Entrance Lodge, Nazareth House, 34 Claremont Street, Aberdeen

Entrance Lodge, Nazareth House, 34 Claremont Street, Aberdeen

A 3-storey and attic, 9-bay former convent with attached chapel to the north, designed by Ellis & Wilson in 1871. East and west wings were added circa 1881, followed by a mortuary chapel and enlargement of the wings by Ellis & Wilson in 1890. The chapel was enlarged by R G Wilson in 1897, and a north-east wing was added by R G Wilson in 1900. Later additions and alterations have been made, and the building has been substantially remodelled as a nursing home.

The main building is constructed in tooled coursed grey granite with finely finished dressings. It features a dark grey granite base course, cill courses, a rough-faced dividing band course between ground and first floor, a variety of finely finished band courses, and eaves blocking course corbelled-out with crenellations at the gables. Ground floor openings are segmental-arched, while first floor openings are Tudor-arched.

The south-east principal elevation is symmetrical and arranged 1-3-1-3-1 across its 9 bays. A rough-faced central entrance bay is stepped forward, with a chamfered Tudor-arched doorway at ground floor containing a modern panelled timber door with traceried fanlight above. The first floor displays a pierced stone balcony with a gothic-arched window surround enclosing a bipartite window featuring a stained-glass oculus in the tympanum. Pointed-arched windows occupy the second floor, while a gableted square-plan tower extends to the attic floor. A balustraded parapet between the second and attic floors carries a pointed-arched niche with red sandstone statue, a decorative acroterion, and an elongated pyramidal spire. Regular fenestration flanks this centrepiece, with 3 recessed bays to the left and right at each floor. Bipartite rectangular dormers light the attic. Gabled bays are advanced to the outer left and right, with round-arched windows in the gableheads and arrowslit openings above, topped by iron finials.

The north-east elevation is asymmetrical across 5 bays, with the 1900 addition to the right. A gabled bay advanced to the centre has curved angles corbelled out at second floor, with a doorway containing a 2-leaf panelled timber door with glazed upper panels. Small windows flank this doorway, with Tudor-arched windows and stepped hoodmoulds at first and second floors, each flanked by small windows. A round-arched window in the gablehead is topped by an iron finial. Regular fenestration occupies the 2 recessed bays flanking left and right. The 1900 addition adjoins to the right with stair windows in 2 bays to the left, advanced bays to the right with irregularly placed openings, and a gabled bay on the left return with regular fenestration and a statue set in the gablehead.

The north-west elevation is asymmetrical, with the chapel adjoining at the centre of the ground floor. A pointed-arched traceried window with leaded glass rises above, with irregular fenestration to the flanking bays and rectangular dormers to the attic floor. Gabled bays are advanced to the outer left and right. A substantial 20th-century addition to the left includes a lead-faced lift shaft flanked by glazed landings.

The south-west elevation comprises 5 bays with a 4-bay 1890 extension to the left. A gabled bay advanced to the centre has curved angles corbelled out at second floor. A doorway at ground floor contains a timber door with small flanking windows. Tudor-arched windows with stepped hoodmoulds, flanked by small windows at first and second floors, lead to a round-arched window in the gablehead topped by an iron finial. Regular fenestration occupies the 2 flanking bays. The 1890 extension displays near-regular fenestration, with a flat-roofed single-storey addition to the ground floor on the left. A small tripartite window to the second floor of the outer left bay is accompanied by a tooled datestone reading "1890" set in the parapet near-centre.

The building is predominantly glazed with modern PVCu windows. The purple-grey slate roof is raised to form a mansard at the south-east elevation, with lead ridges. Coped wallhead and ridge stacks carry octagonal cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods are retained.

The interior has been largely remodeled as a nursing home, though some panelled timber doors and architraves survive. Staircases to the east and west wings retain decorative iron balusters.

The Chapel, originally designed by Ellis & Wilson in 1871 and enlarged by R G Wilson in 1897, is a single-storey cruciform-plan structure adjoining the main building to the north. It is constructed in Aberdeen-bond granite finely finished to the margins, with pointed-arched openings.

The north-west elevation is gabled with a crucifix finial to the apex. A flat-roofed addition extends to the left. A boarded timber door is flanked by a decoratively shouldered and stop-chamfered bipartite window with leaded glass. Bipartite and single windows occupy the outer left return.

The south-west elevation is asymmetrical, with a gabled transept advanced to the centre, featuring a tall window flanked by 2 smaller windows. Windows occupy the left return, and a flat-roofed addition extends into the re-entrant angle to the left, containing 3 windows to the flanking chancel. An addition to the re-entrant angle to the right displays a pair of bipartite windows surmounted by trefoil and quatrefoil. The bays to the outer right were not visible in 2001.

The south-east elevation adjoins the main building and features an open timber gableted bellcote with a surviving bell.

The north-east elevation is asymmetrical, with a gabled transept advanced to the centre. A tall window is flanked by 2 smaller windows, with pointed-arched windows to the right return. A flat-roofed addition extends into the re-entrant angle to the right. Regularly placed bipartite windows surmounted by trefoil and quatrefoil occupy the flanking bays to the left.

The chapel roof is covered in grey slate with lead ridges. Coped stone skews carry moulded skewputts. A coped and chamfered wallhead stack to the north bears an octagonal can. Cast-iron rainwater goods are retained.

The interior is accessed via a pointed-arched boarded timber door from the main building. The nave and aisles are supported by octagonal pink granite columns carrying pointed-arched arcades, with transepts and chancel similarly arranged. An open timber roof features iron ties and decoratively traceried rooflights. A simple gallery to the south is supported on iron columns. Aisles and chancel are roofed in boarded timber.

The Entrance Lodge, positioned at the centre of the south wall of the main building, is constructed in tooled granite ashlar with a coped wallhead. A gableted doorpiece at the centre features stop-chamfered reveals, an iron gate opening into a porch, and a timber door. A tooled tympanum reads "1871", with a fleur-de-lys to the apex of the gablet. The simple north elevation carries a doorway flanked left and right by 4-pane sash and case windows.

A small gothic mortuary chapel adjoins the boundary wall to the south-west of the main building. Constructed in tooled granite, it features a gableted centre bay with a chamfered cusped doorway containing a decoratively panelled and boarded door with leaded glass upper panels (badly damaged) and a leaded glass fanlight above. A stone patera occupies the centre of the lintel, and a tooled vessica is set in the gablehead. Pointed-arched openings face left and right. A soup kitchen adjoins to the right, occupying former shelter sheds and converted in 1997.

The gates, gatepiers, boundary walls and railings comprise high coped rubble walls flanking the Entrance House to the south, with square-plan gatepiers to the outer left and right, topped by truncated pyramidal caps. Low coped granite walls to the north are surmounted by railings, with square-plan piers carrying pyramidal caps.