Carriden House, Bo'Ness

Carriden House in Bo'Ness is a tower house dated 1602, possibly incorporating earlier elements, with later additions and alterations. Notably, the west wing was designed by Alexander Mylne and completed in 1682, along with significant work from the mid to late 19th century. The building has an L-plan layout and features a small single-storey L-shaped courtyard. It is constructed from coursed rubble with ashlar dressings and includes decorative elements such as datestones, turrets with gunloops, crowstepped gables, battlements, gable-headed and oriel windows, and arrow slits.

On the south elevation, the left side features a two-storey and basement six-bay wing by Mylne, marked with a 1682 datestone and topped with a corbelled parapet and a central gable flanked by gabled heads. To the right, the advanced gable of the tower house shows later Victorian alterations and rises three storeys, crowned by a pair of corbelled angle turrets at the top floor. A central tripartite oriel window on the second floor is adorned with strapwork and anchor detailing. In the re-entrant angle, there is a two-storey castellated porch with a Tudor archway, accessed by a flight of steps with ball finialled piers. Above the porch, a coat of arms and a datestone from 1863 can be found.

The house features a variety of glazing types, including plate glass and predominantly timber sash and case windows, some with horns. The roof is covered with grey slates, exhibiting a fishscale pattern on the conical turrets, and there are large gable stacks.

Inside, the basement has vaulted ceilings, including a wine cellar. In the Mylne wing, there is an early fireplace with a deep lintel supported by corbelled piers, and a turnpike staircase leads to the tower. The first floor includes a study with a fine late 17th-century plaster ceiling, featuring a deeply undercut fruit and flower wreath at the center, with foliate designs in the spandrels and a swagged cove above the cornice. The drawing room contains a good marble chimneypiece with a classical putti panel, along with a timber china cabinet at the east end. Many original cast-iron fireplaces are present throughout. On the ground floor of the west wing, there are timber two-leaf doors with a semicircular stained glass panel dated 1890 above, showcasing a coat of arms and heraldic motif. To the east, there is a former dining room with a timber panelled dado and a timber chimneypiece featuring truncated columns from the early 20th century, possibly by Matthew Steele.

The boundary walls to the west consist of a very high rubble wall.