Esk House, 1 Melville Gardens, Montrose

Esk House, 1 Melville Gardens, Montrose

A substantial two-storey villa of the later 19th century with additions dating to 1894, set on a corner site in an approximate L-plan. The building displays classical detailing throughout and is constructed primarily of sandstone ashlar, with squared, snecked and stugged stonework to the rear elevations. The base course is roughly hewn with a deeper ashlar course above, and the building is finished with a corniced and panelled parapet, rusticated quoins, and architraved margins.

The principal (western) elevation presents a three-bay frontage with the outer bays slightly advanced. Access is via a double three-step stone flight with wrought-iron railing leading to a pilastered tripartite doorpiece with entablature, containing a two-leaf panelled door, rectangular fanlight and two-pane sidelights. The centred first-floor window above features a swan-neck pediment on the parapet. The flanking bays are symmetrical, each incorporating a full-height canted window with panelling below the ground-floor cill and a corniced cill at first-floor level; the parapet above is balustraded. A gabled attic storey set back from the main facade features a round-arched window with corniced skews and a stone finial.

The northern elevation displays a seven-bay frontage arranged as 1-3-1-2. To the right, two bays contain narrow windows at ground floor with bracketed cills at first-floor level. To the left, a slightly advanced gable end is accessed by a five-step stone flight with stone balustrade leading to a doorway with rectangular fanlight and panelled door; a slit window sits to the left of the door. A central window at first floor features a bracketed cill and corniced head, with a small window set in a curvilinear gablehead crowned by a stone finial. Further left, a bay contains three windows at ground floor and two at first-floor level. At the far left, an advanced gable end features a stone-mullioned bipartite window at ground floor with a centred window above at first-floor level.

The eastern elevation comprises the front block to the left with four bays and a projection, including two bays with tall windows at ground floor and a small additional window centred at first-floor level. A single-bay projection to the right has rounded corners rising to small corbels at first-floor level, with windows at both ground and first floors returning to the left. A single bay occupies the far right. The eastern wing features a blank wall with a full-width lean-to; a piended brick out-house abuts this elevation.

The southern elevation is divided between the eastern wing to the right and the front block to the left. The wing contains a three-bay section with a door at ground floor to the left, a small window above, and a canted oriel window to the centre featuring partial coloured glazing; a further bay to the right contains windows at ground and first-floor levels. An advanced gable end to the right displays a stone-mullioned bipartite window at ground floor and an enlarged window at first-floor level with multi-pane glazing. The front block features an advanced gable end to the right with windows positioned to the left at ground floor and to the right at first-floor level. A bay to the left contains windows at ground and first-floor levels within a re-entrant angle.

The roof is covered with grey slate pitched roofing with stone skews and skewputts. Corniced ashlar chimney stacks rise from gableheads and ridges and extend from the eaves to the east; some square-section cans survive. Windows throughout are timber sash and case with plate glass glazing, though some four-pane surviving glazing remains to the rear elevations.

The interior contains decorative plasterwork ceilings and cornices in the principal rooms, along with timber classical fireplaces.

The boundary treatment includes rubble stone walls to the south, east and north-east, with a coped dwarf wall to the north and west. Corniced gatepiers mark the north-east and western approaches. A garden gateway features channelled pilasters framing a keystoned architraved round-arched opening with cornice and blocking course. An ashlar wall with triglyph frieze and cornice extends southward from this gateway. A brick wall encloses the eastern garden area.