50 Queen's Road, Aberdeen

50 Queen's Road, Aberdeen

A 2-storey and attic rogue-Gothic villa built between 1885 and 1887 by architects Pirie & Clyne and builder John Morgan. The building incorporates masonry salvaged from the 1665 Old Rubislaw House and has since been subdivided to form three flats. It is constructed of coursed rough-faced granite ashlar with finely finished margins to the south-east elevation, and Aberdeen bond granite to the remainder, distinguished by contrasting dark grey base course, ground floor cill course, string course at cill level of the first floor, and eaves course.

The south-east principal elevation is asymmetrical and three-bayed with a gabled bay to the left. A pink granite slab with tooled panel dated 1886 leads to a pointed-arched decoratively moulded and chamfered doorpiece at the centre of the ground floor. This features an intricately carved stone finial and is flanked by low walls surmounted by spherical finials and a sphinx (later additions). The doorway itself is set back with a pierced pink granite quatrefoil and polished pink granite spheres to the tympanum, a panelled timber door with inset quatrefoil and roundels, flanked by glazed panels, and a bell pull. The left flanking bay displays three deeply chamfered quatrefoil windows with a curved outer right angle and scrolled corbel forming the angle above. An oversized pierced and gableted buttress occupies the centre of the left bay, bearing carved monograms of Pirie and Morgan on its shaft, a decorative sundial and floreate carving above, with round-arched windows flanking to either side and chamfered with decorative mouldings. The centre bay of the first floor contains a single window, while the attic floor has a horizontal gableted window with cusped tympanum featuring a pink granite scallop inset and scrolled finial. A circular-plan angle turret at the outer right corner displays a curved tripartite window with curved squat outer panes divided by deep pilasters with proto-Art Nouveau capitals, two quatrefoil windows above, a conical roof with fishscale slates and lead finial. A gableted battered buttress at the turret base extends to form a screen wall to the right return, with a shouldered doorway to the centre flanked by deeply set horizontal openings with chamfered reveals. A 3-pane canted oriel window supported by the oversized buttress features pilastered mullions with proto-Art Nouveau detailing and encloses a balcony to the attic floor. A tripartite window at attic level is set in a pointed arch with stepped hoodmould and roll-moulded reveals of pink granite, the mullions and tympanum of pink granite supporting a glazed quatrefoil to the centre flanked by polished spheres, a rosette finial at the apex of the gable, and a scrolled bracket supporting the wallhead stack to the right.

The north-east elevation is gabled, three-bayed and asymmetrical. A screen wall extends to the left. A semi-circular-plan stair tower occupies the centre, extending through all floors and terminating in a shallow part-conical roof with decorative finial. Three stair windows with stone transoms stepped up to the right feature stained glass upper panes, and above them runs a band of seven stained-glass windows. The left bay contains a window to the ground floor with a small window to the attic above. The right return features a round-arched porch leading to the doorway of 50B, a panelled timber door, with a window to the first floor above and a small window to the attic floor. The Dower House (50B) is advanced to the right with a variety of windows to its left return.

The north-west elevation is asymmetrical and two-bayed. To the left of the ground floor is a glazed timber door flanked by single windows, with a tripartite window to the first floor above featuring stained glass upper panes. The right bay contains an oversized bowed section extending through ground and first floors with five windows to each floor, each with stained glass upper pane. A band of polished grey granite spheres runs below the eaves, and a 5-light bowed dormer is centred on the conical roof, which terminates in a conical spire with iron sunflower finial. The Dower House (50B) is advanced to the left with a panelled timber door bearing a letterbox fanlight, a horseshoe-shaped window flanking to the right, two irregular windows to the first floor, and a single window on the curved outer right angle.

The south-west elevation is asymmetrical and three-bayed. A low granite wall extends to enclose a partly tiled floor in front of two bays to the right, originally the base of a now-demolished conservatory. A panelled and glazed timber door occupies the centre, flanked by glazed panels beneath a Tudor-arched relieving arch. A granite fire surround now blocked to the right is flanked by a further infilled opening. A gableted buttress sits to the outer right. Two Tudor-arched windows with roll-moulded lintels to the first floor sit above a deep-set horizontal window to the left with curved reveals. A crowstepped gable is centred at attic floor level with two quatrefoil windows and an "1886" datestone inset. A gabled canted ingleneuk is advanced through ground and first floors with stained glass quatrefoil windows to the outer cants of the ground floor and stained glass trefoil-headed windows to the outer cants of the first floor, covered by slate roof. A dormer occupies the centre of the attic floor, fitted with stained glass windows.

The building is predominantly finished with 2-pane timber sash and case windows, many featuring stained glass upper panes. The roof is of grey slate with lead ridges, coped and crowstepped gables, and a variety of stacks with circular cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods with decorative hoppers complete the exterior.

The interior is very fine. The building has been converted into a ground floor flat, first floor and attic flat, and Dower House flat. An entrance hall is panelled below the dado with a timber rib-vaulted ceiling and etched glass flanking the main door, decorated to match the exterior. A panelled timber door with etched glass upper panel and flanking panels leads to the ground floor flat. The ground floor features ceiling mouldings that appear to have been removed or covered; skirting boards, doors, architraves and cornicing survive. Colonettes flank windows, and Tudor-arched recesses with decoratively moulded lintels occupy rooms originally leading to the conservatory. A bowed principal room displays fine stained glass windows and a highly decorative cornice with vine, grape and floreate paterae mouldings. A Tudor-arched opening over an ingleneuk fireplace is lit by two quatrefoil stained glass windows; the fire surround is a later addition.

The first floor flat features an oversized polished pink granite column supporting a sharply twisted staircase through all floors with distinctively turned balusters and decorative newel posts. The staircase area is boarded timber below the dado with decorative architraves to the stair windows. A fine tiled toilet cubicle retains original bathroom furniture. Skirting boards, doors, architraves and cornicing survive throughout; the first floor mouldings are particularly fine. A timber fire surround with carved sunflower paterae and inset panels to the overmantle is flanked by Tudor-arched stained glass windows. A bowed former library displays fine stained glass windows, a highly decorative ceiling, cornice and frieze, and a Tudor-arched opening over an ingleneuk fireplace lit by trefoil-headed stained glass windows; the fire surround is a later addition.

Ancillary structures include a lean-to structure behind the screen wall to the east of the house and a gableted ancillary structure backing onto the boundary wall to the west, featuring a boarded timber door flanked by two tiny windows below lintel and gableted skewputts. A modern corrugated-iron structure adjoins.

The gatepiers to east and west on Queen's Road (shared with adjacent properties) have a battered rough-faced granite base and finely finished shaft, corniced with pink and grey granite banded pyramidal cap and spherical finial. A low coped rough-faced granite wall sits between them. Granite and brick coped rubble walls enclose the remainder of the boundary.