Tower, Service Court, Biel

Tower, Service Court, Biel

A Tudor style country house with a complicated building history spanning several centuries, sited on ground falling steeply to the south.

The building possibly evolved as follows. A square, four-storey pele tower was extended circa 1650 to the west by six irregularly spaced bays, and simultaneously long buttressed three-tier terraces were created. The west extension was possibly modified circa 1750, accompanied by interior re-decoration. In 1806, William Atkinson made two-storey additions to the east and west, creating a 500-foot facade (largely demolished 1952), added a fifth storey and bartizan to the tower, and made various unifying alterations and additions to existing openings including hoodmoulds, chamfered reveals and enlargements. A chapel was created by R Rowand Anderson in 1883 (demolished 1952) out of a former conservatory at the west end.

The tower is constructed in red sandstone rubble with coursed, droved west extension and ashlar dressings. Atkinson's work is in stugged stone with ashlar dressings, battlemented parapets and an octagonal bartizan. Three-storey and basement bays to the south are harled.

The north (entrance) elevation has an ashlar base course and ashlar entrance porch, moved post-1928 from an earlier position and adapted on the east extension. The porch is square, projecting and battlemented with a hoodmouled door and windows on returns, and a carved armorial door over the doorway breaking the parapet. The elevation has regular fenestration with a buttress marking the gable of the three-storey block at the west, with two two-storey bays beyond, each with two ground floor windows and a central timber mullioned, Perpendicular traceried tripartite window above. Three projecting two-storey bays to the outer left (1806) are adjoined to the tower, with a four-centred window at the centre to the ground floor and lancet windows above and flanking. An octagonal battlemented stair turret is adjoined to the west end of the north side of the tower, with arrow-slits leading to the battlements. Atkinson's curtain walls carry an estate office and garage added to the outer left.

The south (garden) elevation shows the tower to the right with a four-centred ground floor window, a larger first floor window and a two-light second floor and three-light second floor window, two lancets to the third floor flanking armorial carving and a square tripartite window above a string course in the fourth floor, with ashlar corner buttresses. Six three-storey and basement bays extend to the centre, with three regularly grouped to the right (with French door onto double stair in the left bay and windows to each remaining bay at each floor reducing in size), and three bays to the left with arrow-slit lancets to the left of centre to a former stair, and two widely-spaced regular bays to the left with windows matching those to the right. To the left a two-storey block has three windows at ground floor and a tripartite above at centre, with a flight of steps to the outer corner leading to the site of the former chapel.

The east elevation comprises curtain walls of the 1806 additions adjoined, serving to bound a kitchen garden and leading to the service court further east.

The west elevation is gabled with octagonal stacks on skews, a pair to the left and a trio to the right. A rectangular single-storey battlemented porch at ground level has a pointed arched doorway, and a gothic bipartite opening at first floor. The elevation has studded doors, twelve-pane glazing to regular windows, and horizontal-pane glazing to mullioned, Perpendicular, sash and case traceried windows. Large coped ridge and gable stacks are present, covered with grey-green slates and punctuated with skylights.

The interior retains a wooden newel stair in the earlier part and a vaulted basement. Some circa 1750 work survives, including a fine timber stair with barley sugar and turned balustrade, and a bolection moulded dining room (former library) chimneypiece with lugged timber surround. Moxon and Carfrae carried out interior decoration in 1831. Panelled doors have carved and gilded architraves. The Tapestry Room was decorated by Robert Lorimer circa 1887 to display early eighteenth-century tapestries and has a fine chimneypiece with blue and white tiles.

Terrace walls are constructed in rubble stone with gablet coping.

The chapel, demolished in 1952, left behind a chequered stone floor tiled retained in situ. Red sandstone gothic aumbry, sacrament house and corbelled piscina (Rowand Anderson, 1883) and a pink sandstone bellcote comprised of a pinnacle flanked by ogee with Celtic cross are embedded in or set against walls. A pond was formed from two hoodmoulds.

Extensive boundary walls include a rubble boundary wall by the drive coped with stugged coursed stone battlements. Steps cut down lead to a four-centred arched gateway to the west in the boundary wall to the west of the house, with a panel and lamp standard above flanked by decorative wrought-ironwork. A gothic summer house at the close of the first terrace is constructed in stugged stone and is buttressed.

A pointed arch, buttressed gateway by Atkinson of 1806 leads to the service court. Two square, pyramid-capped gatepiers flank the drive in a wall bisecting the drive to the north.

The kennels, dating to 1864, comprise a five-bay lean-to structure against the boundary wall bisecting the drive to the east, constructed in stugged stone with chamfered reveals to five kennel doors, grey slates, a parapet and railed courtyard to the north kennel.

The service court, created by William Atkinson in 1806, forms an assorted group of offices to the east of the house, including work of 1864, which was in a neglected state in 1988. The buildings are constructed in stugged red sandstone with chamfered reveals to openings, and some retain grey slate roofs. A battlemented corner tower adjoined to the dairy has a ventilator, multi-pane windows and a louvred window.