Sunnyside Royal Hospital, Hillside, Montrose

Sunnyside Royal Hospital, built in 1857 by W L Moffat, with a rear extension added in 1877, is a substantial, 27-bay, three-storey and basement building of largely E-plan, symmetrical design, constructed in a Jacobean style. The building is situated on a sloping site. The exterior is of stugged, coursed rubble with ashlar margins and quoins, incorporating band courses, a cornice, and a blocking course. Pinnacled gables with small slit openings are a distinctive feature. Window openings originally had chamfered stone mullions and transoms, with small, segmental-pointed-arched windows in the basement.

The east (principal) elevation features an advanced central five-bay section with gabled returns to the east and west. The central three bays are further advanced, with a recessed central bay behind them. A wide, segmental-arched doorway provides the main entrance, with a panelled timber door and round-arched glass and timber side-lights, and a three-light window above. A carved date plaque (1857) is positioned on the gablehead. The upper-storey windows have floating cornices. Flanking these central bays are sections with single advanced gabled off-centre and end bays.

The west (rear) elevation has an irregular plan and a central, symmetrical, three-storey, seven-bay extension, characterized by pedimented dormerheads and Dutch-gable end bays. It includes a base course and band course, segmental-arched doorways with panelled timber entrance doors and part-glazed fan and side-lights, and bipartite window openings with stone mullions and transoms. Some upper-storey windows are rectangular. A carved date plaque marking the 1877 extension is located on the central gablehead. Tall, coped gablehead stacks are situated on the end bays.

The internal courtyards are a pair of largely symmetrical, square-plan spaces, connected to single-storey, hexagonal buildings with pyramidal roofs via part-glazed linking corridors. Some elevations incorporate single-storey lean-to, part-glazed corridors. A recreation hall features pointed-arch windows with hoodmoulding and decorative stone rose motifs.

The windows are predominantly fitted with fixed timber glazing, with opening top hoppers. The roof is covered in grey slates, with stepped, coped ridge and gable stacks topped with distinctive tall barley-sugar-twist cans.

The interior, observed in 2012, retains much of its original layout, although ward interiors have been altered. A full-height timber-panelled recreation hall stands out, incorporating a trussed, three-sectioned barrel vaulted timber roof and a timber stage. It has three pointed-arched windows with small-pane glazing to the north and south walls, and a panelled timber gallery on the east. Other rooms are timber-panelled, one featuring full-height timber and glass bookcases. Several rooms contain moulded timber fire surrounds. One ward contains small rooms leading off a narrow corridor. Simple cornicing details adorn the ceilings. A marble tablet from 1816 commemorating the first Montrose asylum is located in a corridor.