Stables, Arniston House

Arniston House is an exceptional Palladian country house, begun by William Adam between 1726 and 1733, with later additions and alterations by John Adam (west jamb and orangery, 1754–58), Wardrop and Reid (porch, 1872), and Robert Rowand Anderson (north pediment rebuilt, late 19th century). The building is constructed in tooled coursed pinkish sandstone rubble, originally harled, with polished dressings, random rubble wings, a base course, a dividing band course between the 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. The corps de logis has its bays grouped 2-5-2. A single-storey, three-bay tooled coursed ashlar porch, added in 1872 by Wardrop and Reid, projects forward at the centre of the ground floor. It features a round-arched doorway with a Gibbs surround at its centre, flanked by engaged Tuscan columns and surmounted by an open pediment enclosing a scrolled cartouche bearing the initials "RD" (for Robert Dundas). The doorway itself has a two-leaf panelled timber door. The flanking bays of the porch have round-arched niches with Gibbs surrounds carried on Tuscan pilasters, and the angles of the porch are marked by 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 where the porch meets the main façade.

At first-floor level, the three central bays of the corps de logis have three niches with keystones, and above these, at second-floor level, are three architraved windows 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 either side of this central group have regular fenestration. The outer bays are advanced and feature small windows with rusticated surrounds at basement level, windows with keystone and Gibbs surrounds at ground floor, a dividing band course above, architraved windows with keystones at first floor, and windows with moulded surrounds at second floor. A continuous dentil-moulded cornice with a coped balustrade runs across the top.

The links connecting the corps de logis to the pavilions are angled and symmetrical, two storeys in height with three bays each, having been raised from single storey by Wardrop and Reid in 1877. Each link has a polygonal-headed doorway to the centre bay with a Gibbs surround — glazed on the left link and panelled on the right — surmounted by a pediment. The angles have pilasters supporting a basket-arched frame, and the flanking bays at ground floor have octagonal windows with Gibbs surrounds, each with a single window above carrying a keystone and moulded surround. A moulded cornice with a coped balustrade and urn finials completes the top.

The pavilions are symmetrical. Their north elevations have regular fenestration. 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 that level.

WEST ELEVATION

The west elevation of the corps de logis is symmetrical, two storeys and basement, six bays wide. The basement has nine-pane windows with keystones and rusticated surrounds; the ground floor has pedimented windows with moulded surrounds; the outermost left bay at basement and ground floor is masked by the link. The second floor has architraved windows.

The west elevation of the west pavilion is four bays wide. The ground floor has an infilled doorway to the centre, a panelled timber door with a two-pane fanlight to the right, and a window to the outer right. The first floor has two small windows to the central two bays and windows to the outer right and left bays. A later wing is advanced to the outer right, and this west elevation was not inspected in 1997. The left return (the courtyard elevation) is dated 1888 on a shouldered wallhead stack and has a glazed door to the left bay at ground floor, with regular fenestration to the remainder.

SOUTH ELEVATION

The south elevation is symmetrical. The corps de logis is in tooled random rubble, seven bays wide, grouped 2-3-2. A flat-roofed porch of around 1800, three bays wide, projects forward at the centre, running through the basement and ground floors, with a perron stair in front. The basement windows of the porch are six-pane barred, blind to the centre. Above is a balustraded dividing band course. Each bay of the ground floor has a large window flanked by engaged Corinthian columns supporting a moulded frieze. The left and right returns of the porch have glazed timber two-leaf doors with two-pane fanlights, reached by balustraded swept stone steps added around 1800. The basement and ground floors of the main façade have regular fenestration. The three central bays have round-arched windows with keystones. Three nine-pane windows at second floor break the eaves cornice and are surmounted by a pediment incorporating a carved Scottish Royal Coat of Arms, thistle and rose, and the motto "NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSET", surmounted by a pair of sphinxes. The flanking bays have regular fenestration.

Left link (south elevation): five bays, with the bays to the left obscured by trees. There is a window to the first floor of the penultimate bay to the right with a moulded surround and keystone, a small window to the outer right of the ground floor of the penultimate bay, windows to the first floor of the flanking bays, pilasters supporting a basket-arched frame to the angles, and a blocking course with stone urns to the angles.

