Blackwood House

Blackwood House is a composite country house with a tower house at its core, dating back several centuries and significantly altered over time. The south front presents a near-symmetrical appearance in a Jacobean style, constructed primarily of red ashlar stone, with the rest of the building having a harled finish. The original tower house was altered to incorporate three regular bays, and the house was extended to the west, evidenced by an elaborate lead rainwater head dated 1750 on the north wall. The south range was built in two phases. In 1927, canted windows, a porch, dormer heads, and three bays to the west were added, and the remaining bays were likely re-faced at that time, with the original construction dating back to the earlier 19th century. Two advanced, gabled bays each feature a two-storey canted window, and a pilastered square porch provides access through a door with a large fanlight. The ground floor windows are hood-moulded cross windows, while the upper windows have pedimented dormer heads. The north elevation has been extensively altered and extended with asymmetrical wings, including some tripartite openings and loggias. Corniced stacks rise from the roof, which is covered in slate. The house is set within its own grounds. The poet and mason Allan Cunningham was born at Blackwood, the son of an estate employee. An earlier 19th-century sketch by W C Aitken depicts the south elevation in its earlier or mid-19th century form; the original sketch is held at Dumfries museum, and a copy is at the National Records of Scotland.