Lodge, Ashcliffe, Perth Road, Dundee

Harris Academy, located at 470 Perth Road, Dundee, is a school building designed by Donald Ross of Thoms and Wilkie, constructed between 1926 and 1928. The building is arranged around a courtyard plan with a central hall, and includes basement, two- and three-storey elements.

The north elevation features an advanced entrance approach accessed by a footbridge, flanked by metal lamps. A prominent open segmental pediment, supported by brackets decorated with lion heads and faces, shelters armorial bearings. The entrance surround incorporates paterae and a keystone. Canted sides add detail, and the east and west wings are swept back from the centre, with the centre three bays featuring recessed groups of four lower-floor windows and paired horizontal windows on the first floor. A cornice and blocking course run along the top. Stair bays project at angles, and ground floor doors are flanked by arched lights. Tripartite windows and a segmental wallhead feature are also present.

The south elevation is constructed of 38 bays of rendered brick with ashlar cill and band courses, and has a rock-faced basement with five small windows and two play shelters set on stone-clad piers. Single and bipartite windows are positioned above the basement. The central section is emphasized by two pairs of ashlar bays with arched recesses, with similar end stair bays. A central oculus is filled with green tiles.

The east and west elevations feature flat-roofed returns extending from the north and south blocks. These are connected by reinforced-concrete corridors and include five-light mullioned toilet blocks with a parapet and a pavilion-roofed belvedere. Modern wings have been added to the western elevation, but are not included in the listing.

The courtyard elevations are bisected by the central hall. Rendered classroom walls are visible on the north side, while corridors run along the south, east and west, incorporating reinforced concrete with glazed and rendered panels. Flat roofs are consistent across these areas. The hall includes clerestory lights. A small, square clock cupola with a lead roof and a globe finial rises above the building. Slate roofs cover the classrooms, while flat concrete roofs are used over the corridors and stairs. Metal-framed hopper glazing is used throughout.

The interior remains largely as originally constructed. A panelled war memorial is located in the entrance hall, and the hall itself features a suspended barrel-vaulted ceiling and a folding partition.

The Janitor’s House, formerly the lodge of Ashcliffe, was originally designed in 1850 by Charles Wilson for W E Baxter, MP, and was later altered by Thoms and Wilkie. It is a single-storey and attic structure with a two-storey and attic rear, built of ashlar. The original design includes a two-bay arcade facing Perth Road, and a blind attic storey. A canted bay extends to the west, while the south and west elevations are three-storey. Bipartite attic windows break the eaves. A wallhead stack, a piended slate roof, and sash and case windows complete the exterior. A low boundary wall with railings remains, along with three square, chamfered gate piers and modern gates.