Remains of Poltalloch House, Kilmartin

Poltalloch House, built between 1849 and 1853, is a large, two-storey country house designed by William Burn in a Jacobean style. The house was arranged around a central courtyard. Following the removal of the roof in 1957, it became a ruin. The exterior is primarily white sandstone ashlar, with internal walls of random rubble and red brick. Architectural details include shaped quoins, a string course separating the ground and first floors, and a balustraded cornice topped with obelisk finials. Full-height canted bay windows are a prominent feature, each with a curvilinear gable above bearing a raised letter “M”. The windows originally had stone mullions and transoms, although many of these are no longer present. Ground floor windows of the main public rooms are set lower than those above. Surviving octagonal chimney stacks are also visible.

The east (entrance) elevation, seven bays wide, is asymmetrical. The entrance is off-centre, featuring a round-arched doorway framed by engaged Tuscan columns and an overhanging canted bay window. This bay is topped by a strapwork parapet with a semi-circular panel displaying the coat of arms of the Malcolm family flanked by two stags.

Adjacent to the east elevation is a truncated, single-storey and attic stable range, spanning seven bays, where the attic dormer windows no longer exist. A three-storey octagonal clock tower is situated in the space between the east elevation and the stable wing, while a similar two-storey tower is located at the east end of the stable range. Both towers have lost their strapwork parapets and ogee roofs. The stable range is distinguished by a shaped central gable above an archway.

The south elevation is symmetrical with six bays and canted bays on each end. A two-storey west wing is connected to a single-storey conservatory at its western end. The rear elevations are simpler in design.

An interior inspection was not possible in 2017 due to the building's condition. The visible areas revealed brick and stone walls, remnants of lath, and very little plaster. No flooring remains, including the ground floor which has collapsed into the basement.