Culter House, Aberdeen

Culter House in Aberdeen is a significant building dating from around 1640 to 1670, originally constructed as a three-storey structure with an end tower. The main block features a four-window centre, a central moulded doorway, and a corbelled centre chimney topped with a triple-shafted Cumin coat of arms. In about 1730, a three-storey and basement nine-window front was added to the northwest, which doubled the width of the house and included an architraved central doorpiece. Symmetrical north and south wings, designed by W. Dalton Ironside of Walker and Duncan, were added in 1910. The building suffered fire damage in 1910, but the interior was reinstated with the principal rooms faithfully reproduced, incorporating parts of the original design, although the woodwork was varnished. The exterior is harled throughout, with the original part featuring a steep batter and the later work showing a slighter batter. The principal interior space is a second-floor ballroom, which includes Roman Doric pilasters and a coved ceiling painted with an image of Aurora after Guido Reni, created by Allan Sutherland to replace the original that was lost in the fire.