Glenburn Hotel, Glenburn Road, Rothesay, Bute

Glenburn Hotel, Glenburn Road, Rothesay, Bute

The Glenburn Hotel is a substantial Victorian resort hotel, originally designed by John M Crawford in 1843 and substantially rebuilt between 1892 and 1894. It stands as a symmetrical four-storey building with basement, comprising fourteen bays and approached along a central axis. A distinctive five-storey, two-bay balustraded tower marks the centre, with flanking three-storey, two-bay advanced wings positioned above an arcaded loggia. A later two-storey harled addition with attic, whitewashed, extends to the outer left.

The primary construction material is squared and snecked tooled yellow sandstone with polished sandstone dressings. The building features a raised base course, architraved string and cill courses at the centre, and corniced eaves with consoled details in the slightly advanced bays flanking the centre. Windows feature raised polished margins, sandstone mullions to the bipartites, projecting cills, and pedimented, architraved windows in the two central bays at fifth floor level with corbelled cills.

The front elevation is dominated by a nine-bay arcaded loggia of yellow ashlar, centred on the building's façade. This comprises pilastered quoins, heavy channelling in the two outer bays, and architraved surrounds to the five central openings with raised keystones. Part-fluted Ionic pilasters are positioned between the openings. The loggia features corniced eaves, a balustraded parapet, and equally disposed tapering finials. Flanking the loggia are four-bay cast-iron segmental-arched verandahs with cast-iron balustrades, decorative columns, and stencil detailing set in spandrels, topped with ball-shaped finials above corniced eaves. A segmental-arched yellow ashlar porte-cochere to the southwest comprises panelled pilasters, architraved surround, raised keystone, corniced eaves, and ball finials set at parapet corners. A single-storey, nine-bay flat-roofed yellow ashlar addition extends to the side, with architraved surrounds to openings, projecting cills, and corniced eaves.

The northwest (entrance) elevation features a centred stair leading to a replacement two-leaf timber door with opaque-glass fanlight, flanked by single windows. Bipartite windows appear at ground level in the remaining bays to left and right, with one blind in the penultimate bay to the outer left. The upper floors are regularly fenestrated across all bays at first, second, third, and fourth levels, predominantly with bipartite windows in the outer bays and single windows at the centre; bipartite windows also appear at first and second floors in the advanced wings flanking the centre. The harled addition adjoins to the outer left.

The southwest (side) elevation features a four-bay pedimented block to the outer left and an eight-bay addition to the right. A segmental-arched porte-cochere at ground level in the penultimate bay to the outer left contains stairs to a two-leaf timber panelled door with plate-glass fanlight, moulded door-surround, and a frieze dated "1892" with cornice. A flanking cast-iron verandah mirrors those at the front (single bay to right, four bays to left). Two bipartite windows appear at ground in the remaining bays to the left, with a single-storey, nine-bay projection and single windows in all bays occupying the remaining bays to the right. The upper floors show predominantly single windows, with bipartites at first floor in the remaining bays to the right of the entrance and bipartites at all floors offset to the left of centre.

The windows throughout are predominantly two-pane timber sash and case, with six-pane upper and plate-glass lower timber casements set in the advanced wings to the front. The roof is covered in grey slate with replacement rainwater goods. Corniced ashlar ridge and wallhead stacks are present, though cans are missing.

The interior has been adapted for modern hotel use and retains some plaster cornice work, pilasters flanking the main stair, and Ionic columns.

The front terrace wall comprises a low coped wall with cast-iron balustrades flanking the main stair and regularly disposed panelled square-plan piers topped with ball-shaped finials. The boundary walls and gatepiers include a coped random rubble wall to Mount Stuart Road and stop-chamfered square-plan panelled ashlar piers flanking the entrance to Glenburn Road, with corniced circular caps surmounting modern lamps.

A pair of cottages of later nineteenth-century date, each single storey with basement and attic over three bays, stands to the east. These are constructed of whitewashed harl to the southeast and northwest, whitewashed brick to the west, and rendered brick to the east, with overhanging timber eaves, timber bracketed gables, slight segmental-arched openings, harled mullions to bipartites, and projecting stop-chamfered cills.

The southeast (entrance) elevation of the cottages features a centred boarded timber door at ground in the penultimate bay to the outer left beneath a gable, with bipartite fanlight and overhanging bracketed canopy, and a circular window centred in the apex above. Bipartite windows flank the entrance at ground level. A boarded timber door at ground in the penultimate bay to the outer right (offset to the left of gable centre) has a bipartite fanlight, with a small single window in the bay to the left and a bipartite window in the bay to the outer right. A round-arched attic window is centred in the apex.

The northwest (rear) elevation features a large boarded timber opening centred at ground, a slight segmental-arched opening in the bay to the right, and a single doorway in the bay to the left. Single windows appear at ground in the bays to the outer left and right, with single windows in three bays at first floor. The cottages feature six- and eight-pane timber sash and case windows, graded grey slate piends, and replacement rainwater goods. Coped ridge and wallhead stacks are present with various cans.