Stable Block, Fasque House

Stable Block, Fasque House

This fine Classical stable block was probably designed by John Paterson around 1810 and forms part of an important grouping of estate buildings at Fasque House. It is a two-storey rectangular structure arranged around a central courtyard, comprising seven bays with Classical detailing throughout.

The principal southeast elevation features an advanced pedimented pend arch at its centre, with a blind oculus above, providing access to the courtyard. The flanking bays contain tall round-arched details. The bay to the left of centre has a six-panelled timber door with a three-part fanlight, while the bay to the outer right contains a decoratively astragalled full-height round-headed window. The outer bays have square-headed windows, and there are three small windows positioned close to the eaves, probably inserted at a later date.

The courtyard elevations contain arched coach house openings, one of which has been converted to a window, alongside slightly smaller arched openings. Small first-floor windows near the eaves and some breaking into the dormerheads are also evident on these sides.

The building is constructed of squared, snecked and coursed rubble with wide pilaster strips, dressed quoins and raised margins. It features a deep base course, an eaves cornice and blocking course. The openings are segmental-arched with voussoirs. The roofline is finished with a coped ashlar shouldered wallhead and small ridge stacks, all fitted with cans. The windows are multi-pane timber sash and case, and the roof is covered with small grey slates. Cast iron downpipes with decorative rainwater hoppers complete the external detail.

The courtyard features finialled stone-pedimented dormerheads and two-leaf timber doors with diamond-pattern fanlights.

The interior, seen in 2008, retains timber stalls with drinking troughs and ironwork hay baskets, together with a blockwork floor. There is also some simple moulded plasterwork. Some openings have been altered since the building's construction.

John Paterson is acknowledged as the architect of Fasque House, built in 1809 for Sir Alexander Ramsay of Balmain. It is probable that Paterson also designed this stable block, along with the Apple House and Walled Garden, South Lodge and Octagon, all of which are listed separately. His other documented work includes the distinctive D-plan Gothic Fetteresso Church in Stonehaven and alterations to the seventeenth-century Fetteresso Castle, which included a central castellated tower.

The stable block is sited a short distance to the northwest of Fasque House and represents an exceptionally fine example of a Classically designed stable. Its architectural aesthetic on the principal elevation, which faces the house, derives from the eighteenth-century fashion exemplified by Whim House, featuring a central entrance identified by a pedimented tower with wings on either side containing coach houses, tack rooms and accommodation above. The high quality of the design and the importance of horses both for transport and for pleasure on this large estate are reflected throughout the courtyard detail and the fine stables themselves. The building remains an important survival and was vital to the successful running of the estate.