Birse Lodge Hotel, Charlestown Road, Aboyne

Dated 1861. 2-storey and attic, 3-bay former Dower House, now hotel. Coursed, rough-faced pink granite with raised dressings finely finished to margins. Long and short vertically banded quoins; gableted windows breaking eaves; overhanging eaves with king-post detail.

NE (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: asymmetrical; canopied doorway supported by rustic timber columns to centre of ground floor, 2-leaf panelled timber door flanked to left and right by glazed vertical panels, 2-pane fanlight; window to 1st floor of centre bay; regular fenestration to ground and 1st floors of flanking bay to left; gabled bay slightly advanced to flanking bay to right, regular fenestration to ground and 1st floors, blank shield surmounted by carved coronet set in gablehead; single storey addition with window to outer right.

NW ELEVATION: asymmetrical; 6-bay; single storey, flat-roofed addition with crenellated parapet advanced to 3 bays to left at ground floor, window to each bay, 2 windows breaking eaves off-centre to right of 1st floor; 3 bays to right stepped down, ground floor obscured by 20th century additions, regular fenestration breaking eaves to 1st floor. Concrete addition to outer right adjoining with L-plan block (see below).

SW ELEVATION: asymmetrical; 3-bay; ground floor obscured by 20th century additions adjoining with L-plan block (see below); 1st floor of advanced, gabled bay to left blank, with small window breaking eaves to right return, window breaking eaves to bay to right.

SE ELEVATION: asymmetrical; 5-bay; window to ground floor of centre bay, ground floor of flanking bay to left and gabled bay to outer left obscured by flat-roofed single storey addition extending to left; bipartite window to ground floor of flanking bay to right; gabled bay slightly advanced to outer right, bipartite glazed doorway to ground floor, bipartite window to 1st floor, blank shield surmounted by coronet set in gablehead; irregular fenestration to remainder of 1st floor; infilled opening set in gablehead to outer left; gableted dormers to centre and flanking bay to right at attic floor. Piend-roofed addition to outer left adjoining L-plan block (see below).

L-PLAN BLOCK: to SW of main block. Coursed granite and granite rubble with rough-faced dressings. Irregular fenestration to ground floor; modern timber door to chamfered angle to N; predominantly gableted windows breaking eaves to 1st floor.

Variety of timber sash and case windows; some modern 2-pane timber windows with top hoppers. Grey slate roof with lead ridge. Coped granite gablehead stacks with circular cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: not seen 1998.

GATEPIERS AND BOUNDARY WALLS: rough-faced, battered granite gatepiers with pyramidal caps to SE; granite wall with granite coping.