Abbot's House, 21 Maygate, Dunfermline Abbey

Abbot's House, 21 Maygate, Dunfermline Abbey

This is a large town house of later 16th-century date, incorporating the remains of a mid to late 15th-century structure. It has been altered and extended in the later 17th century, restored between 1961 and 1963 by James Shearer, and converted to a heritage centre between 1992 and 1995 by J Morrison, Chief Architect, Dunfermline Council.

The building comprises a rectangular-plan main block of two storeys and attic, with a four-stage stair tower to the north (flanked by later 17th-century lean-to extensions) and at the southeast corner. A late 17th-century three-bay wing of two storeys, basement and attic is set back to the east, adjoining the southeast stair tower. The house was formerly divided into separate tenements.

The exterior is harled (limewashed pink as of 1998) with sandstone ashlar dressings. The stair towers and east wing have crowstepped gables, as does the infill section to east and west of the lean-tos. Other gables are coped. Corbelled turrets project from the stair towers. All chimney stacks are constructed in ashlar or harled stone with various decorative treatments, including coved and corbelled details; round and octagonal flues survive where original.

On the north elevation, the lean-to section projects forward either side of the stair tower, with a vertical margin to the left and a moulded ashlar eaves course. Late 20th-century semicircular-plan concrete steps descend to the main entrance at the foot of the tower, which has a moulded ashlar architrave surmounted by a carved plaque bearing the motto 'SEN.VORD.IS.THRALL.AND.THOGHT.IS.FRE/KEIP.VEILL.THY.TONGE.I.COINSELL.THE'. The entrance door is late 20th-century studded timber with a rectangular fanlight. A large architraved window sits above, with further windows to each stage of the tower. The upper stage is corbelled out with a crow-stepped gable. Small windows occur to the left and right returns. A corbelled stair turret is set back to the left return. Architraved windows appear at each storey to the left of the lean-to, with irregularly spaced architraved windows to the right (two per storey). A single architraved window on the first floor lights the coped left return. An architraved entrance with late 20th-century studded timber door opens to the main block, with a blocked window adjacent and a piended dormer above. The outer left bay rises to three storeys with a single-pitch crow-stepped gable, lit by architraved windows to the first and second floors. The left return and upper second floor have further moulded architraved windows, with blocked openings at upper levels. A small ashlar recess at ground level contains a replica footscraper. A slightly projecting entrance bay to the right of the east wing has a panelled timber door with rectangular fanlight, flanked by two ground-floor windows with moulded architraves to the left and a blocked entrance to the outer left.

The south elevation's main two-storey and attic block shows a substantially altered ground floor. Ground and first-floor openings have stugged long and short surrounds, droved and chamfered at the arrises; first-floor windows have rockfaced lintels. Two large modern entrances with glazed two-leaf doors stand to the left, with a further entrance having a late 20th-century studded timber door to the outer right, a window to its left, and an arched recess between them. Five windows (grouped in twos and threes) light the first floor. Four pedimented architraved dormers to the attic carry decorative carved finials with motifs including a crown and fleur-de-lys. The stair tower projects forward to the right, its crowstepped gable corbelled out slightly at the upper stage over a stone band. It has an architraved entrance with roll-moulded surround and late 20th-century studded timber door, with moulded architraved windows to each of the three upper stages. A small architraved window between the first and second levels lights the left return, with a larger moulded architraved window above; a gun loop appears to the lower stage. A corbelled stair turret serves the upper stages of the left re-entrant, topped by a small window. The east wing projects forward to the right, with a basement window to each of its three bays having roll-moulded reveals, and regularly spaced first-floor windows with moulded architraves.

The west elevation features a late 20th-century railed concrete steps rising to a central first-floor entrance with late 20th-century arched architrave and studded timber door. Small attic windows appear above and to the left. A window with droved architrave and chamfered jambs lights the ground floor of the crowstepped lean-to section to the left.

The east elevation shows only a small attic window to the centre of the crowstepped gable.

Windows throughout are mainly replacement 12-pane horned timber sash and case. The roof is of grey slate.

Internally, the building retains numerous features spanning from the 15th to 20th centuries. Three barrel-vaulted chambers occupy the ground floor, with remains of a fourth; these are thought to have been constructed during the rebuilding of the house in the 1570s. One contains a large early segmental-headed fireplace; the other two have smaller early fireplaces. Turnpike staircases serve each stair tower. A small early fireplace and adjacent recess appear in the ground floor of the later 17th-century lean-to extension to the east of the north stair tower. The first floor of the north wall of the original block retains the remains of a former external window with Gothic foiled tracery and mullion, predating the construction of the lean-tos and belonging to the 15th-century structure. Nearby, a dry closet is set within the same wall further east. The main room on the first floor displays fragments of mural paintings thought to illustrate scenes from Virgil, dating to the 1570s. A stone segmental archway with keystone, originally external and possibly once covering a viewing platform connected to an external wooden gallery, appears on the second floor north of the south stair tower. The east wing contains an original dog-leg staircase with moulded risers and solid newel. The first-floor chamber here has a moulded stone fireplace surround and walls and ceiling covered in a mural depicting a wartime bombing raid, painted by Alan Ronald in 1941. The upper-level gallery ceiling carries a mural depicting the history of Dunfermline, painted by Alasdair Gray in 1995.

To the east and west are short swept harled boundary walls with sandstone ashlar coping, flanking square-plan corniced sandstone ashlar gatepiers with obelisk coping to the west. Pairs of decorative wrought-iron gates stand to the east (with a short railed section), illustrating works by Robert Henryson and James I, created by Ratho Byres Forge in 1995. The rear garden walls form part of a separate listing for Dunfermline Abbey walls.