Forrest Lodge Of Kells

Forrest Lodge of Kells is a two-storey and attic house of 1910, designed by G Ramsay Thomson of Dumfries, built in an asymmetrical Scottish Arts and Crafts style. The house has harled walls with granite cills. The eastern elevation features an advanced gabled bay to the left with a round tower at the southern angle, and a gabled bay to the right with a further two-storey round tower centrally positioned, incorporating an architraved doorpiece. The simple timber front door has good Arts and Crafts door furniture. A corbelled string course runs above ground level, stepping up to form a heraldic panel above the door.

The south elevation is in an L-plan, with a wide, advanced gabled bay to the left, a three-storey round tower in the re-entrant angle featuring an architraved ground-floor entrance, and a five-bay range to the right with a crowstepped gablet over the centre. All windows are sash and case with 12-pane glazing. The gables are crowstepped with skewputts, and a roll-moulded band runs along the eaves. The slate roofs have corniced axial and wallhead stacks. The house was initially built for J Wood Esq MP. Illustrations and plans were published in The Builder, New Series, Volume 113, October 10, 1913, page 509.