Oxenfoord Castle

Oxenfoord Castle is a complex and architecturally layered country house with origins in the late 16th century. At its core is a tower house, which was incorporated and concealed within a new design by Robert Adam in 1782, and subsequently enlarged and remodelled by William Burn in 1842. The result is a four-storey and basement, seven-bay classical rectangular-plan castle with two- and three-storey wings with attics to the flanks, to which Burn added a later single-storey and basement wing forming a new entrance, complete with an advanced single-storey, single-bay crenellated portico. The building is constructed in droved ashlar with polished ashlar dressings, with base, band and eaves courses throughout. Crenellated parapets, angle towers and turrets are features across the principal elevations.

The north (principal) elevation centres on an entrance portico with a round-arched hoodmoulded doorway and band course, topped by corbelled battlements. To the right are two pairs of arched windows above partially concealed basement windows, and a projecting gable to the far right with angle turrets to the front and a one-and-a-half-storey, four-bay segmental bay window with a corbelled band course. To the left of the entrance is a pair of arched windows with a tripartite window adjacent, also above partially concealed basement windows. Behind the entrance front, the former symmetrical rear of Adam's castle rises above: a recessed central arch contains windows to the upper floors, with regular arrowslit fenestration to the remainder of the elevation and full-height angle towers to the flanks. An advanced crenellated and turreted circular stair tower to the right links the Adam and Burn elements. Surmounting Adam's castle are large ashlar figures of a bull and horse, representing the supporters of the armorial bearings of the Viscounts of Oxfuird. To the far left is a further Burn addition, visible also on the east elevation.

The east elevation features a pair of projecting battlemented pilastered arched bay windows to the ground floor — a three-bay window to the left and a four-bay window to the right — above matching plain basement windows, with a band course to the central elevation. The first floor has seven bays in total: the original four Adam bays to the left and three later Burn bays to the right, with a corbelled eaves course, battlemented parapet and ornamental angle turrets above. Flat-roofed dormers serve the attic. To the right return, adjoining Burn's entrance to the rear, is a projecting battlemented arched bay window of three bays above a partially concealed basement window at ground floor level, with a single bay to the first floor and a battlemented parapet with ornamental angle turrets above.

The west elevation shows four arched bays to the principal floor on the front left, including a segmental bay window to the second bay from the left, which has a bipartite window to the centre and single bays to the sides; the squared fourth bay rises into a crenellated tower. The left return forms part of Burn's entrance arrangement, while the right return consists of a series of stepped single-bay elevations running to and adjoining the side of the three-storey and basement, three-bay Adam castle at the rear right of the elevation.

The south (garden) elevation presents the original Adam composition most clearly. The central block is four storeys over a basement and consists of a three-bay bay window to the centre with single bays to the flanks, flanked by five-storey round towers with slit windows. Originally there were two wings of approximately two storeys to the flanks, with single bays set within arched recesses — still visible at first floor level to the right — and slit windows to the exterior of the bays. These have since been altered: to the right there is now a projecting battlemented segmental bay window of two bays with a central two-leaf door above a partially concealed basement window at ground floor level, and to the left a three-storey and basement segmental battlemented bay window with a tripartite window to the front and single bays to the sides. Small angle turrets feature to both wings.

The courtyard to the west shows the irregular storeys and fenestration that arise where each building phase meets, though the large earlier stone effigies of the bull and horse surmounting the rear of Adam's castle are a notable feature here too.

Windows throughout are mostly twelve-pane timber sash and case, with some multi-pane and two-pane arched timber windows to Burn's ground floor. The roof is shallow piended grey slate with lead and zinc flashing, concealed behind the castellated parapet. Rainwater goods are painted cast iron. The chimney stacks are high ashlar sandstone with decorative corbelled neck copes and a variety of plain and ornamental cans.

Internally, the hall contains an armoury. The billiard room retains an Adam fireplace, a mirror associated with King James, and Watteau figures. The library was designed by William Burn. The dining room is the oldest part of the house: 65 feet long, plastered and oak-grained, with a ceiling by Adam. There are many original fireplaces with marble, timber and metal surrounds throughout, together with ornate plasterwork, cornice work and ceiling roses with gilt decoration. Some early light fittings, chandeliers and servants' bells survive. Interior timber work is largely intact, including many shutters, doors and door-cases. There are also carved and turned timber staircases.

The history of Oxenfoord Castle reflects its architectural complexity. Originally an earlier L-plan tower house, it was altered and extended across several generations. The most significant early transformation came when the estate passed to Sir John Dalrymple and Lady Elizabeth, his cousin, who had married against the wishes of her father and inherited the property on his death. Together, they commissioned Robert Adam — with whom Sir John had studied at university — to restore and extend the castle. Those plans are now held at the Soane Museum. Adam had recently converted Culzean Castle from an L-shaped house into a perfect rectangle with lower wings and flanking towers, and much the same approach was proposed at Oxenfoord, though with wings slightly reduced in scale. At around this time a bridge was added to the castle, designed by Alexander Stevens — the bridge builder and architect with whom Adam had previously worked, as at Ayr Bridge — and its forms are borrowed from the house. The bridge is listed separately. A new church and burial ground were also constructed at this period to replace the old ones within the policies, which were considered too close to the newly refurbished castle; the cost was borne entirely by the Dalrymples. (The Callanders of Prestonhall later moved their manse for much the same reason.)

By the early 19th century, when the son of Sir John and Lady Elizabeth inherited, tastes in country house design had moved on. William Burn was called upon by the eighth Earl of Stair to further improve the castle. He added a lower wing to the formerly symmetrical Adam facade, culminating in a new entrance complex. Burn consciously followed Adam's earlier style, reusing the pepper-pot turrets, machicolated cornice and string courses, and adding segmental bay windows to the east and north elevations.

The castle remained in the ownership of the Dalrymple family for many generations. In 1931, Lady Marjorie Dalrymple established a school in the building, and Oxenfoord Castle School was housed here until 1993. The castle has since returned to private use and remains at the centre of the Oxenfoord estate.