Gates And Gatepiers, 3 Argyll Crescent Including Boundary Walls, Aberdeen

Gates And Gatepiers, 3 Argyll Crescent Including Boundary Walls, Aberdeen

This is a terraced crescent of 26 bays, comprising 13 pairs of 2-bay mirrored cottages, designed by J B Pirie and A Clyne in 1887. The principal elevation has a single storey and attic, while the rear elevation rises to 2 full storeys.

The building is constructed of rough-faced grey and pink granite finely finished to margins, with a dark grey granite base course, ground floor cill course, and finely finished lintel band course. A pink granite deep eaves course runs along the top, corniced with regularly spaced grey granite navel-like paterae. Pilastered panelled timber doors with glazed panels flank the entrances, and many have letterbox fanlights, some retaining original stained glass. Squat rough-faced pilasters flank the tops of doorways. Canted dormers feature timber twin dentil cornices, while rectangular dormers above doorways have navel paterae to their lintels and iron daffodil finials.

The principal elevation facing Westburn Road and Drive is near-symmetrical. No. 1 is a terminating block with a 2-bay front, a window to the left of the ground floor and a canted dormer to the attic above. The right bay contains a canted window forming a canted dormer to the attic floor. The curved wall to the outer left was converted to an angle at lintel level. Numbers 2 to 13 comprise 6 four-bay mirrored pairs of 2-bay cottages, with 2 doorways in the 2 centre bays of the ground floor and rectangular dormers to the attic floor above. Canted windows to the ground floor form canted dormers to the attic floor of the bays flanking the doorways to left and right.

The north elevation is obscured by the adjoining terrace.

The north-west rear elevation is near-symmetrical. No. 1 has a piend-roofed service wing advanced to the right of the ground floor, extending to the west elevation, with doorways and windows to the right return and a window to the flanking bay to the left, plus 2 windows to the first floor. Numbers 2 to 13 show symmetrical arrangements with piend-roofed service wings advanced to the centre of each pair. These are flanked to left and right by windows at ground floor level. Two-leaf glazed timber doors with fanlights flank the bays to the outer left and right. The first floor has regular fenestration, with a variety of skylights to the attic floor.

The west elevation is gabled and asymmetrical, with a lean-to porch to the centre and left of the ground floor. A panelled timber door with a letterbox fanlight is set in a pilastered doorway to the right return, flanked by a squat pilaster below the lintel to the left. A window is set in the gable above.

Windows are predominantly 2-pane timber sash and case, though some have been replaced with top hoppers. The roofs are slate in grey and purple-grey with lead ridges and stone skews. Ridge and wallhead stacks are mostly octagonal with coped tops and coped ridge. Cast-iron rainwater goods are throughout.

The interiors retain some original features, notably in No. 5. The elegant porches feature decorative stained glass panels and doors. Steeply twisted staircases have turned balusters. Skirting boards, cornices and original panelled timber doors survive in many rooms. Principal rooms retain decorative ceiling roses and cornices. Elongated colonettes are set against walls at the angles of bay windows in the principal ground floor rooms. Decorative stained glass panels feature in the skylights of stairwells. Some original fireplaces remain. Tall timber doors enclose ladders to the attic on the first floor landings.

The gates, gatepiers and boundary walls form an integral part of the composition. A 2-leaf decorative iron gate to the centre of the principal elevation bears a sign reading "Argyll Crescent" and is flanked to left and right by decorative gatepiers. These are battered and of rough-faced pink granite with scrolled caps. Low granite walls extend along the remainder of the principal elevation, with an iron gate to the east and south. Brick-coped rubble walls to the rear of the crescent form a radial plan to individual gardens, with a segment-shaped drying green served by boarded timber doors from each garden. A scrolled terminating pier stands at the south-west.