Porter's Lodge, Morningfield Hospital, 59 King's Gate, Aberdeen

Porter's Lodge, Morningfield Hospital, 59 King's Gate, Aberdeen

This is a substantial two-storey hospital with attic storey, comprising nine bays, accompanied by a single-storey lodge to the north-east, a stack to the east, and gatepiers to the south. The main building was designed by William Henderson and Son between 1883 and 1884. It underwent additions and alterations by W and J Smith & Kelly in 1902, with further alterations carried out at later dates.

The building is constructed in coursed tooled grey granite with contrasting light grey long and short dressings finely finished to the margins. Horizontal emphasis is provided by a base course, ground and first floor cill courses, a dividing band course, an eaves course, and overhanging eaves throughout.

The principal south elevation is symmetrical and features a three-bay central pavilion that is advanced and stepped up to the centre. A panelled timber door sits at the centre of the ground floor beneath a granite canopy, fitted with a small-pane fanlight and glazed flanking panels, approached by stone steps. Advanced rectangular-plan tripartite windows flank the door to left and right, with additional windows to the left and right returns. Corniced parapets with decorative granite finials surmount these sections. The first floor contains a window at the centre, flanked by bipartite windows to left and right. The attic storey displays three windows set within an open pediment, with a blind bull's-eye opening set in the pediment itself and a stone finial to the apex. Two-storey, two-bay link blocks with regular fenestration flank the central pavilion to left and right, while advanced single-bay pavilions to left and right feature tripartite windows to both ground and first floors.

The east elevation is symmetrical with four bays and regular fenestration to ground and first floors, save for a single small window at the centre of each floor. The north elevation features three-stage square-plan Italianate towers with pyramidal roofs to left and right, with irregular openings throughout the remainder. The west elevation comprises a harled link to a wing on the right and a rectangular-plan 1902 addition at the centre, harled in finish, with a round-arched opening to the north and a decorative lead fleche to the ridge.

The roofs are piended grey slate with lead ridges, punctuated by square-plan vents. The wallhead and ridge stacks are coped granite with octagonal cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods are throughout. Windows are a combination of modern glazing and timber sash and case windows. The interior was not inspected at the time of listing in 2000.

The Porter's Lodge dates to 1891 and sits to the north-east of the main hospital. It is a single-storey, two-bay structure built in coursed tooled grey granite with contrasting light grey long and short dressings finely finished to the margins. Detailing includes a base course, cill course, eaves course, long and short quoins, and overhanging eaves. Rusticated blind bull's-eye openings are set in the gableheads.

The entrance elevation on the east is asymmetrical, featuring a panelled timber door with a two-pane fanlight to the left, flanked to the right by an advanced gabled bay containing a five-light rectangular-plan window and a stepped-up parapet. The north elevation is gabled with two asymmetrically placed windows. The west elevation is gabled to the right with a modern addition to the left. The south elevation is symmetrical, gabled, and displays three regularly placed windows, with a flat-roofed addition to the left.

The lodge features replacement windows throughout. The roof is grey slate with lead ridges. Coped gablehead stacks have circular and octagonal cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods are present. The interior was not inspected in 2000.

The gatepiers and boundary walls to the south comprise granite ashlar square-plan panelled gatepiers with corniced necks surmounted by spherical finials, flanked by low coped quadrant walls with diminutive piers capped by spherical finials. Square-plan gatepiers with shallow pyramidal caps stand to the north-east. Predominantly rubble boundary walls are coped with pointed pink granite.