Custom House, 35 Regent Quay, Aberdeen

The Custom House, located at 35 Regent Quay in Aberdeen, is an impressive townhouse built in 1771 by James Gordon of Cobairdy. This well-proportioned building features three stories and a basement, with a five-bay facade and over-sailing steps leading to the central doorway. It is constructed from grey granite ashlar, showcasing raised margins and deeply chamfered quoins. The design includes basement and eaves band courses, as well as a moulded cornice. The entrance is framed by a Gibbs-style surround and pediment.

Later additions include small tapering stone entrance piers at the streetline, a low coped wall with cast-iron railings that return to the left, and a single-storey harled outshot with brick margins. The rear elevation features a two-storey harled outshot.

The windows are timber sash and case, with 12-pane plate glass, and the roof is covered with grey slate in an M-pile style, featuring twin stacks at both gable ends, clay cans, and cast-iron rainwater goods.

Inside, the original room layout has been preserved. A multi-pane glazed vestibule leads through double-leaf doors to the main entrance hall, which is pilastered and arched. A fine stone staircase with a square central well rises to the attic level, adorned with ornamental cast-iron balustrades and a moulded timber handrail. The principal rooms boast fine dentiled cornicing, and there is a run of shallow vaulting in the basement.