1, 3, 5 Fonthill Road, Ferryhill, Aberdeen

Late 19th century Cowdray Club adjoining No 1 Fonthill Road, Ferryhill, Aberdeen. Designed by Duncan McMillan in 1874, this is a 2-storey building with basement and attic, comprising a 5-bay former Nursing Club with later additions and alterations. The 1927 additions were designed by architects Kelly and Nicol.

The building is constructed in tooled coursed grey granite ashlar with contrasting white granite long and short dressings, finely finished to margins. The basement is rough-faced with segmental-arched windows, above which runs a white granite band course and eaves course with overhanging eaves. The roof features piend-roofed dormers to the attic floor.

The principal (north) elevation presents a near-symmetrical composition. A 3-storey entrance bay with basement and attic is slightly advanced to the centre, accessed by stone steps up to a pilastered, segmental pedimented doorpiece with panelled timber door. This doorway is flanked by single pane narrow windows, with a tripartite window in hoodmould above containing leaded glass. The second floor features a gableted bipartite window breaking the eaves, and a small corbelled balcony with decorative iron railings, with a blind shield set in the gablehead. The attic has a small dormer window set in a platformed pyramidal spire with iron brattishing. To the right is a gabled bay with two basement windows and regular fenestration to the ground and first floors, with a shouldered bipartite window set in the gablehead of the attic floor. To the left are two segmental-arched basement windows flanked by a doorway, with regular fenestration above and a 2-light dormer with shouldered windows to the attic floor. The 1927 harled addition adjoining to the left is 2-storey with attic, comprising 3 bays with finely finished granite margins. It features an architraved granite Cowdray emblem to the centre, flanked by bipartite windows, with regularly spaced windows to the first floor and three rectangular dormers to the attic. A gabled 2-storey and attic, single-bay later 20th century harled addition adjoins further to the left. A flat-roofed porch advanced to the ground floor has a decorative doorpiece with panelled timber door, bipartite window to the right return, and tripartite window to the first floor, with bipartite window to the second floor and a blind shield set in the gablehead. No 1 Fonthill Road, designed by Duncan McMillan in 1874, is a 2-storey granite house with attic and basement, comprising 2 bays with regular fenestration and canted dormers with modern infill to the attic floor, now adjoining the Cowdray Club.

The west elevation is asymmetrical with 2 bays. A flat-roofed addition is advanced to the ground floor of the left bay, with bipartite window flanked by single windows at basement and ground floors, and bipartite and single windows to the left return with doorway to the right return. The recessed bay at first floor has a tripartite window with window to the right return and dormer to the attic. A canted porch to the re-entrant angle to the right has stone steps leading to a 2-leaf panelled and glazed central doorway, flanked by single windows, with a second doorway adjoining to the outer right. The gabled recessed bay at first floor has a single off-centre window to the right and a blind tablet set in the gablehead.

The south elevation is near-symmetrical with 3 bays. The centre bay has windows to each floor with a dormer to the attic containing a shouldered window. A modern window addition exists to the right of the centre bay at basement. The flanking bays to left and right feature a gableted 4-light window extending through basement, ground and first floors, forming a balcony to a segmental-arched window set in the gablehead with decorative iron railings. The 1927 addition adjoining to the right comprises 3 bays with bipartite windows to the ground floor, regularly placed windows to the first floor and rectangular dormers to the attic. A later 20th century bay to the outer right was obscured by 1999. A canted window through ground and first floors of No 1 Fonthill Road adjoins to the far right, with the remainder not visible in 1999.

The east elevation is predominantly obscured by later additions terminating with No 1 Fonthill Road. It is asymmetrical and gabled, with a former entrance porch advanced to the left and a window to the ground floor centre. A former segmental-arched doorway to the right return with hoodmould is now a window, with window to the first floor above. A single window exists to the ground floor of the flanking bay to the right.

Windows are predominantly 2-pane timber sash and case. The roof is piended grey slate with lead ridges, with corniced ridge and gablehead stacks featuring circular cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods are present throughout.

The boundary includes a low granite ashlar wall to the north and a granite rubble wall with rough-faced coping swept down to the west.

The interior was not seen in 1999.