Erskine Beveridge Court, Bothwell Street, Dunfermline

Erskine Beveridge Court on Bothwell Street, Dunfermline is a Grade B listed building dating to circa 1860. Originally constructed as a warehouse and offices for a damask factory, it was refurbished and converted to flats in the late 20th century.

The building is a three-storey, seventeen-bay rectangular structure in Italianate design. It features symmetrical elevations, low hipped roofs, a piano nobile, and bracketed eaves cornice to the principal (west) elevation, with projecting bays to the side (north and south) elevations. The external walls are constructed of coursed stugged sandstone with polished ashlar dressings to the principal bays and droved ashlar dressings elsewhere. A base course, band course and frieze run above the ground floor, adjoining a first floor cill band (corniced to the principal elevation and projecting bays to the side elevations). An eaves band (bracketed to the principal elevation and projecting bays) and moulded eaves cornice complete the horizontal articulation. Rusticated quoins mark the angles.

The ground floor features round-arched openings with rusticated long and short surrounds adjoining the base course and fielded panels beneath cills to the principal elevation and projecting bays to the side elevations. The first and second floors have architraved openings to the principal bays; those to the first floor are corniced; those to the second floor are segmental-headed.

The principal (west) elevation comprises five bays. A central tripartite entrance arrangement dominates, with an open porch featuring a dentilled entablature supported on two pairs of columns with volutes. Matching pilasters are set back either side of a round-arched door and flanking narrow round-arched windows, all architraved within an ashlar surround. Fielded panels appear below the windows with circular panels above. The entrance is a two-leaf panelled timber door. Tripartite windows with narrower flanking lights occupy each of the upper floors. The first floor windows have keystones to their openings and a bracketed cornice, surmounted by a segmental pediment to the central light, with a balustraded balcony to the roof of the porch. The second floor features round-arched openings and bracketed cills, with an ashlar surround panelled over the arches incorporating circular motifs over the lower side lights. Dividing brackets adjoin the bracketed eaves cornice. Regular fenestration—one window to each floor—occupies the flanking bays. First floor windows have keystones; second floor windows have lugged architraves.

The south elevation contains seventeen bays. Projecting paired outer flanking bays and one central bay interrupt the rhythm. The central bay has a tripartite arrangement with narrow flanking lights to the window at each floor, including a replacement glazed door entrance at ground floor. Bipartite windows occupy each of the outer flanking bays at each floor; the ground floor window to the left of the outer right bay has been converted to an entrance. Regular fenestration in six set-back bays lies between. At the centre, ground floor level, a former round-arched entrance with narrow round-arched flanking lights (now converted to windows) is visible. Late 20th century glazed timber doors mark the entrances. A gabled entranceway to the former factory adjoins at right angles to the outer right, with the end wall of the former engine house visible beyond.

The north elevation comprises eighteen bays, with projecting paired outer flanking bays featuring bipartite windows at each floor. Eighteen regularly fenestrated bays set back in between each have one window to each floor.

The east elevation displays a pair of inserted windows with concrete architraves to the centre at each floor. The triple-pitch roofline of the former weaving shed is visible above the ground floor, beneath which coursed rubble stonework survives. A single storey gabled entranceway to the former factory adjoins to the left, featuring a large segmental-headed entrance with V-jointed long and short surrounds to the outer (west) face. A circular panel dated '1860' appears in the gable above. V-jointed pilaster strips mark the outer arris on this side. The end wall of the former engine house is stepped back to the east to the left.

Most windows are timber sash-and-case, two and four-pane (except those to the east elevation). The roof is piended grey slate with a finialled raised rooflight to the west. A pair of corniced ridge stacks with friezes to the west carry round cans.

Interior features include a recessed part-glazed timber inner door with bevel-edged glass to the main (west) entrance, probably from the early 20th century. Beyond lies a geometric-tiled lobby with an elaborate plaster frieze. A tripartite columned screen comprising a pair of columns with foliate capitals and flanking outer pilasters opens onto the hall, with the main staircase of cast-iron balustrade set back. An ornate staircase with twisted cast-iron balustrade serves the central entrance to the south elevation. A late 20th century staircase serves the east entrance.

The entrance piers are a pair of square-plan sandstone ashlar gatepiers to the west of the main entrance. Each has a base course and round-arched panel to each side, with a corniced coping surmounted by a raised octagonal cap with fielded panel to each side and cornice surmounted by a raised head. A low curved wall surmounted by replacement railings adjoins an identical pier to the north.