Ha Ha, Arniston House

Arniston House is an exceptionally fine Palladian country house, begun by William Adam between 1726 and 1733, with later additions including the west jamb and orangery by John Adam (1754–58), a porch added by Wardrop and Reid in 1872, and the north pediment rebuilt by Robert Rowand Anderson in the late 19th century. The main body of the house consists of a three-storey basement-and-three-storey corps de logis of nine bays, connected by two-storey, three-bay links to two-storey, three-bay pavilions. The walls are built in tooled coursed pinkish sandstone rubble, originally harled, with polished dressings; the wings are random rubble. External detailing throughout includes a base course, a dividing band course between basement and ground floors, long-and-short V-jointed rusticated quoins, relieving arches, and a moulded eaves course.

NORTH (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION

The north elevation is symmetrical. On the corps de logis, the bays are grouped 2–5–2. To the centre of the ground floor projects a single-storey, three-bay tooled coursed ashlar porch, added by Wardrop and Reid in 1872. This porch has a round-arched doorway at its centre with a Gibbs surround, flanked by engaged Tuscan columns and surmounted by an open pediment enclosing a scrolled cartouche bearing the initials "RD" (for Robert Dundas). The door itself is a two-leaf panelled timber door. The flanking bays of the porch contain round-arched niches also with Gibbs surrounds on Tuscan pilasters, and the angles have clasping Tuscan blocked pilaster buttresses. The left and right returns of the porch feature Venetian windows, blocked pilasters to the angles, and a continuous moulded cornice with a coped balustrade. Round-arched windows sit above small basement windows at the re-entrant angles. At first-floor level, three niches with keystones occupy the central bays (originally intended to contain portrait busts and still surviving), with three architraved windows above at second-floor level, surmounted by a carved pediment rebuilt around 1890 enclosing the Dundas and Oliphant coat of arms, supported on four engaged Ionic columns. The two flanking bays have regular fenestration. The outer bays are advanced and carry small windows with rusticated surrounds at basement level; windows with keystone and Gibbs surrounds at ground floor; a dividing band course; architraved windows with keystones at first floor; and windows with moulded surrounds at second floor. A continuous dentil-moulded cornice runs above with a coped balustrade.

The links are angled and symmetrical, two storeys and three bays, having been raised from single storey by Wardrop and Reid in 1877. The centre bay of each has a polygonal-headed doorway with a Gibbs surround — glazed on the left link and panelled on the right — surmounted by a pediment. Pilasters support a basket-arched frame at the angles. The flanking bays at ground level have octagonal windows with Gibbs surrounds, each with a single window above carrying a keystone and moulded surround. There is a moulded cornice with coped balustrade and urn finials.

The pavilions are symmetrical, with regular fenestration to the north elevations. The three-bay inside returns have Venetian windows to the centre of the ground floor, regular fenestration to the flanking bays, two small windows to the centre of the first floor, and regular fenestration to the flanking bays at first-floor level.

WEST ELEVATION

The west elevation of the corps de logis is symmetrical, two storeys and basement, six bays. The basement has nine-pane windows with keystones and rusticated surrounds; the ground floor has pedimented windows with moulded surrounds; the outer left bay of both basement and ground floor is masked by the link; and the upper floor has architraved windows. The west elevation of the west pavilion is four bays: the centre of the ground floor has an infilled doorway, with a panelled timber door with a two-pane fanlight to the right and a window to the outer right. Two small windows sit to the centre two bays at first-floor level, with windows to the outer right and left bays of the first floor. A later wing is advanced to the outer right; the west elevation of this was not inspected in 1997. The left return (courtyard elevation) is dated 1888 on a shouldered wallhead stack, with a glazed door to the left bay at ground level and regular fenestration to the remainder.

SOUTH ELEVATION

The south elevation is symmetrical. The corps de logis is built in tooled random rubble and is seven bays, grouped 2–3–2. A perron stair dating from around 1800 leads up to a three-bay flat-roofed porch, also circa 1800, which is advanced through the basement and ground-floor levels. This porch has six-pane barred windows at basement level (blind to the centre), a balustraded dividing band course above, and large windows to each bay of the ground floor flanked by engaged Corinthian columns supporting a moulded frieze. Glazed two-leaf timber doors with two-pane fanlights to the left and right returns are reached by balustraded swept stone steps of around 1800. The remainder of the corps de logis has regular fenestration to basement and ground floors, with round-arched windows with keystones to the centre three bays, and three nine-pane windows to the second floor that break through the eaves cornice. These are surmounted by a pediment incorporating the carved Scottish Royal Coat of Arms, thistle and rose, and the motto "NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSET", with a pair of sphinxes above. The flanking bays have regular fenestration.

