Dronley House

Dronley House is a large, late Arts and Crafts style villa, likely dating from circa 1925 and attributed to the architects William Allan and William Friskin. It is a two-storey and attic building with a double-pile plan and an irregular layout, accompanied by a single-storey and attic garage wing. The exterior is largely harled, with some ashlar dressings and a weathered red tile roof. Most windows are timber-framed casements, predominantly single, bi-, and tripartite designs featuring transoms and mullions, with some original metal astragals remaining. Deep boarded eaves are present, along with cast-iron rainwater goods, a decorative hopper on the west side, a steep bell-cast roof with terracotta ridge tiles, and moulded ashlar-capped stacks with uniform red cans rising through a partially concealed attic storey in a valley.

The north elevation features an advanced gabled stairwell with a cross window. A doorway is set at the right return, featuring a painted doorcase and a decoratively moulded lintel under a swept-down roof, with a gable projecting through the eaves and a window to the left return. There are four windows at ground floor level on the left, and two at the first floor, arranged asymmetrically, all retaining original astragals. A single-storey projection with a window is situated at the left return, complemented by a cross window in a lop-sided gable on the first floor. A low linking bay, recessed to the outer left, contains a door and window and connects to a pyramidal-roofed garage with sliding doors, which also has a window at the left return. A modern lean-to greenhouse and a dormer window are also present.

The south elevation showcases a prominent, eight-light canted window advanced at the left, clasping the left angle under a swept-down roof and deep eaves. A tripartite window is situated to the right, with two further tripartite windows at the first floor, and the wallhead rises to create a wide cat-slide roof. A cross window is situated at the first floor on the right return. A range extending from the north elevation on the right incorporates unsympathetic sliding glass doors recessed at ground floor under a steep, swept-down cat-slide roof. A blind bay with a brick ventilation feature is further recessed at the far right, connecting to the garage at the outer right, featuring a four-light window.

The west elevation is M-gabled, with a swept-down design on the right, incorporating two cross windows at both ground and first floor levels.

The interior retains many original features, including moulded chimney pieces and some light fittings. The en-suite drawing and dining rooms boast cornices and beams decorated with Arts and Crafts style floreate and foliate plasterwork. Original stippled paintwork is preserved on the doors, architraves, staircase, scale, and platt balusters.

Two snecked rubble gate piers with mannered pyramidal caps are situated at the west, connected by round-coped quadrants. A recently planted formal garden sits within the extensive wooded grounds, which contribute to the overall amenity of the house. It is believed that William Friskin designed the property, and the original interior work is a particularly notable feature.