Archerfield

Archerfield

A classical mansion with a complex building history, currently in a partially gutted and unoccupied state, having recently served as a grain store.

The house began as a late 17th-century, three-storey classical building on a U-plan with three-bay wings to the north and south, the wings running between chimney stacks to east and west. Around 1730, a substantial western wing was added, enclosing the original U-plan. The different dates of construction are evident from differing eaves cornices and masonry. In 1790, a canted gable projecting wing was added to the centre of the east range of the earlier house. Around 1800, two two-storey single-room additions were placed in the re-entrant angles formed by the canted projection, and the western wing was extended to north and south by two-storey single-bay extensions.

The earlier house is constructed in random red rubble with ashlar margins. The western wing features a red ashlar frontage with grey ashlar dressings and a centre bay.

The western elevation presents a symmetrical Baroque frontage of circa 1730, with a wide canted bay. The original doorpiece has been removed and the doorway enlarged. The centre bay displays raised quoins at outer angles with Gibbsian surrounds to the ground floor. The centrepiece contains fluted Ionic pilasters to an aedicule window above the doorway, topped with a segmental pediment. The second-floor window has a consoled cill flanked by decorative scroll carving and a richly carved armorial apron. Concave oculi with moulded surrounds appear above the first-floor windows in splayed bays, while blind arched heads with keystones top the second-floor windows, rising into the die parapet. A decorative wrought-iron balcony by Thomas Chalmers remains on the first-floor splay to the right. Three bays flank each side with pedimented and central segmental first-floor windows, consoled urns, and blank aprons. Blank slightly recessed two-storey outer bays date to circa 1800.

The eastern elevation features tall first-floor windows and a shallow bracketed balcony to the canted eastern projection of 1790, with eaves cornice and parapet. Flanking extensions of circa 1800 have ground and first-floor windows. Shallow gables with apex stacks behind formerly closed the eastern wing of the earlier house.

The north and south elevations are almost mirrored. At the centre are three recessed bays of the earlier house. Three piend-roofed dormers appear to the south. A segmentally arched fanlight above a door and window bay, set off-centre to the left, appears on the north elevation. Tripartite windows light the first floors of advanced two-storey outer bays of circa 1800, with two ground-floor lights to the north bays.

Originally the windows featured small-pane glazing to sash and case windows, some of which remain in ruinous state. Broad ashlar stacks have moulded coping. The roof is grey slate.

Interior

Robert Adam interior work was removed and sold in the mid-1950s. A marble chimneypiece remains in ruinous state, and a cantilevered stair survives. A panelled room with an early stone chimneypiece is still intact. Adam cornices are partially retained below the remains of coved ceiling brackets. Segmentally arched openings in the north and south extensions to the first floor of the western wing are noteworthy. Two interesting ceilings with clay-tiled construction have been revealed, featuring timber strips and metal strapping, possibly a variant of Lord Stanhope's method of fireproof construction.

Pavilion Wings

Pavilion wings are sited to the north-west and south-west of the house, originally linked by coped quadrant walls now removed, forming a U-plan court before the house with three less widely spaced bays to the west. The pavilions are constructed in random red rubble with raised margins and quoins to the main ground-floor openings. Smaller first-floor lights sit under the eaves. The U-plans open to the outer direction with two segmentally arched fanlights above doorways at the centre of the north pavilion. Piend-roofed outbuildings have been inserted in the south pavilion court. Broad ashlar stacks are positioned at inner angles. The windows originally featured small-pane glazing to sash and case windows. The south pavilion retains a slate piend roof.