The Study, The Cross, Culross

The Study, The Cross, Culross

Circa 1610. This is a 3-storey, 5-bay L-plan house with a taller 3-storey stair tower to the southwest. The walls are harled rubble with stone margins.

The principal south elevation is asymmetrical, with a door at the third bay flanked by two windows. There are four first floor windows, and a National Trust for Scotland plaque appears above the third window. Three catslide dormer windows are partially set into the roof. An advanced stair tower stands to the left, with a mid-level window between the first and second stage. The upper stage is corbelled and contains a window to the right. A ground floor door in the right return has a roll and hollow surround. A mid-level stair occupies the space between the third and fourth stages, with a catslide dormer window partially in the roof at the fourth stage. The southwest stair tower has a slightly rounded chamfer to its quoin.

The west elevation features the stair tower to the right with a slight corbel at the third stage and a window, followed by a corbelled fourth stage with a catslide dormer roof partially in the roof. An advanced curved corbelled stair tower stands to the left with an exposed stone corbel and a small stair window. To the left of the stair tower is the gable wall of the house, with a ground floor window to the right.

The north elevation has small windows to the fourth and fifth bays and a door at the third. Two larger windows are positioned to the far right and far left. A first floor door and first floor window are on the right and left respectively. Three catslide dormer windows are wholly within the roof.

The east elevation is attached to 2 Tanhouse Brae.

The windows predominantly feature lattice glazing to the upper sash, with timber shutters below on the south elevation. The north elevation has 4, 12 and 16-pane timber sash and case windows. Studded timber doors with tirling pins are found on the south and east elevations, whilst a glazed door faces north. The roof is pitched with crowstepped gable ends and coped gable end stacks to the main house. The separate stair tower has crowstepped gable ends and a coped south gable end stack with a finial to the north gable end. Clay pantiles cover the entire roof. A cobbled area lies outside the principal elevation with stone setts opposite the south-facing door.

Internally, the ground and second floor have been modernised with a central connecting staircase (not seen in 2001). A stone turnpike stair occupies the stair tower. A moulded doorway leads from the turnpike into the first floor room, with an arch above the doorway inside the room. The door itself is timber boarded with a stock lock. A moulded fireplace stands in the west wall with a chimney crane attached, and a niche to its left contains a stone basin. Three 17th-century Dutch tiles sit to the right of the fireplace. The north wall has a concave section to the far left, a doorway to the right, and a large blocked archway in the centre with a smaller blocked archway to the right (former window recesses). Windows sit within two arched recesses in the south wall.

The east wall retains early 17th-century oak panelling. At the base, lockers with lids form a bench, partially missing. A central arcaded section has fluted pilasters dividing the space between each pilaster by two semi-circular headed arches with a central carved pendent. A corniced section above features inlaid decoration, with a plain frieze above divided by short fluted pilasters. The panelling continues onto the door to the left. The ceiling is brightly painted with fruit, flowers and motifs, representing a 1960s reconstruction. A door leads into a small east room, which has a timber panelled bed recess in the north wall with the panelling forming the base of the bed. A window within an arched recess sits above the bed. A timber panelled door accesses a niche to the right. To the left are the stone surround and lintel of a former fireplace in the east wall, with modern walls inserted within the room. The turnpike stair leads to a small study at the upper stage of the stair tower, which has a timber boarded door with a sloping head to both the door and doorway. The study has a pitched ceiling and windows in each elevation except the north, with a fireplace in the south wall.