Service Wing, Springkell House

The service wing of Springkell House is a medium-scale, tripartite-plan Palladian mansion, dated 1734, with flanking wings added in 1818, possibly by Alexander Johnstone, and further remodelled circa 1894 when it was converted to a shooting lodge. The house was built primarily of yellow ashlar with slate roofs.

The original house has a seven-bay south elevation distinguished by a giant, pilastered centrepiece in the Ionic style. The pilasters unusually rise from the basement, and a pediment is raised above the wallhead, featuring two semi-circular lights and a crest in the tympanum. A perron was added around 1840. The main door and flanking windows are set within pilastered, round-arched panels with monogrammed tympana, while other openings have architraves. Rusticated quoins are present, and a cornice runs along the wallhead. A roof balustrade is likely contemporary with the later wings. The north elevation is plainer, with an advanced ashlar-built centre, flanked by rubble-built bays. A square porch, likely from 1818, and a heavy porte-cochere, dating from circa 1894, are also prominent. The elevation features a cornice and a plain parapet. Three axial stacks are present; the central one is transversely positioned and not original. The roof is piended and slate-covered, originally featuring a platform.

The wings are deep in plan, set back from the main front on the south, but boldly advanced to the north. They are single-storied with a basement. The south-facing elevation of the east wing has a small attic. A wide bay is set forward, featuring a window within a round-headed panel with urns over the angles. The north elevations each have four bays. The west end elevation exhibits a three-light bow window near the south end.

The service court, also dating from 1818, is formed by two parallel ranges adjoining the east wing and linked at the east. The upper floors of the court were jettied out circa 1894, featuring casement windows and harled walls. Outer first-floor windows break through the eaves and have blocked cornices. A Doric-columned porch is located in the northeast re-entrant angle. Balustrades and piers define the north basement area and the south garden terrace, complemented by architectural garden ornaments.

The interior, largely dating from circa 1894, includes an oak-panelled entrance hall with marble-columned screens. The library, music room (originally a drawing room), and dining room, located in the west wing, are well-detailed. The original house shares stylistic similarities with William Adam’s House of Dun, circa 1728, and Cumbernauld, circa 1730. The house was originally built for the Maxwell family and was sold to J E Johnston-Ferguson in 1894.