Grotto And Garden Walls, The Manse, High Street, Aberlady

The Manse, Grotto and Garden Walls date from around 1843, likely remodelled by Burn and Bryce and built on the site of an earlier manse. The building is two storeys with a basement and is constructed of white-painted harl with ashlar margins, incorporating Tudor detailing.

The south elevation features a centrally positioned door within an advanced gabled bay with an ashlar surround. The first-floor level is jettied and supported by a corbel course. There is a first-floor window and a blank plaque above a steeply pitched gable. A stair window is located to the right, with a chamfered window set within a corbelled squinch at the first floor within a re-entrant angle. A narrow bay to the left contains two basement windows, a ground floor window, and a first-floor window breaking the eaves within a gabled ashlar dormerhead. A broad gabled bay is positioned to the outer left, with windows on both the ground and first floors. The east and west gabled elevations exhibit irregular window openings.

The north elevation has two tripartite windows at ground floor level, and three first-floor windows breaking the eaves within gabled ashlar dormerheads. The windows are predominantly sash and case with a 12-pane glazing pattern; margined plate glass is present in the window to the left of the front door. The roof is covered in grey slates and has coped ashlar stacks topped with decorative cans. Gable finials are also present.

The garden walls are constructed of rubble with a semi-circular cope, curving as an overthrow to a pointed arched gateway with a wooden door and decorative ironwork hinges on the south side.

A Gothic grotto sits within the rear garden, adjoining the garden walls. This early 19th-century structure comprises an arcaded chamber with two pointed arched doorways flanked by windows, built with rubble and featuring tufa and pebble rockwork.

Mapwork identifies the location of the earlier manse on the main road beside the church. The new Manse, set back behind a wall and possibly incorporating elements of the original building, was built for Rev J H Tait, minister from 1861-1878. The grotto bears a strong resemblance to the Gosford Ice House, which is listed separately.