On the south elevation, the left link is five bays, with some bays to the left obscured by trees. The penultimate bay to the right has a window at first-floor level with a moulded surround and keystone, a small window at ground level in that bay, and windows to the first floor of the flanking bays. Pilasters support a basket-arch frame at the angles, with a blocking course and stone urns at the angles. The right link has a doorway slightly to the right of its centre bay, reached by stone steps and fitted with a two-leaf timber door; a window sits above at first-floor level. The centre of the flanking bays has windows at first-floor level; there is a barred window off-centre to the left of the ground floor of the right bay; and pilasters support a basket-arch frame at the angles, with a blocking course and stone urns. Two windows sit at ground-floor level in the left bay of the right return, with a blank panel above; windows are present to both ground and first floors of the right bay. A window to the ground of a recessed bay sits to the outer right, with a blind window above at first-floor level.

EAST ELEVATION

The east elevation of the corps de logis is symmetrical, six bays, with regular fenestration to all floors. The outer right bays of the basement and ground floors are masked by the link, and there are blind windows to the first and second floors above. The east elevation of the east pavilion is asymmetrical, five bays. At ground level there are large round-arched doorways to the centre, to the penultimate bay to the right, and to the outer right bay; glazed two-leaf doors sit in the centre and penultimate right bays; a garage opening sits to the outer right, flanked by a small window; and an infilled round-arched doorway occupies the penultimate bay to the left, with the outer left blank. The first floor has irregular fenestration.

ORANGERY AND WEST OUTBUILDINGS

Dating from around 1753, this is a two-storey building originally on a U plan, with the courtyard now roofed over. It is linked to the west of the house by a single-storey lean-to with a corrugated iron roof and two two-leaf boarded timber doors to the north elevation. A random rubble wall with polished gatepiers sits to the north of the lean-to, forming a courtyard to the rear of the pavilion.

The north elevation is asymmetrical, seven bays. Round-arched doorways with impost detail occupy the centre bay and the penultimate bays to left and right; there is a doorway to the bay just to the right of centre; a window to the bay just left of centre is flanked by two windows; a blind window sits to the outer right; and a window to the outer left is flanked by a small window to its right. Large louvred openings occupy the penultimate bay to the right and the outer right bay, with regular fenestration to the remainder.

The west elevation has three bays: the centre bay was originally an open courtyard and is now covered by a gable timber roof; the inside left return has irregular fenestration; an infilled doorway sits off-centre to the left of the ground floor of the right bay with a blind window above; and the outer right bay has a Venetian doorway into the Orangery, set in a recessed round arch, with a boarded glazed two-leaf timber door and an eight-pane fanlight.

The south elevation (the Orangery proper) is seven bays, symmetrical, built in droved snecked sandstone rubble with polished dressings. A round-arched doorway set in a recessed round arch with a boarded glazed two-leaf timber door and eight-pane fanlight sits at the centre, with round-arched windows with long-and-short voussoirs and impost details to the remaining bays.

The east elevation is seven bays, near-symmetrical. A large window opening at centre ground level is flanked by two panelled timber doors, with regular fenestration to the three central bays of the first floor. The outer bays are advanced: the ground floor of the penultimate bay to the left and the outer left bay are obscured by the lean-to described above, with regular fenestration above at first-floor level; the penultimate bay to the right has a window at ground floor, with a doorway to the outer right; and there is a single window to the outer right at first-floor level. A small rooflight sits at the centre.

STABLES, EAST OUTBUILDINGS AND EAST COURTYARD

This is a two-storey, U-plan range, linked to the east of the house at the rear of the pavilion by a random rubble wall to the south with a boarded timber door, and a coursed rubble coped wall to the north that sweeps down to the east, with polished gatepiers with spherical caps at the far east, all forming a cobbled courtyard in which the mounting block remains in place.

The north elevation is nine bays, near-symmetrical. Round-arched doorways sit in the third and seventh bays from the left at ground level, fitted with two-leaf boarded timber doors and five-pane fanlights. The remaining ground-floor bays have regular fenestration; five windows sit at first-floor level, the one to the outer right breaking through the eaves.

The west elevation is seven bays, asymmetrical. Wide round-arched doorways occupy the centre and the flanking bay to the left at ground level, fitted with glazed boarded timber doors, now used as garages. A 20th-century lean-to addition is advanced to the flanking bay to the right, with a window and boarded timber door to its left return and a slate roof. A piended dormer sits to the centre of the first floor, and a small four-pane window to the flanking bay to the right. The outer bays are advanced, with doorways with relieving arches to both the outer left and outer right bays, fitted with boarded timber doors, and piended dormers above each at first-floor level; there is also a piended dormer to the penultimate bay to the right at first-floor level, while the penultimate bay to the left is blank. A pall stone is present at the outer left corner.

The south elevation is partially obscured by trees and is seven bays, with a round-arched window with impost detail to each bay.

