Stable Court And Cobbled Yard, Callendar House, Callendar Park, Falkirk

This is a mid-18th century stable court and cobbled yard, forming part of Callendar House within Callendar Park, Falkirk. The courtyard is square in plan, with subsequent additions and alterations. The principal, south-east elevation is constructed of coursed and tooled sandstone ashlar with a projecting, moulded base course, moulded eaves, and rusticated, V-jointed quoins. The south-west range is harled with a base course, while the remaining outer and inner elevations are lined with render. Segmental-arched openings are present on the ground floor of the courtyard elevations, each with raised, keystoned margins.

The south-east range, on its outer elevation, features seven bays. A segmental-arched carriage opening lies at the centre, with rectangular windows to the remaining ground floor bays. Remains of a mounting step are visible in the fifth bay. Small square windows are set at first floor level in the central bay and three bays to the right. Dormers with piended roofs break the eaves on the three bays to the left. The inner courtyard elevation has five bays, again with a central segmental-arched carriage opening. Above this is an opening with part-glazed, two-leaf, boarded timber doors, though there is no current access from the courtyard. Single windows flank the archway on the ground floor, with one partially blocked to the left and boarded to the right. Doorways with boarded timber doors and plain fanlights are found in the outer bays. A piended dormer breaks the eaves in the penultimate bay to the right, and a small square opening is present on the far left.

The south-west range’s inner courtyard elevation features five bays. A large rectangular opening with a sliding, timber-boarded door (a later replacement for an arched opening) is centrally located. Other ground floor bays have single windows. Square openings are visible on the first floor in the far right-hand bay (off-centre left) and the centre bay (off-centre right). A piended dormer breaks the eaves on the first floor of the far left-hand bay (off-centre right).

The north-west range’s outer elevation has ten bays featuring doorways in the penultimate bay to the left, the sixth bay, and the far right bay. Each of these doorways has a square window above at first floor level. A window is located at ground floor level in the far left bay, with a square window above it on the first floor. Thin, slit openings punctuate the upper ground floor of the remaining bays. The inner courtyard elevation has three bays with a thin, round-arched opening at the centre, flanking coach openings with boarded timber, two-leaf doors, and small, square windows in all first floor bays.

The north-east range, on its outer elevation, has two large timber-boarded sliding doors (replacements for original plain doorways) in the central and penultimate right-hand bays. Windows are set in the outer and penultimate left-hand bays, with a smaller window to the right of the far left bay. All first floor bays have square windows. The inner courtyard elevation has a central doorway with a boarded timber, two-leaf door, flanked by windows, and a further ground floor window in the far right bay. Square windows are located at first floor level in the far left and penultimate right bays (off-centre left).

Internally, the stable court was converted to residential use in the mid to late 20th century. By 2004, the ground floor was used for storage and the first floor was unoccupied. The cobbled yard exhibits a simple geometric pattern, with setts laid parallel to the adjacent range, and gutters on diagonals that lead to a central drain.