Culross Abbey Mansion House

Culross Abbey Mansion House

A substantial classical house of 1608 with later developments, substantially remodelled in 1952 by Robert Hurd & Partners. The main house is a two-storey structure with attic, nine bays wide, arranged symmetrically on a rectangular plan. Single-storey wings and terminating pavilions were added in the 1950s. A two-storey, four-bay west wing, built in 1830, connects to the main house via a curtain wall.

The main house displays advanced swept base courses and moulded string courses between ground and first floors on the north elevation, with moulded cill courses at first floor to the south. Moulded eaves courses and a prominent cornice frame a low pediment. Ground floor windows feature moulded architraves, while first-floor windows are pilastered and pedimented. The pediments contain carved initials—alternating between 'LEB' (Lord Edward Bruce) enclosing a central rose with thistle finial and 'DMB' (Dame Magdalen Bruce) with a central rose and flower finial. Eleven cannon water spouts project from the eaves cornice to the north, and ten to the south. All elevations are finished in ashlar except the west elevation, which is rendered with ashlar quoins and two ashlar pilasters flanking an off-centre window.

The south (principal) elevation is symmetrically composed across nine bays. A central door bears the initials 'EK' below a coronet with flanking dates '1955' carved above the lintel. Four ground-floor windows flank the door on each side, with nine first-floor windows and three attic windows centred in the roof with swept flanking walls. The first and second floor windows feature pediments and finials matching those described above. Corniced single-storey walls set back at the far left and right connect to terminating pavilions. The east pavilion has a central window to the south and east and a door to the west. The west pavilion has a central window to the south, west and north, a door to the east, and a corbelled quoin below the eaves cornice at the northeast corner. Both pavilions display advanced sloping base courses, eaves cornices, and ogee roofs surmounted by unicorns within crowns from the Preston crest. Pediments crown the south-facing pavilion windows, while other windows and doors have moulded surrounds.

The north (entrance) elevation positions the entrance door at the fifth bay, surrounded by moulded surrounds and flanked by fluted pilasters with floral motifs to the capitals and carved bases. A richly carved pediment surmounts the doorpiece, bearing the Preston coat of arms with a surmounting unicorn. Four ground-floor windows lie to the left of the door and five to the right. A single-storey garage at the far left features two arches with moulded surrounds and modern timber boarded doors. A pavilion is set back to the left with a plain elevation. A single-storey wing to the far right contains a single arch with a moulded surround.

The east elevation displays a first-floor window off-centre to the right, with stones dated '1608' and below '1670'. A single-storey wing at ground floor contains a window to the left.

The west elevation has a first-floor window off-centre to the left. An advanced ground-floor wing was undergoing remodelling as of 2001.

Fenestration throughout the main house comprises twelve-pane timber sash and case windows. The north entrance features a two-leaf timber panelled door. The south elevation has a glazed door with a four-pane fanlight. The east pavilion has a timber and glazed door with nine panes and three-paned fanlights with centre arches to each pane. The west pavilion is identical, with a glazed oval door featuring radial astragals.

The roof to the main house is piended slate with a flat ridge, topped with two large corniced ridge stacks with circular clay cans. Rooflights appear to the east and west. The flanking single-storey wings have flat roofs, while the pavilions are finished with ogee slate roofs.

The interior, partially visible in 2001, reveals a moulded stone surround to a fireplace in the entrance hall and a decorative wrought-iron balustrade with floral motifs to the staircase, fitted with a timber handrail.

The West Wing, dated 1830, is a two-storey, four-bay house on an L-plan with a sloping base course and eaves cornice. Moulded architraves frame all windows.

The south elevation is symmetrically arranged with a door at the fourth bay and three ground-floor windows to the right, with four first-floor windows centred above. This elevation displays stugged ashlar.

The west elevation, finished in tooled coursed sandstone with raised ashlar margins at the base, eaves and quoins, projects into Culross Abbey Churchyard. A door opens to the left.

The north elevation contains two central ground-floor windows, a door to the outer right, and a former door (now a window) to the outer left. The ground floor is finished in droved ashlar, with a band of tooled sandstone above and an ashlar band course (formerly covered by a canopy). The first floor is ashlar with an advanced eaves course. A first-floor window opens to the right. An advanced wing projecting into the churchyard to the far right is finished in tooled coursed sandstone with raised ashlar margins at quoins and eaves, containing a central first-floor window. A return to the left has a ground-floor door with a rectangular fanlight and raggles of a former porch canopy. A single-storey coach house projects to the right of the door, with a former coach entrance to the east (now blocked) and a door to the north. This structure is finished in stugged stone with droved ashlar margins.

The east elevation displays yellow-coloured harling with an ashlar eaves course, moulded string course and moulded window architraves. A door is set within an arch to the left, with first-floor windows to the left and right. A central stone plaque carved with 'SRP' (Sir Robert Preston), 'DEP' (his wife, Dame Elizabeth), dated 1830, and surmounted by a lion's head, marks this elevation. A curtain wall links this wing to the west wing of the main house.

Windows throughout the west wing are predominantly twelve-pane timber sash and case. Doors include a replacement door to the south, a two-leaf timber boarded door to the north, and a timber and glazed door to the east with oval and radial astragals.

The roof is piened slate with a platform ridge. Wallhead stacks rise to the east and west; two tall polygonal stacks on a base stand to the east, and three, positioned off-centre to the south, stand to the west.

The interior of the west wing was not visible during the 2001 survey.