Former Stables Block, Whitehill House, Rosewell

Former Stables Block, Whitehill House, Rosewell

Whitehill House is an English-Jacobean revival country house designed by William Burn between 1839 and 1844, built by Lewis Alexander Wallace. It was designed for Major R G Wardlaw-Ramsay and was described in the New Statistical Account of Scotland as a building "of noble dimensions and strikingly elegant appearance." The Ramsay family connection to Whitehill dates back to the 16th century, when Robert Ramsay of Swynisdene, son of Sir Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie, founded the Whitehill family — though the present house replaced an older structure of which no records appear to survive. The once-white stone has now weathered to grey. The house served as a Red Cross hospital in 1914, and from 1924 was operated by the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul as a hospital until the summer of 1998, when it was sold. The garden, now much altered, was designed by Alexander Roos. In 1935, John Devlin added a red brick chapel and refectory adjoining the house to the south-east.

The building is listed as part of a group that includes the Bridge to the north.

Architectural Overview

The complex comprises a two-storey main block with basement and attic, arranged on a square plan of eight bays, connected by a four-bay link to the south-west, where a single-storey-and-attic, seven-bay stable and office court is attached. The construction throughout uses coursed, lightly stugged sandstone ashlar with polished architraved mullioned windows. Consistent features across the building include a base course, a moulded dividing band course, a moulded eaves cornice, a balustraded parapet, buckle quoins, and crowstepped gables. The roof is finished in graded grey slate with lead ridges; the stacks are barley-sugar clustered, corniced, and set at ridge and wallhead. Cast-iron rainwater goods are used throughout. Windows are timber sash and case, with a variety of glazing patterns.

North-West (Entrance) Elevation

The entrance front is near-symmetrical. A single-storey, single-bay basket-arched porte-cochère projects forward at the fourth bay from the right, its arches flanked by Tuscan columns with keystones, a simple frieze, a moulded cornice, and a pierced strapwork parapet. The windows to the left and right returns of the porte-cochère have small-pane fishscale glazing. The architraved doorway is reached by a flight of steps and fitted with a two-leaf panelled timber outer door and a glazed panelled inner door.

At the first floor centre is a canted window with a strapwork parapet enclosing a statue of the Virgin Mary. Above this is a curvilinear gable with a carved shell surmounted by a cross at the apex, flanked by two carved unicorns supporting Ramsay family crests.

The two bays flanking the central section to left and right are recessed, each with two-light windows flanked by a single-light window at ground and first floor levels, and regular fenestration to the basement. The outer right bay projects forward with three-light windows to the basement, ground, first, and recessed attic floors, the last flanked by square angle turrets. To the penultimate bay on the left stands a three-storey tower with two-light windows to the basement and ground floors, a bowed five-light oriel with a panelled lintel and pierced strapwork parapet to the first floor, and three-light windows to each elevation of the second floor. To the left of this bay there is a four-light basement window, four-light windows with panelled lintels at ground and first floor, and a three-light window to the gabled attic floor, with a square angle turret to the left.

South-West Elevation

This elevation is predominantly obscured by the link, stables, and later additions and alterations.

The Link

The link is symmetrical and four bays wide, with a two-pane sash and case window to each bay, each breaking the eaves with a strapwork pediment.

Stables

The stables are single-storey with basement and attic to the north, and two-storey with attic to the south, arranged on a seven-bay courtyard plan with later additions and alterations.

North-West Elevation: The gabled centre bay contains an infilled round arch enclosing two windows, surmounted by a stepped hood mould and a Ramsay family crest of a unicorn's head and mullet, flanked by two urns. Three bays to the left have regular fenestration; the third bay from the left and the penultimate bay on the left have attic dormers with strapwork gables. The third bay from the right has a ground-floor window; the penultimate bay on the right has a glazed panelled timber door; both this bay and the outer right bay have gabled dormers at attic level.

North-East Elevation: Asymmetrical and four bays wide. The gabled bay to the right has a three-light window to the centre, with a hoodmould and Ramsay crest set in the gablehead, flanked by two square angle turrets. The remaining three bays have regular fenestration with strapwork pediments breaking the eaves. The link adjoins to the outer left.

South-West Elevation: Asymmetrical and seven bays wide. Regular fenestration to the ground floor; six irregularly placed boarded timber doors at basement level; gabled dormers at attic level to the two outer right bays; gabled bay to the outer left.

South-East Elevation: Asymmetrical, two-storey and attic, seven bays wide. At ground floor level, two-leaf boarded timber doors are positioned at the second, third, and fourth bays from the left; there are infilled openings to the outer left; a flat timber door to the penultimate bay on the right is flanked by two glazed panels. Fenestration is irregular at first-floor level. Four dormer windows appear at attic level; the gabled bay to the outer left has red brick additions adjoining. The gabled bay to the outer right is advanced, with a boarded timber door with a two-pane fanlight off-centre to the right at ground level; a three-light window with a hoodmould and Ramsay family crest set in the gablehead at first-floor level, flanked by square angle turrets.

