9 Queen's Road, Aberdeen

9 Queen's Road, Aberdeen

This is a 2-storey villa with basement and attic, built in 1878 and possibly designed by Walker and Duncan. It is a 3-bay building with Jacobean detailing, extended with late 20th century additions to the southeast. The building is constructed in tooled coursed grey granite with finely finished contrasting light grey granite dressings to the northwest elevation; the remaining elevations are built in Aberdeen bond granite rubble. It features a base course, long and short quoins, and an eaves course throughout.

The northwest (principal) elevation is symmetrical, with a porch at the centre of the ground floor supported on paired Tuscan columns and topped by a scrolled strapwork pediment, flanked by decorative obelisks. The doorway is corniced with consoles and contains a 2-leaf panelled timber door, with a decorative stained glass letterbox fanlight above and stained glass panels flanking. A single window occupies the centre bay at first floor level. The eaves are finished with a cornice of moulded corbel stones. A curvilinear gableted dormer sits at the centre of the attic, with a datestone reading "1878" set in the gable head. Curvilinear gabled bays, slightly advanced, occupy the bays to left and right, each with 3-light canted windows extending through ground and first floors and crenellated parapets enclosing balconies at attic floor. Hoodmoulded windows are set in the gable heads, with stone finials at the apex.

The southwest elevation is asymmetrical. A harled gabled addition at ground floor level contains a doorway flanked to its left return by a polished grey granite column, leading to the basement at the rear. A doorway to the centre at ground floor level is reached by stone steps, with irregular fenestration above. Shallow gables flank to left and right.

The southeast elevation is near-symmetrical. The basement floor is largely obscured by a late 20th century addition now in use as a café bar. A tall round-arched stair window with fine etched glass sits at the centre bay of the main block, with a gableted dormer to the attic above. Gabled bays flank to left and right, with tripartite windows to ground and first floors and a single window set in the gable head of each. A single storey and basement, 5-light canted addition to the outer right features leaded and stained glass windows.

The northeast elevation is asymmetrical, with 2 pairs of windows to the centre of ground and first floors and shallow gables flanking to left and right. A single storey and basement wing addition to the left has a panelled timber door at the centre of its right return, flanked to left and right by decorative stained glass windows. Three stained glass panels sit above, beneath a balustraded parapet with 2 tall stone pinnacles flanking the doorway.

Windows throughout are predominantly 2-pane and 4-pane timber sash and case windows. The roof is grey slate with a lead ridge, finished with coped stone skews with decoratively moulded skewputts. Chimney stacks have corniced gable heads and no cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods complete the external finishes.

The interior is finely detailed. Skirting boards, panelling and friezes below dado rails, and panelled doors with decorative architraves are found throughout. Highly decorative plasterwork friezes, cornices and ceilings adorn the principal rooms. The porch has a tiled floor. A pilastered hall and first floor landing feature composite capitals. The panelled timber dog-leg staircase has scrolled foliate timber infill under its handrail and boldly carved newel posts.

Rooms to the east of the ground floor were opened up in the late 20th century to form a large casino space, which features a decorative mahogany fire surround with paired fluted Corinthian columns supporting an elaborate overmantle. An oak panelled room in the addition to the southeast contains fine stained and etched glass windows and a rooflight. A mahogany fire surround in the room to the west of the ground floor has 3 shell-niche recesses flanked by Ionic columns to its overmantle. Fine fireplaces with decorative doorpieces, corniced with decorative consoles, occupy the principal rooms of the first floor. An iron fireplace with Art Nouveau detailing, painted white, is located in the attic.

The boundary treatment comprises square-plan rough-faced gatepiers with pyramidal caps (shared with adjacent properties) to the northwest, with a low coped granite wall between. Granite and brick coped rubble walls form the boundary to the remainder of the site.