Hamilton House, Prestonpans

Hamilton House, Prestonpans

Dated 1628, probably incorporating earlier fabric, with later additions and alterations. A single storey and attic laird's house of asymmetrical U-plan with crowstepped gables, harled and whitewashed with chamfered stone margins and strip quoins to stacks.

The principal west elevation is six bays, comprising a two-bay central section with projecting gabled wings to outer left and right creating an open courtyard. An entrance stair tower is engaged in the re-entrant angle to the right, and a corbelled turret at attic level is engaged in the re-entrant angle to the left; both break the eaves. The central section contains a pair of windows at ground level with a pair of piended dormerheads breaking the eaves aligned above. The outer left has single small windows at ground and attic. The canted south stair tower features a central doorpiece at ground level with roll-moulded jambs surmounted by a decoratively tooled broken pediment, with cornice continued as a string course. The door is vertically boarded and studded timber. The pediment contains a shield centred in a scrolled cartouche, divided per pale with 3 cinquefoils to dexter and 3 crescents over mullet to sinister (arms of Hamilton and Simpson), together with a crescent, star and date 1628 within foliate decoration. Above is a moulded window surmounted by a broken pediment; the lintel bears a tooled inscription reading 'Praised be the Lord My Strength and My Redeimer' with a pointing index finger, winged cherub and thistle to the pediment. The turret corbelled out to the left has a small window centred at attic. The return to the right contains a window centred at ground, a window aligned above hugging the eaves, and an infilled former doorway to the left. The return to the left has a window to left of centre at ground, a window in a part-infilled former door to the right, and a window centred at attic hugging the eaves. A roll-moulded segmental-arched pedestrian gate with modern timber door projects to the street at outer left. Single bay gables to right and left each contain a window to right at attic.

The south elevation is three bays with regular fenestration at ground level and gabled dormerheads breaking the eaves aligned above at attic, bearing decoratively tooled pediments and decorative cinquefoil finials. The centre pediment displays an intertwined monogram of letters I, H, K, S (for John Hamilton and Katherine Simpson), flanked by the date 1628, with a crucifix cipher rising from the left limb of letter H at the apex. The pediment to the left contains a shield centred in a scrolled cartouche with 3 cinquefoils, flanked by initials I, H. The pediment to the right is divided per fess with 3 crescents over single mullet, flanked by initials K, S. A 19th-century postbox is located at outer right at ground level.

The east elevation is four bays with gabled outer bays. A door with vertically-boarded timber door is at outer left; a segmental-arched doorway and window are to left of centre at ground, and a pair of windows are to right of centre at ground. Paired gabled dormerheads with decorative pediments break the eaves flanking centre. A small window to left of centre at attic is in the gable to the left; a window to right of centre at attic is in the gable to the right. Evidence of a former wall remains to the left of centre at ground in the left gable.

The north elevation has ground floor obscured by wall; three gabled dormerheads with decorative pediments break the eaves, with a single window hugging the eaves to outer right.

Windows are predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case. The roof is graded grey slate with stone ridge. Cast-iron rainwater goods are fitted throughout. Stacks are gablehead, ridge and shouldered wallhead types, corniced and coped with circular cans. Stone skews with beaked skewputts complete the roof detailing.

The interior has been modernised. The Hall contains a large contemporary fireplace with shields and the intertwined monogram of letters I, H, K, S, and window arches with large decorative corbelled supports. A variety of wall cupboards and moulded stone fireplaces are distributed throughout, with exposed beams in the Hall.

The boundary walls, doorway, gatepiers and railings date to circa 1930. A low coped rubble wall with ashlar coping and gatepiers incorporates a geometric-pattern iron gate and railings, incorporated into an earlier rubble-coped rubble wall at the principal elevation. A rubble coped random rubble wall adjoins the house to the right at the south elevation, incorporating a vertically-boarded timber pedestrian gate to the left and a corniced architraved doorway with modern timber door to the right.