Pavilion, Ballencrieff

The remains of Ballencrieff consist of the shell of a mansion, largely destroyed by fire in 1868 and subsequently abandoned. The building's construction occurred across multiple phases, with additions made in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, leading to a double-pile structure. The north front was rendered and given a symmetrical appearance, featuring a tripartite facade with recessed ends; the surviving left end retains a gable. At its core lies a long, rectangular tower, showcasing a 1625 dormer head on its exposed south face. The tower incorporates three storeys, including a vaulted basement, with openings arranged in a generally regular pattern. A kitchen fireplace gable is positioned asymmetrically within the plan. The south front was extended eastward by a narrower, slightly taller wing, its gable being skew-ended, while the tower’s gables were originally crow-stepped and featured an 18th-century Venetian window at the first floor, of which only the soffit arch now remains. The building is constructed of rubble with ashlar dressings, including window and chimney margins, and cornices, with some brickwork also present.

A walled garden, also built of rubble and ashlar, extends to the west. A two-story, four-bay pavilion, dating to circa 1730, survives to the west. Originally a laundry, it is now a farmhouse, exhibiting white harled walls, ashlar dressings, plate glass sash windows, a grey-slated roof with swept eaves, a central ridge, and two wallhead stacks.

A nearby stone bearing a date, likely 1596, suggests possible work on the tower during that time. Tradition attributes the tower’s construction to John Murray, 1st Lord Elibank. Ballencrieff was formerly "the most extensive barony in the parish," according to the Old Statistical Account. Originally, the north entrance elevation comprised a five-bay, advanced section with a corniced and pedimented centre, flanked by gabled wings, and connected to the main house by screen walls with pavilions.