North Game Larder, Montcoffer House

These three polygonal game larders date from the mid to later 19th century and are situated in the garden to the rear of Montcoffer House. Two of the larders are constructed from coursed rubble with brick arches and ashlar dressings, featuring raised margins, a base course, a band course, an eaves course and a cornice. The third larder is built of wood. Each larder has a four-panelled door and a grey slate roof.

The west larder is in a classical style. Its doorway is topped with an impost course and a semi-circular fanlight with a keystone, details repeated as windows above the impost course on each elevation, with diamond-pane hoppers. The polygonal roof includes a wooden, louvred ventilator at its apex, capped with an ogival leaded roof and a ball finial. Some trelliswork cladding remains on parts of the larder’s exterior. The interior is lined with lath and plaster, and dated game bag records are written on the walls.

The east larder is built in a Tudor style, with hoodmoulded openings. The doorway features a letterbox fanlight. It has two round-arched timber casement windows, alternating with blank elevations. The roof is polygonal and topped with a ball finial, and possibly a fox weathervane. Trelliswork cladding is present as on the west larder.

The north larder is a smaller, wooden structure with a doorway featuring a rectangular fanlight and a cornice. The interior of this larder was not inspected in 1990.

Montcoffer House was renovated around 1774-75 for the Earl of Fife’s Factor, William Rose, and the Dovecot was built by 1790. The west larder had a partly damaged roof in 1990. The larders are shown on the Ordnance Survey map of Banffshire from 1871-4.