Baberton House

Baberton House

Baberton House is a three-storey house with attic, originally built as a Scottish Renaissance U-plan structure with court-style details by James Murray of Kilbaberton (Master of the King's Works) in 1622–23. The building was substantially altered and extended in 1765. It is constructed of tooled sandstone rubble with polished dressings, featuring a base course and moulded eaves cornice. The quoins are a mixture of buckle, strip, and long and short types. Windows are set within raised margins at ground level, rounded margins at first floor, and chamfered margins at second floor and attic.

The principal south-east elevation presents near-symmetrical composition. A substantial canted infill of 1765 advances the centre three bays forward. A glazed timber door with Gibbs surround and tooled keystone reading "1765" occupies the centre ground floor, surmounted by a crest comprising St Andrew's cross with four mullets. Flanking windows at ground floor are matched by regular fenestration to the first and second floors with an eaves blocking course. The outer bays to right and left are gabled and date to 1622. Each has a single window at ground floor, while first-floor windows are surmounted by carved segmental arched pediments: the right reads "IM 1622" (for James Murray) with a mullet at the apex, the left reads "KW" (for Katherine Weir) with a fleur de lys at the apex. Second-floor bays are similarly crowned with carved pediments, badly weathered, the left bearing a thistle at the apex.

The north-east elevation is asymmetrical with five bays. Windows to the first floor appear in the centre bay and penultimate bay to the left. A horizontal three-pane window sits at ground floor in the outer left bay, while a glazed small-pane timber door occupies the ground floor of the penultimate bay to the right. The outer right gabled bay contains windows to its centre at first and second floors; the second floor window features a pediment enclosing a mullet and carved strapwork with a thistle at the apex. A four-pane window set in the gablehead bears a scrolled apron and panelled architraves, surmounted by a segmental arched pediment.

The north-west elevation is asymmetrical with three bays and later additions and alterations. A lean-to addition spans the centre and right bays at ground floor, with a window to the left bay. A timber door to the right bay is flanked by a lean-to from an adjoining earlier 18th-century block. A barred bipartite window at ground floor left is flanked to the right by a small eight-pane window. The first floor shows regular fenestration across each bay. The second floor features curvilinear gableted dormers breaking the eaves to each bay: the central dormer bears a carved panel reading "1623", the left reads "IM", and the right is badly weathered, originally reading "KW". A six-pane window sits under the eaves between the centre and left bays.

The south-west elevation is asymmetrical with five bays, three of which to the left are gabled. Windows occupy the centre and outer left bays at ground floor. A boldly roll-moulded doorway with a two-leaf boarded timber door opens to the penultimate bay to the right at ground floor. An eight-pane stair window sits between ground and first floors in the outer right bay. A window to the penultimate bay to the left at first floor is matched by a window to the centre bay at second floor, flanked by a blinded window to the outer left. The outer right bay at second floor contains a window, while two four-pane windows with strapwork aprons to cills and lintels occupy the gablehead.

An earlier 18th-century addition in near rectangular plan stands advanced to the outer left corner, now converted to offices. Its south-west elevation features a bipartite window off-centre to the right at ground floor and a window at the centre of the first floor, with a rooflight off-centre to the right. The south-east elevation is asymmetrical with three bays: a tripartite window occupies the centre bay at ground floor, a bipartite window sits in the bay to the right, and windows appear at the centre and left bays of the first floor with a rooflight to the right. The north-east elevation displays a lean-to addition to the re-entrant angle to the left with the main block, an infilled doorway to the centre flanked to the right by a louvred window. The north-west elevation is asymmetrical with four bays, the outer left recessed. A doorway opens in the penultimate bay to the right, fitted with a glazed boarded timber door of 1798 featuring an ironwork doorhandle and letterbox. Regular fenestration appears to ground and first floors of the flanking bays to left and right.

Throughout, windows are predominantly twelve-pane timber sash and case. Grey slate roofs with stone ridges crown the 17th-century blocks, while piended roofs with lead ridges cover the 18th-century blocks. Moulded stone skews feature square-plan obelisk skewputts ornamented with strapwork; the majority of ball finials are missing. Gablehead stacks are predominantly coursed ashlar, stop-chamfered with moulded cornices and circular cans. Cast iron rainwater goods complete the exterior.

Interior

The interior contains fine 17th and 18th-century work. Vaulted 17th-century rooms occupy the north-east at ground floor. The 1765 board room to the south-east of ground floor, set within the infill, features wooden panels below the dado and a moulded cornice. A 1622 ashlar doorway flanked by reeded and fluted pilasters on strapwork pedestals opens to the south-west wall, leading to the west stair and marking the original house entrance.

The 17th-century dining room, now serving as a boardroom, opens from the principal floor via a stone architraved doorway off the west stair. It displays early 18th-century memel pine panelling with a round-headed niche surmounted by a shell, and a plaster cornice. A 17th-century stone fireplace, designed by James Murray but constructed in the 18th century, occupies the north-west wall, featuring three strapwork panels, the centre bearing the initials "IW" (James Murray).

An office to the north-east of the principal floor, formerly the withdrawing room, preserves a fine geometric plaster ceiling bearing component national symbols of Great Britain, surrounded by mullets. Two 17th-century doors serve the third floor: that to the west stair features ironwork studs, while that to the east stair displays inlaid marquetry. The room to the east corner of the third floor retains part of the original 17th-century angle turret. A polished stone fireplace occupies the east wall of the attic.

Setting and Boundary Features

Two pairs of square-plan gatepiers stand to the west of the house, each surmounted by ball finials with cyma recta coping. Gates to the north are of droved and stugged sandstone ashlar with flat coped rubble walls; gates to the south are of polished sandstone ashlar with rubble quadrant walls. The ironwork gates are modern replacements.