Hopes House

Hopes House is a substantial classical mansion, likely designed by James Burn around 1823, and possibly built on the site of an earlier house. It is constructed on a square, three-bay plan with a basement and two upper storeys. The west front is faced with white ashlar sandstone, while the other sides are harled with band courses and a cornice to each face, set on a raised base course.

The west (entrance) elevation is accessed by a raised and swept drive featuring decorative iron railings and an arched opening at the centre. The façade displays stepped articulation, culminating in a segmentally curved Ionic portico with flanking pilasters and a balustraded balcony. A round arched door is surmounted by a decorative fanlight, with panelled two-leaf doors and flanking semi-circular leaded windows; a first-floor window is positioned behind the balcony. The outer bays are advanced, featuring segmental tripartite windows to the principal floor with blind outer lights and decorative fanlights above. The first floor also incorporates windows, and there are blind windows at basement level.

The north and south elevations each have three bays, with windows centrally placed and grouped towards the west front. The eastern elevation incorporates a late 19th-century two-storey addition to the basement and principal floor, set into rising ground. This addition is harled and includes segmental service entrances and further later additions to the south. A tripartite window is located centrally on the main house, to both the principal and first floors, with a blind light at the centre and a basement doorway beneath.

Sash windows are fitted with a 12-pane glazing pattern. The roof is slate, with lead flashings and two late 19th-century piend dormers, along with ridge and wallhead stacks.

The interior retains fine neo-classical details, including a square stairwell with a circular cupola on pendentives, a tripartite vestibule screen with a decorative fanlight, panelled dadoes, and full panelling to the dining room. Most of the chimneypieces remain original, featuring classical marble designs. An oval room is situated on the principal floor at the front, while a service stair is located in a well at the rear.

The gates and gatepiers, dating back to circa 1823, consist of square section ashlar piers with a base and cornice, topped by decorative urn finials. The gates themselves are of late 19th-century decorative wrought-iron, replacing the original.

Hopes House was originally built for the Hays of Yester, likely as a dower house. It has been restored in recent years. The classical design, particularly the form of the tripartite windows strongly points to the work of James Burn, whose work in Haddington is similar. The portico evokes a shallower version of the design by Robert Adam at Lauderdale House, Dunbar. A walled garden and cottage to the east are not included within this listing.