Railings And Boundary Walls, 1 Queen's Cross Including Gatepiers, Rubislaw, Aberdeen

This is a largely intact villa, constructed in 1865 and designed by J Russell Mackenzie, with ironwork by Walter Macfarlane. Later additions and alterations have been made. The villa is a two-storey and attic L-plan structure with a basement and a distinctive two-storey, basement, and attic tower. It is built of finely finished, tooled coursed granite ashlar with a base course, diving band course, cornice, shouldered windows to the attic floor, an eaves course, and strip quoins. The windows on the principal floor are basket-arched with stop-chamfered reveals.

The north elevation, facing Albyn Place, is near-symmetrical and features a single bay with a canted window extending through the basement, principal, and attic floors. A cartouche is set into the parapet. The canted angles at the outer left and right are each accented by a round-arched window that breaks the eaves to the attic. A near-octagonal entrance tower is situated in the re-entrant angle to the right, featuring a doorway on the principal floor accessed by steps flanked by square-plan piers. Basement windows are present, with an iron balcony oversailing. Flanking the doorway are windows to the left and right angles. A round-arched link connects to the right return of the north elevation. The first floor has three round-arched windows, each with an iron balcony, flanked to the left by two narrow windows, and an iron balcony at eaves level. A truncated octagonal spire, topped with decorative iron brattishing, rises from the tower, alongside three round-arched dormer windows to the attic floor. A circular-plan angle turret to the left of the tower features a conical spire surmounted by an iron finial.

The west elevation, facing St Swithin Street, is similarly near-symmetrical, sharing similar features to the north elevation, including a canted window and an entrance tower in the re-entrant angle.

The south elevation is largely obscured by a late 20th-century addition. The east elevation was not visible during a survey in 2000.

The villa has a variety of timber sash and case windows, as well as casement windows. The roof is covered in grey slate with lead ridges. Corniced wallhead stacks feature octagonal cans with diamond-patterned shafts, and cast-iron rainwater goods are fitted.

Internally, the principal floor has been predominantly remodelled. The staircase has been removed, although some original mouldings survive on the first floor, including decorative mouldings to the coved lightwell in the hall.

The property is bounded by square-plan gatepiers with pyramidal caps and coped boundary walls. Associated iron railings are present.