Sandford Lodge

Sandford Lodge

A compact, symmetrical two-storey house with raised basement, built around 1800 on the south side of Sandford Bay between Peterhead and Boddam within four hectares of coastal ground.

The house is a three-bay rectangular-plan vernacular classical mansion constructed of red and pink Peterhead granite, rendered and painted white, with pale ashlar quoins, margins, basecourse and moulded cornice. The principal west elevation features a raised ground floor with Serlian (Venetian) window openings flanking an advancing central bay containing an architraved doorway. The door is fronted by a platt with eight steps and a later 19th-century porch addition. At the upper level, a round-arch opening is flanked by mullioned tripartite openings and surmounted by a triangular pediment with three carved urn finials. A pair of tall and broad chimney stacks join the wallhead to the north and south elevations. A full-height bowed stair outshot rises at the centre of the rear east elevation.

A substantial walled garden (listed separately) is located immediately north of the house.

The house was originally built by Baillie Robert Robertson, who acquired the estates of Boddam and Sandford in the early 19th century. Robertson became Baron-Baillie of Peterhead, chairman of the Trustees of Peterhead Harbour, and a Justice of the Peace for Aberdeenshire around 1800. The house was initially known as Invernettie Lodge or Invernetty Lodge, appearing under this name in the 1811 edition of the Traveller's Guide Through Scotland and on James Robertson's Topographical and Military Map of Aberdeenshire (surveyed 1810-22). By 1840, it was known as Sandford Lodge, when sheriff substitute James Skelton of Edinburgh took residence. The house later passed through various owners including the 4th Earl of Aberdeen and civil engineer William Aiton of Glasgow in 1865.

The house, walled garden and grounds are depicted in detail on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1868, and the site layout has remained largely unaltered since that survey. The porch appears to have been added prior to the Second Edition map of 1899.

Peterhead Power Station was constructed 400 metres to the south during the 1970s. The house and grounds fell out of use after 2006 when acquired by Scottish and Southern Energy. A single-storey rear addition was removed in 2010. The piended roof and interiors were destroyed by fire in 2015.