Greywalls, Duncur Road, Gullane

Greywalls, Duncur Road, Gullane

Sir Edwin Lutyens designed this two-storey Arts and Crafts house in 1901, comprising interlocking ground plans: an L-plan to the west with a curved inner angle, linking with a U-plan to the east and an attic floor. Sir Robert Lorimer added a T-plan nursery wing to the west elevation in 1911. In 1972, a long single-storey extension was added to the east elevation to provide further bedroom accommodation.

The house is built of roughly squared and snecked Rattlebag stone with pantile sections forming decorative lintel detail. Windows throughout are small-paned glazing in square casement frames.

The south (entrance) elevation presents a curved, symmetrical frontispiece with five bays at the centre. This breaks the eaves with a parapet raised in panels above the first-floor windows, flanked by raised stacks, whilst the outer bays have swept eaves. The central doorway features a consoled, swan-neck Baroque pediment with a moulded lugged architrave and inscribed keystone. An oval detail paves the entrance and extends into the vestibule. A window sits above this doorway with narrow windows to the flanking bays near the stacks. Polygonally roofed summer houses occupy the boundary walls extending southwest and southeast; the western summer house has had its roll-moulded doorway altered to a window. The nursery wing is concealed by a wall to the west.

The east elevation shows a five-bay symmetrical U-plan opening onto a walled garden. Three centre bays are recessed with a raised and gabled centre bay flanked by loggias at ground level and jettied first-floor work with multi-light windows under eaves. A decorative sundial adorns the gablehead. The gabled advanced outer bays feature diminishing window sizes from ground to single attic lights in the gableheads.

The north (Muirfield Links) elevation displays regularly windowed gabled bays advancing irregularly to the right. An arched doorway sits by a re-entrant angle at the centre, set in a gabled bay with a battered stack rising through the left skew. Various other doors punctuate this elevation.

Grey pantiles cover the roof and form the coping of chimney stacks and single-storey modern additions. A square, small-paned lantern with a leaded dome roof crowns the entrance bay.

The interior retains much original work at ground-floor level, including keyblocked archways, decorative cornices, and panelled doors. A panelled library is present. Simple chimneypieces feature marble surrounds.

Three two-storey lodges stand southwest of the house: a mirrored pair to north and south, and a larger lodge to the east at the centre. All are built of random Rattlebag stone with small-pane casement windows and piended pantile roofs with rubble stacks.

The north and south lodges have square plans with a forestair to the inner elevation. A keystoned roll-moulded surround frames the doorway beneath the forestair, with an architraved doorway at the top of the stair. Panelled doors sit above a raised ashlar band course at first-floor level, aligned with ashlar coping adjoining the rubble boundary walls.

The eastern lodge has an L-plan with a symmetrical west elevation. Two first-floor windows sit under eaves, with a central doorway featuring a raised quoin and keystoned rusticated surround. An ashlar cill course at first-floor level is continuous with the parapet of boundary walls to north and south. A piend-roofed rear wing extends to the east with an adjoining lower piend-roofed outbuilding.

Garden walls and gateways are built of Rattlebag rubble with grey pantiled gablet coping. The garden landscaping and layout were designed by Gertrude Jekyll. A sunk croquet lawn lies to the north with a rubble retaining wall and stone steps. A haha separates the garden from the golf course to the north. Round arched gateways in the walled gardens to the south feature boarded timber doors and droved rays in their surrounds. A garden seat is set in a recessed panel of a gabled bay in the south boundary wall, with a mandorla oculus above.

Outer gatepiers are channelled ashlar rectangular piers with moulded caps. Inner gatepiers comprise two pairs arranged between the lodges: ashlar piers with moulded bases and capitals, angles, and raised pilasters to ingoes with carved scroll capitals.