Craigdarroch

Craigdarroch is a Classical mansion, dated 1729, likely designed by William Adam. It was originally built for Alexander Ferguson of Craigdarroch and Annie Laurie. The house has two storeys and an attic over a raised basement. The exterior is painted render with contrasting margins and rusticated quoins.

The east elevation has seven bays, with the inner bay slightly advanced and topped by a pediment. The central doorway originally had channelled margins and a pedimented doorpiece, but this was altered to accommodate a porch and a broad, straight flight of steps added in the mid-19th century. The doorpiece was repaired in 1932 when the porch was removed. A segmental-arched window is located on the first floor, and a blind oculus and urn finials adorn the main pediment. The other windows are square-headed sashes with 12-pane glazing (9-pane at basement level). An eaves/lintel band and a main cornice run across all elevations. The roof is piended and slate, with swept eaves, and is topped by corniced stacks with rusticated quoins. The flanking elevations each have four bays and incorporate a corbelled oriel to the south, added in the mid-19th century. The house now has an L-shaped plan, with a rear wing extending the north elevation by three additional bays. A low, flat-roofed library with an urn finial and a loggia to the south was added in 1932. A former west door, now a window, is located in the re-entrant angle and is framed by a later moulded architrave with a depressed ogee head and segmental pediment. An open court is situated on the north side, alongside the chapel, which has a canted north end and a facetted, steeply pitched slate roof.

The interior incorporates earlier fabric, including a spiral stair, which was altered, probably in the mid-19th century. Some wall partitions were removed, and the finely carved main stair was modified, with wall panelling added to create a Jacobean effect. A fine chimney piece with Classical ornament sits on the south wall of the inner hall, flanked by alcoves, and is complemented by modillion cornices. The dining room, located in the rear wing, features "neo-Georgian" ornamentation. The chapel has a gallery supported by a single central column and a crown-post roof. Three leaded windows are present; two are blocked, and one was made by Ward & Hughes, London, in 1890.

The rear wing was not depicted on the first edition Ordnance Survey (surveyed 1856). Alterations to the main stair are similar to work undertaken at Capenoch, designed by David Bryce in 1854. The west door resembles the main door at Ross Mains (1728), Kirkmichael.