 by Lord Barnard, and further work completed in 1723 for Lord Vane, with contributions from James Gibbs. Victorian additions and interior decoration were undertaken by William Burn before 1840 and J MacVicar Anderson in 1872, although many of these Victorian features were removed in 1954.

The west front, dating to 1680, is constructed of dressed and coursed Kentish ragstone on a ragstone plinth, distinguished by painted stone pilaster-strip quoins and a plat-band defining the window surrounds. A modillion cornice sits above, concealing slate roofs. A two-stage cupola, notably off-centre to the left, features canted corner pilasters, an entablature on the lower stage, decorative brick stacks, and a lead cupola. The two-storey facade has nine bays, with the central four spaced slightly apart, and incorporates glazing bar sashes. A three-bay Roman Doric 'porte cochere' was added in 1872 by J MacVicar Anderson. A recessed northern extension likely conceals earlier fabric, with a facade probably designed by Gibbs in 1723, using dressed and coursed rubble with painted stone pilaster-strip quoins.

The south front features quoins and dressings, a plat-band, a modillion cornice concealing a slate roof, and a slight projection of the central two bays with a pediment within the parapet. It has two storeys and six bays, with glazing bar sashes, whilst a further two-storey block to the north-east includes attic pediments facing south and east, and glazing bar sashes. A seven-bay conservatory of 1872, with a Roman Doric colonnaded loggia and a glazed internal barrel-vault, is located to the east.

The entrance hall retains paneling and an 1872 plaster ceiling, alongside a single 18th-century black marble fireplace. A study incorporates a two-storey fireplace with a broken swan-neck pediment and door surround featuring carved and pierced ornamentation. The Great Room is wood-panelled with carved ornament, and includes a door surround with fluted Ionic half-columns and a triangular pediment, and a marble fireplace with a half-columned and pedimented overmantel. Drawings relating to the Great Room are held in the Gibbs Collection at the Bodleian Library in Oxford.