The east elevation is three bays, with the centre bay recessed. The inside returns are obscured by two timber lean-to additions; the inside right return has a window opening breaking through the eaves with a cat-slide roof. The outer right bay has windows off-centre to the right at both ground and first-floor levels. The outer left bay has a large opening with a metal lintel at ground level and a window opening off-centre to the left at first-floor level.

The east courtyard is enclosed by walls of tooled snecked rubble with droved dressings and polished ashlar coping to the south, east, and north; the outbuildings and stables form the west side. An opening sits to the west of the north wall; a lean-to shelter with a corrugated iron roof is on the inside of the north wall; and the floor is cobbled.

WINDOWS, ROOFS, AND RAINWATER GOODS

Windows throughout are predominantly twelve-pane timber sash and case, with thicker astragals that largely date from the original William Adam scheme. Roofs are piended grey slate with lead ridges. Chimney stacks are primarily double and triple corniced ashlar ridge stacks with circular cans. Rainwater goods are mainly cast iron, with some lead downpipes and decorative hoppers.

INTERIOR

The entrance hall is arcaded through two storeys and features baroque plasterwork by Joseph Enzer, executed between 1730 and 1735. A clock dated 1592, from the original tower house on the site, is housed in an 18th-century case by Francis Brodie of Edinburgh. The Oak Room has fine panelling, a basket-arched William Adam fireplace with late 19th-century overmantles, and opens into a porch of around 1800 leading to the garden. The old library on the second floor has plasterwork by Enzer including an elaborate frieze and plaster vaults; the original bookcases are now grained and house a porcelain collection. The dining room (restored 1995) and drawing room (restored 1997) are in the west range by John Adam, dating from 1753. The plasterwork in the drawing room was designed by John Adam and executed by Philip Robertson in 1762–63. The new library was built by Thomas Brown and Adam Lumsden in 1866–68; its fireplace is in a Jacobean style with the inscription "ELD 1868 RD". Remains of a railway from the old kitchen to the dining room also survive.

HA-HA

A stone ha-ha runs east to west to the north of the house.

SUNDIAL

To the centre of the south lawn stands a sundial of circular plan, with egg-and-dart carving around the base of the shaft, gadrooning to the base of the waisted neck, and a gnomon ornamented with a raised thistle.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Arniston House is regarded as an exceptionally fine example of a country house designed for, in the words of Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, "convenience and use." The land on which the estate stands was originally used by King Malcolm for hunting from Edinburgh Castle, and changed hands several times over the following centuries. After the Reformation the property was divided into several units; the most significant portion was purchased in 1571 by George Dundas, 16th Laird of the Dundas Estate, as an inheritance for his son James, born of his second marriage to Katherine Oliphant — the union of the two families being represented by the Oliphant elephant and the Dundas lion on the north lodges (listed separately). James took possession of the estate around 1600, and the original house is thought to have been built around 1620 as a U-plan building with a large walled garden. He also extended the estate by purchasing neighbouring farms including Castleton (listed separately). His grandson Robert inherited in 1679 and, on returning from exile in Holland in 1689, began to improve Arniston with the intention of constructing a new house and improving the grounds in the manner of the continental mansions he had seen. The garden improvements were begun, but it was Robert's son, also named Robert, who commissioned William Adam to design the new mansion. Adam's design was clearly influenced by James Gibbs's design for Down Hall in Essex, though it was by no means a copy. Adam was also inspired by the ideas of Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, for whom he had already designed Mavisbank (completed in 1727). Clerk's poem The Country Seat described the "useful" country house, which Arniston undoubtedly embodied, being also a design of good taste blending "the cultivated with the natural senses" (A. A. Tait, p132). William Adam's design was laid out on the foundations of the existing 17th-century house. The original entrance was by a three-bay temple front with a rusticated ground floor and round-arched openings, now masked by the 1872 porch. Construction was not completed until the mid-18th century due to Robert running out of funds; by that time William Adam had died, and his son John took on the commission in 1753 for Robert, 4th Lord Arniston. John Adam was responsible for the west range, adapting it to current taste by replacing the double-height apartments with the dining room and drawing room, both of which were recently restored in 1997 following the discovery of dry rot in 1957.

William Adam's arrangement for the grounds, carried out largely to the south, mixed formal and informal elements and comprised a bastioned parterre, wilderness, great avenue, cascade, and basin. From the 1750s there was a long period of improvement principally involving the informalisation of the grounds. John Adam continued work where his father had left off and was responsible for some of these changes; by 1764 the parterre and cascade had been removed. In 1791 Thomas White prepared an improvement and informalisation plan for the grounds; although little of it was directly executed, the gardens did become more informal towards the early 19th century. The Scottish Royal Coat of Arms within the pediment of the south elevation — like some of the stones on the rustic bridges in the sunken garden (listed separately) — is thought possibly to have originated on Parliament House, Edinburgh, which was refaced by Robert Reid in 1803.