West range, Mains Of Aboyne, Aboyne Castle

West Range, Mains of Aboyne, Aboyne Castle

This complex of agricultural and domestic buildings dates from 1757 with later alterations. It comprises three ranges arranged in a U-plan around a courtyard, all built in coursed granite rubble with long and short dressings. The buildings are single storey with attics.

The western (office) range features an asymmetrical east elevation of seven bays. This elevation displays a relieving arch from former openings, a small window to the centre bay, and a bowed bay to the right containing three ground-floor windows with two oval blind recesses above and a crenellated parapet. A box dormer serves the attic to the left, with two box dormers above flanking bipartite windows to the right. A three-bay "house" occupies the outer left, with a modern gabled porch at the centre, flanked by bipartite windows. The attic features a two-pane skylight to the centre, flanked by windows breaking the eaves in a crowstepped gable. The north elevation is symmetrical, comprising a single gabled bay with a timber door glazed with panes to the centre of the ground floor. The asymmetrical west elevation contains seven bays, with a glazed boarded timber door to the centre and irregular fenestration to the remainder of the ground floor. Box dormers serve the attic bays to the left, while a window breaking the eaves to the penultimate right bay bears a tooled lintel inscribed "17 CEA 57". The outer right bay has a window breaking the eaves with a crowstepped gable. The south elevation is asymmetrical with a single bay in crowstepped gable; a window sits off-centre to the left of the ground floor, and another off-centre to the right of the attic floor.

The roof is graded grey slate with lead and tiled ridge. The gablehead and ridge stacks are coped granite with circular and octagonal cans. Windows are predominantly replacement timber with top hoppers, and cast-iron rainwater goods are fitted throughout. The interior was not seen in 1999.

The northern (cartshed and granary) range presents an asymmetrical south elevation of seven bays. Four segmentally-arched openings to the right of the ground floor contain two-leaf boarded timber doors, flanked to the left by a boarded timber door and two windows. Six near-regularly placed small openings appear to the attic floor. The near-symmetrical east elevation comprises a single bay with an infilled segmental-arched opening to the centre of the ground floor, a boarded timber opening above, and a small off-centre opening to the left of the gablehead. The asymmetrical north elevation contains four bays with a square-plan engaged tower to the penultimate bay on the left. A boarded timber door occupies the centre of the ground floor with small rectangular openings to three upper floors and left and right returns. A crenellated parapet with birdcage bellcote and bell stands above, supporting a pyramidal slate spire. The west elevation is a single gabled bay with a bricked-up window off-centre to the left of the attic floor.

No glazing appears to the windows. The roof is graded grey slate falling to the west with tiled ridge, stone skews, and simple skewputts. Coped granite gablehead stacks carry circular cans. The interior was not seen in 1999.

The southern range displays an asymmetrical north elevation of five bays. An infilled square opening occupies the centre bay of the ground floor with irregular fenestration to the bays to the right. A two-leaf boarded sliding timber door with piended gable serves the penultimate bay to the left, with a boarded timber door to the outer left. Two-pane skylights light the attic floor. The west elevation is blank. The asymmetrical south elevation contains eight bays; a modern wide opening with iron lintel occupies the centre, flanked to the right by two infilled openings. A boarded timber stable door serves the outer right bay, while a glazed and boarded sliding timber door occupies the fourth bay from the left, flanked by two windows. A boarded timber door stands to the outer left. Two-pane skylights and a centre ridge ventilator serve the attic floor. The east elevation is blank. Windows are predominantly replacement timber-framed. The piended grey slate roof carries a tiled ridge and coped granite ridge stack with cast-iron rainwater goods. The interior was not seen in 1999.

An ancillary rectangular-plan structure stands to the west, built in squared and snecked granite with irregularly placed timber-framed windows and doors. It has a piended grey slate roof with lead ridge. The interior was not seen in 1999.

The gatepiers and boundary walls comprise two square-plan granite gatepiers to the west with ogee caps and spherical finials, flanked to the east by smaller gatepiers and a looped iron pedestrian gate. Rough-faced coursed granite boundary walls carry rough-faced coping.