13-20, Lowther Village

Eight houses forming a village, built between 1766 and 1773 by Robert Adam as estate houses for Sir James Lowther. They are part of a planned model village that was never fully realised. The houses are constructed of mixed sandstone rubble with walls under hipped roofs covered in graduated greenslate, featuring banded, incised-rendered chimney stacks. Designed around an open courtyard, the houses are arranged on three sides of a square, with right-angled returns at each end. A two-storey "palace" facade closes the courtyard, spanning seven bays, while the remaining sections are single-storey and comprise numerous bays. The two-storey range incorporates a three-bay recessed centre flanked by gabled wings. There are two off-centre plank doors in plain openings, each protected by a red sandstone lintel. More recent casement windows are set in original plain reveals, also with red sandstone lintels and sills. The single-storey sections were originally subdivided into a greater number of smaller houses, their doors now blocked, some partially, to create windows. Otherwise, the single-storey sections feature plank doors and more recent casement windows in plain reveals. The buildings received grant assistance from the Historic Buildings Council in 1965.