House Of Falkland

House of Falkland is a two-storey, six- by seven-bay L-plan country house designed by William Burn and built between 1839 and 1844. It is constructed in sandstone ashlar with buckle quoins, a base course, band course and cornice. The building presents a Jacobean manor house design with balustraded and crowstepped gables, square corner turrets with finialled ogee roofs, and tall chimneys with barley sugar decorative shafts. An attached single-storey and attic servants' courtyard lies to the north-west and is currently used as a school.

The windows are predominantly bi- and tri-partite openings with stone mullions and transoms, some narrow slit windows, moulded architraves, and several with strapwork window heads and aprons. The exterior is finished with plate glass timber sash and case windows with leaded panes, grey slate roofing and cast-iron rainwater goods.

The north elevation is asymmetrical, featuring the advanced former servants' courtyard to the right. The recessed six-bay entrance elevation has a flat-roofed porch with an additional projecting Ionic-columned porch containing a two-leaf timber door and part-glazed internal door, above which sits a decorative strapwork pediment. A polygonal stair tower rises in the re-entrant angle, and strapwork pedimented upper storey windows break the wallhead.

The south elevation is symmetrical with six bays, featuring a pair of blocked segmental-arched openings at the centre ground level, flanking canted bay-windows and blank outer bays. The east elevation is symmetrical with five bays and canted bay windows to the outer bays. The west elevation is asymmetrical with a seven-bay former house to the right containing advanced and recessed bays, an advanced single-storey wing to the left, and balustraded steps leading to an off-centre two-leaf timber door, with a bowed four-light bay to the ground at the left and a canted bay to the far right.

The interior, partially viewed in 2010, contains predominantly decoration by Robert Weir Schultz dating from 1890 to 1900, with some original 1840s decoration remaining intact. It represents an outstanding multi-period decorative scheme with a prominent Jacobean entrance hall and a suite of public and private rooms in various styles. The original room layout is mostly intact, with former public rooms on the ground floor and private accommodation on the upper storey, though some late 20th-century alterations were made to accommodate school use.

The entrance hall features a decoratively carved Jacobean stone fire surround and a compartmented ceiling with a central dome supported by Corinthian columns. A glazed Jacobean timber screen leads to the main corridor, which has a decorative plaster ceiling and oak panelling. The dog-leg stair to the upper floor features a large heraldic stained glass stair window and a painted tunnel-vaulted ceiling depicting the Eight Winds of Greek mythology.

Many rooms possess elaborately carved plaster ceilings with pendants and decorative fire surrounds in various styles, including one with an Ionic columned canopy and overmantel. Timber panelling with inlaid mother-of-pearl designs appears in several rooms, including the former chapel. Some rooms contain painted friezes with floral designs, and one depicts a Corpus Christi procession. The former boudoir at ground level features full-height Mannerist style stucco plaster work with round-arched mirrors and decorative terms bearing fruit.

The upper corridor has timber panelling and coloured plaster relief above and to the ceiling, depicting birds, fruit and leaves, with three glass cupolas to the ceiling containing coloured glass. The former private sitting room is adorned with a life-size plaster relief seagull on its walls.

Panelled timber doors are found throughout the interior.

Stepped terraces extend to the west, featuring stone steps with a pierced balustrade and square-plan coped piers. The grounds contain ornate stone fountains to both the east and west. The fountain to the west has a central urn within a shallow quatrefoil basin, a tall central decorative urn and central spout set on a square-plan plinth. The fountain to the east has a square-plan plinth with lion head spouts and basins, surmounted by a large urn with a water spout.

The House of Falkland Estate originated from land gifted to the Keeper of Falkland Palace, which lies immediately to the east. The estate in its present form dates from the early 19th century when it was acquired by John Bruce upon his appointment as Keeper of the Palace of Falkland in 1821. During his tenure, Bruce improved the surrounding lands, built stables, and erected cascades and bridges over the Mill and Maspie Burns.

Upon Bruce's death in 1826, his niece Margaret Bruce inherited the estate. She married Onesiphorus Tyndall Bruce in 1828, and the couple decided to demolish the existing Nuthill House and commission a new residence from William Burn, which was constructed between 1839 and 1844. They also laid out a formal garden around the house, now grassed over.

In 1887, the 3rd Marquis of Bute purchased the estate and employed Robert Weir Schultz and William Frame to undertake interior work in the house. He also commissioned some Arts and Crafts landscaping to the estate. During the First World War, the house was used as a convalescent home, and in the Second World War, it housed Polish airmen. As of 2011, it functions as House of Falkland School.

William Burn (1789–1870) was one of Scotland's foremost 19th-century architects. He began his career designing public buildings but became particularly associated with country house design, in which he achieved considerable success with clients across Scotland and England. He demonstrated skill in the internal planning of country houses, and his work ranged from Greek Revival to Scottish Baronial styles.

Robert Weir Schultz (1860–1951) was a Scottish architect particularly known for his Arts and Crafts work. He undertook extensive work for the Marquis of Bute, including projects at Dumfries House and Mount Stuart.

House of Falkland is an outstanding example of a mid-19th-century country house by one of Scotland's leading architects, little externally altered since its construction. It contains an exceptional interior decorative scheme representing one of Scotland's most significant multi-period interiors, with intricate and remarkably intact decoration and minimal alteration to accommodate its current school use. The house occupies a prominent position within its 19th-century estate and sits within an outstanding designed landscape.