Walled Garden, Carrington Hill, Manse Road, Carrington

Walled Garden, Carrington Hill, Manse Road, Carrington

This is a 2-storey and attic former manse built in 1756, with later additions and alterations. The building is constructed of predominantly harled sandstone rubble with polished dressings, long and short quoins, and chamfered reveals to the windows.

The northeast elevation is the principal facade, asymmetrical in composition and comprising four bays. A gabled bay projects to the outer left, with a window centred to both ground and first floors. The right return has a ground floor window. A flat-roofed single storey porch dating from 1836 is positioned at the re-entrant angle to the right, featuring a window to its centre and a polished sandstone architraved doorway with panelled timber door to the right return. Windows to the recessed penultimate bay on the right and the outer right of the ground floor are complemented by regular fenestration to the remaining bays at first floor level.

The northwest elevation is symmetrical, composed of two gabled bays with regular fenestration to ground and first floors of each.

The southwest elevation is asymmetrical with five bays. A gabled penultimate bay projects to the right. A single storey flat-roofed addition with central window is advanced to the ground floor, with a window off-centre to the right of the first floor. The left return has a ground floor window and a blind window to the first floor above. The right return has a first floor window, with the ground floor obscured by the porch addition. Three bays to the left display irregular fenestration. A coped rubble wall with doorway is advanced between the penultimate bay to the left and the outer left bay. A 20th century glazed lean-to porch adjoins the ground floor of the bay to the outer right, with a window to the first floor and a bipartite dormer in the roof above.

The southeast elevation is asymmetrical with four bays. The penultimate bay to the right and the outer right bay have replacement small-pane windows to the ground floor, with regular fenestration above. The penultimate bay to the left and outer left bay are gabled, with a window to the ground floor of the penultimate bay and a glazed door to the outer left bay. The first floor has regular fenestration, and a 4-pane window off-centre to the left of the gablehead.

The building features predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case windows with metal framed exterior secondary glazing. The roof is covered in grey slate with a lead ridge, coped stone skews, a shouldered coped wallhead stack to the southeast elevation, and coped gablehead stacks to the remainder, all with circular cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods are in place throughout.

The interior retains original cornices and skirting boards predominantly in their original positions.

Ancillary Structures

To the south of the house, a single storey building is built into the angle of the walled garden. It is constructed of random sandstone rubble with rubble dressings, features boarded timber doors and small-pane windows, and is roofed with graded grey slate incorporating some 20th century rooflights. It has coped stone skews and cast-iron rainwater goods.

A pink sandstone rubble garage adjoins to the southeast, with droved dressings and a boarded timber 2-leaf door. Brick, timber and harled additions have been made to this structure.

Former offices to the west of the house comprise a single storey and attic structure of random rubble with rubble and droved dressings. The southwest elevation has replacement small-pane windows and a porch. The northeast elevation has a replacement small-pane window. The southeast elevation is blank. An advanced section of wall to the centre of the ground floor of the northwest elevation features a boarded timber door to the attic above, flanked by a window to the left. The roof is of graded grey slate (originally thatched) with a lead ridge, coped stone skews, and coped gablehead stacks with circular cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods are throughout.

Walled Garden, Gates, Gatepiers and Boundary Walls

A random rubble walled garden adjoins the house and the ancillary building to the southeast. Iron gates are positioned to the east and west, with a brick-lined wall to the west. The west gate comprises an iron gate flanked by polished sandstone coped square gatepiers. The east gate comprises an iron gate flanked by polished sandstone gatepiers coped with chamfered angles and pyramidal caps. Tooled random rubble boundary walls with semicircular coping complete the enclosure.

Historical Context

Carrington Hill, which overlooks the village, was originally the manse. According to the Statistical Account, it was built in 1756 with thorough repairs undertaken in 1790. Further repairs and additions were carried out by Thomas Brown of Uphall in 1850, who also undertook alterations to Carrington Kirk. Despite these interventions, Carrington Hill remains a well-proportioned building retaining much of its original character.