Castle Stead House, 3, 4 Castle Place, Montrose

Castle Stead House, located at 3 and 4 Castle Place in Montrose, features an early 19th century facade that incorporates earlier elements. The building is single storey with a basement and has a three-bay, castellated front, while the connected house at the rear rises three storeys. The front is constructed of sandstone ashlar, with painted lined render on the sides and rear. Notable architectural features include a band course above the basement, a ground floor cill course, a cornice, and a crenellated parapet.

The northwest (principal) elevation has an eight-step stone flight leading to a round-arched entrance, which is partly infilled and features two-leaf doors. Above the entrance is a corbel course. The flanking bays contain full-height canted windows, while a single bay to the right is set back.

The southwest elevation is blank at the front and adjoins 5 Castle Place at the rear. The northeast elevation has a blank wall on the right that is advanced, with a door and window in the return. The central section is set back, featuring paired windows on the ground floor and single windows on the first and second floors. The gable end to the left has a single window offset to the right on the first floor.

The building has timber sash and case windows, with 12 panes on the front and 8 panes on the side. The rear has a grey slate pitched roof, while the front has a flat roof. There are two gablehead stacks and one ridge stack on the house at the rear, along with two wallhead stacks on the sides of the front section.

Inside, the ground floor room in the house at the rear boasts an exceptional deeply embossed ceiling with an unusual pattern, along with moulded timber or plaster cornices and an architraved and corniced timber fireplace. The rest of the interior has been modernized and converted to offices.

The boundary walls and railings consist of a coped, rendered wall at the front, topped with cast-iron railings that feature alternately decorative finials above the basement.