Laurieston Hall

Laurieston Hall is a large, rambling country house constructed over several periods, from the 17th century to the early 20th century. The house is characterized by an asymmetrical arrangement of wings, with the most significant section being a large, eastern and southern block in an Edwardian Renaissance style.

A prominent five-story square tower dominates the north side. The lower three stories likely date to the early 17th century and were raised and given a decorative "baronial" roofline in 1893 by the architects Sydney Mitchell and Wilson. The tower has harled (roughcast) walls with 19th-century sandstone window surrounds. Rebuilding in 1893 incorporated polished sandstone with corbelled angle rounds and conical roofs. A square plan caphouse with an ogee roof sits on the southeast angle, providing access to a small wall walk with decorative balustrading; a weathervane is dated 1893. A string course is located at the fourth and fifth-floor sill levels, stepping down around some windows. The roof is slate-covered, and a tall sandstone wallhead stack with a deep cornice is found on the west side.

Early 20th-century wings extend to the south and east, forming a square, two-story block with an attic. These wings are in the Edwardian Renaissance style and feature harled walls, giant order Ionic angle pilasters, polished sandstone base courses, raised polished sandstone window margins, and continuous cill bands. The windows are single or tripartite sash windows with a 12-pane glazing pattern.

The eastern elevation is asymmetrical and wide, with four bays. The two bays on the right are advanced, and the innermost one is taller, featuring a semi-circular pediment with flanking ball finials and a projecting, corniced porte cochere on the ground level.

The southern (garden) elevation is symmetrical with three bays. The central bay features a Venetian window with French doors on the ground floor and three single-light windows on the first floor. Deep timber eaves, a steep-pitched platform slate roof, and projecting dormers are also present. A smaller, two-story, three-bay symmetrical block is recessed to the south, with single windows matching the details described above. A panel on the first floor is dated 1906 and inscribed “LMH,” representing the owner, Huchieson.

A mid-19th-century, lower, single-story wing with an attic is located on the southwest side, built in a Gothic style. Bowed bays punctuated by an embattled parapet and hood-moulded windows flank a pointed arch full-height double door set within a crowstepped gable. This originally conveyed the appearance of a pend (covered walkway) access to a courtyard, although a later building has presumably negated this function.

The interior includes good plaster cornices and ceiling work. Most rooms feature panelled doors and shutters. Edwardian neo-Jacobean carved timber chimneypieces are found in the hall.