Invergowrie House, Dundee

Invergowrie House is a substantial building with a complex history, dating back to around 1600. It began as an L-plan tower house, possibly incorporating earlier medieval elements, and was significantly altered in the late 18th century with the addition of a semi-circular office range. A major remodelling occurred in 1837 by William Burn, transforming the building into a U-plan design.

The house is constructed of rubble stone with ashlar dressings, largely added during Burn’s work. The west elevation is the most prominent, featuring a five-bay main section. The ground floor has a three-light ashlar oriel window, supported by corniced brackets, with a consoled balcony featuring fretworked balusters to its right. Above this is a first-floor gabletted window which penetrates the eaves. A corbelled first-floor turret sits at the angle to the right, with three small windows, two of which are blind. A semi-circular turret, from the original 1600 construction, is to the left of the oriel, corbelled out at ground floor level with small windows, one of which is blind. A bay to the far left represents the oldest part of the tower, with the windows enlarged; to the left of this, a single bay was advanced in the mid-19th century, featuring a crow-stepped attic gablet and a corbelled angle turret at first floor level.

The north elevation showcases a gabled, hoodmoulded porch and three bays added by Burn, with an earlier basement whose openings have been remodelled. First-floor gabletted windows also pierce the eaves. A tall wallhead stack is positioned between the second and third bays. A carved gablet head displaying the armorial bearings (PG: AN) of 1600 has been repositioned within the porch. A later crow-stepped gable is advanced to the right, incorporating a blocked ground floor window and a stack. The south elevation, mostly designed by Burn in 1837, includes a set-back gable on the left. It features a ground floor band course, a first floor string course, and gabletted windows piercing the eaves. Swept, conical-roofed angle turrets flank the south elevation; the turret on the right corbels out at the second floor, while the turret on the left rises three storeys. The set-back gable on the left, dating back to 1600, has a ground floor canted and corniced oriel, crow steps, and a stack incorporated by Burn.

A fine, semi-circular service court is located on the west side, featuring a central pend flanked by garage doors. A two-bay section to the south was raised to two storeys in the mid-19th century with a shallow crow-stepped gable. This section has unfortunately been cleaned of stone and now has a modern sun lounge to the south. The main range of the west wing contains three crow-stepped gables, with a projecting kitchen stack on the north wing.

The courtyard elevation includes two stair towers; the tower on the right, constructed in 1837, has a catslide roof and margined windows, while the tower on the left is earlier and features a conical roof with original window openings. Modern steps and a first floor porch give access. A ground floor extension with a lean-to roof by Burn, incorporating a gabletted window (now a door) next to a blocked entrance, is also present. A later two-storey, one-bay crow-stepped projection now obscures the left stair tower.

The interior highlights include a vaulted basement area with thick walls on the west elevation, egg and dart cornices to the ground and first floors of the south wing, a coombed ceiling on the first floor of the west block, some marble chimneypieces, a main horseshoe stair with a coved and corniced plaster ceiling, and a turnpike stair by Burn. The building has slate roofs, swept conical turrets topped with finials; older slate covers the two turrets on the west elevation. Tall margined stacks are present, and an unusual circular-plan stack rises into an eight-sided star-plan at the northwest corner. Windows are sash and case with a predominantly 12-pane glazing pattern.