Boundary Walls And Railings, Manor House Including Summerhouse, Skene Street

The Manor House, designed by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie and dating from 1905, is a two- and five-bay house of mock half-timbered style. It stands set back from Skene Street, at the heart of Macduff. The house has a timber verandah and unusual leaded, diamond-paned casement windows within timber frames, alongside jettied, mock half-timbered gableheads. The exterior consists of rubble walls with concrete render set with regularly-sized river pebbles, with pink Turriff sand render over granite at the rear. Timber margins, transoms, and mullions are also present.

The principal southwest elevation showcases a gabled, symmetrical design with advanced centre bays. This features a two-leaf panelled timber door with flanking and return lights; the first floor has mock half-timbering below a full-width, eight-light, square-plan, transomed window. Flanking bays incorporate four-light transomed windows on each floor, supported by a plain-balustered verandah on square columns. A lower, gabled bay has a three-light transomed window to the outer right, while a lean-to garage occupies the site of a former conservatory on the outer left. A boiler room to the northwest contains a pedimented doorway dated 1872, taken from a previous cottage on the site.

The windows have leaded glazing to the upper and some lower lights, all within timber casement frames, although some windows have replacement uPVC glazing. The roof is covered with rosemary tiles and grey slates, with stacks of concrete render and pebbles, featuring full clay cans. Plain bargeboarding is also a characteristic feature.

Inside, much original detail has been retained, including fine joinery work for stairhall screens and fire surrounds, along with some plasterwork cornicing. The music room features timber dado panelling; plasterwork dado panelling, painted to resemble timber, is found in the staircase and drawing room. A timber dog-leg staircase has carved balusters. The leaded windows have decorative ironwork handles.

A rustic timber summerhouse retains leaded glazing with decorative coloured glazing in a shaped light, alongside plain bargeboarding. The interior retains bench seats, hessian and decorated cloth wall coverings, and a makers plate stamped ‘Caesar’.

The property is enclosed by semicircular-coped rubble boundary walls, stepped with inset railings to the southwest.