Left Return: Five bays wide. A basket-arched opening to the outer left leads to the servants' court. A lean-to addition occupies the central bays at ground floor level; a panelled timber door to the outer left bay is reached by steps descending downward. Three windows sit above the archway; gabled dormers to the remaining bays at first-floor level.

Stable Court

The south-east elevation of the stable court has a gabled infilled round arch, flanked to the right by a 20th-century lean-to addition, and a window to the flanking bay on the left, with two gabled dormers at attic level. The south-west elevation has regular fenestration to all bays except for a door in the penultimate bay on the left, and two gabled dormers at attic level. On the north-west elevation, the basket arches of the former coach houses are obscured by a glazed 20th-century lean-to addition, with two gabled dormers to the centre of the attic floor. A flat-roofed 20th-century addition occupies the ground floor of the north-east elevation, with two gabled dormers at attic level.

Servants' Court

The servants' court lies to the south-east of the stable court, arranged on a square plan with additions and alterations.

North-West Elevation: Asymmetrical, four bays wide. Regular fenestration to the ground and first floors of the three bays on the right; the bowed angle bay to the left has windows at ground and first-floor levels.

North-East Elevation: Asymmetrical, four bays wide. Regular fenestration to the ground floor; individual windows to the outer right, penultimate left, and outer left bays at first-floor level; a two-light window set in the gablehead of the attic storey to the outer left; a window to the right return.

South-East Elevation: Asymmetrical, three bays wide. A basket-arched opening with a boarded timber door sits at the centre bay at ground level; a door to the left bay is flanked to the right by a six-pane window; a single-storey angle bowed window occupies the right bay. Three windows are positioned at the centre of the first floor; a replacement tripartite window to the left bay.

South-West Elevation: Asymmetrical, three bays wide. At ground level, a panelled timber door is flanked by two vertical four-pane windows to the centre, and a basket-arched opening with panelled timber doors; an angle bowed window to the left bay (as described above). A tall bay to the right has regular fenestration at first and second-floor levels, with a window set in the gable of the attic storey and a bell below. To the left, two bays have four tripartite windows at the 20th-century first-floor level.

South-East Elevation of Main Block

This elevation is near-symmetrical and seven bays wide. An eight-light shaped bow window rises through the basement, ground, and first floors, with panelled lintels, flanked to left and right by three-light windows at ground-floor level. The basement floor of the flanking bays has harled additions; a door and metal fire escape stair serve the first and attic floors of the flanking bay on the left; the flanking bay on the right has a three-light window at first-floor level. Three-storey towers with ogee roofs occupy the penultimate bays on the left and right; these have single-light windows with strapwork pediments to the ground and first floors of the left tower, and to the first floor of the right tower. The ground-floor doorway of the right tower is obscured by 20th-century additions. Three-light windows appear on each elevation of the second floor of both towers. The gabled bays to the outer left and right have canted windows rising through the basement, ground, and first floors, with square angle turrets (ogee caps missing). A red brick addition adjoins to the outer left.

North-East Elevation of Main Block

Near-symmetrical and seven bays wide. An eleven-light shaped bow window with a strapwork parapet is positioned at the centre of the ground floor. The five central bays of the first floor have regular fenestration, with the exception of the bay to the right, which has a door and metal fire escape at ground and attic levels. A two-leaf glazed timber doorway serves the basement floor of the penultimate bay on the right. Five-light canted windows with strapwork parapets rise through the ground and first floors of the gabled bays to the outer left and right. Gabled dormers appear at each of the five central bays at attic level, with three-light windows to the outer left and right bays; square angle turrets (ogee caps missing) are present.

Brick Additions

The 1935 additions by John Devlin consist of red brick construction adjoining the house to the south-east. These include an apsidal-ended chapel with round-arched stained glass windows. The remainder of the additions have regular fenestration; a glazed flat-roofed addition is attached to the south-west.

Interior

The interior features a large Jacobean hall with an elaborate stone chimney-piece and overmantle, a U-plan timber stair with barley-sugar balusters, a large stained glass window, and a coved coffered ceiling with carved plaster masks at the angles. The principal rooms to the north-east of the ground floor and the former bedrooms to the south-east of the ground floor have had their ceilings replaced with suspended ceilings; fireplaces and one deep frieze survive. Double panelled timber doors with surrounds are present throughout the ground floor. The upper storeys have simpler rooms.

The 1935 chapel is rectangular on plan with a gallery to the rear. It has a segmentally-arched form with simple timber pews and timber panelling rising to the base of the windows. A round arch leads through to an octagonal-ended chancel.