Right link (south elevation): the doorway is off-centre to the right of the centre bay, with a two-leaf timber door reached by stone steps; above it is a window to the centre of the first floor. The central flanking bays have windows at first floor. There is a barred window off-centre to the left of the ground floor of the right bay, and pilasters supporting a basket-arched frame to the angles, with a blocking course and stone urns to the angles. The ground floor of the right return's left bay has two windows with a blank panel above; the right bay of that return has windows at ground and first floor. A recessed bay to the outer right has a window at ground floor and a blind window at first floor.

EAST ELEVATION

The east elevation of the corps de logis is symmetrical, six bays wide, with regular fenestration to all floors. The outer right bays at basement and ground floor are masked by the link, and blind windows appear at first and second floors above.

The east elevation of the east pavilion is asymmetrical, five bays wide. At ground floor there are large round-arched doorways to the centre, the penultimate bay to the right, and the outer right bay. The centre and penultimate-right doorways have glazed two-leaf doors; the outer right doorway opens to a garage and is flanked by a small window. The penultimate bay to the left has an infilled round-arched doorway, and the outer left is blank. The first floor has irregular fenestration.

ORANGERY AND WEST OUTBUILDINGS

Dating from around 1753, the orangery and west outbuildings are two storeys in height and were originally U-plan, with the courtyard now roofed over. They are linked to the west side of the house by a single-storey lean-to with a corrugated iron roof and two two-leaf boarded timber doors on the north elevation. A random rubble wall with polished gatepiers to the north of the lean-to forms a courtyard to the rear of the west pavilion.

The north elevation is asymmetrical, seven bays wide. The centre bay and the penultimate bays to left and right have round-arched doorways with impost detail; there is a further doorway to the bay immediately right of centre. The bay left of centre has a window flanked by two further windows. The outer right bay has a blind window, the outer left has a window. Large louvred openings appear in the penultimate-right and outer-right bays; the remainder has regular fenestration.

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

The south elevation belongs to the Orangery proper: seven bays, symmetrical, in droved snecked sandstone rubble with polished dressings. The centre bay has a round-arched doorway set in a recessed round arch, with a boarded glazed timber two-leaf door and an eight-pane fanlight. The remaining bays each have round-arched windows with long-and-short voussoirs and impost details.

The east elevation is seven bays and near-symmetrical. The centre of the ground floor has a large window opening 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-left and outer-left bays is obscured by the lean-to described above, with regular fenestration at first floor; the penultimate-right bay has a window at ground floor with a doorway to the outer right; the outer right has a single window at first floor. There is a small rooflight to the centre.

STABLES, EAST OUTBUILDINGS AND EAST COURTYARD

The stables and east outbuildings form a two-storey, U-plan range linked to the east side of the house at the rear of the east pavilion. To the south, a random rubble wall with a boarded timber door connects them to the pavilion; to the north, a coursed rubble coped wall sweeps down to the east, where polished gatepiers with spherical caps define the entrance to a cobbled courtyard that retains its mounting block.

The north elevation is nine bays and near-symmetrical. The third and seventh bays from the left have round-arched doorways at ground floor, each with two-leaf boarded timber doors and five-pane fanlights. The remaining ground-floor bays have regular fenestration. There are five windows at first-floor level, with the outer-right window breaking the eaves.

The west elevation is seven bays and asymmetrical. The centre and the flanking bay to the left have wide round-arched doorways at ground floor 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. The centre of the first floor has a piended dormer, and there is a small four-pane window to the flanking-right bay. The outer bays are advanced, with doorways under relieving arches to the outer left and outer right bays and boarded timber doors; each has a piended dormer above at first floor. A piended dormer also appears at first floor in the penultimate-right bay; the penultimate-left bay is blank. There is a pall stone to the outer left corner.

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

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

The east courtyard is enclosed by tooled snecked rubble with droved dressings and polished ashlar coping to the south, east, and north, and the outbuilding and stable range to the west. There is an opening to the west of the north wall, a lean-to shelter with a corrugated iron roof on the inside of the north wall, and a cobbled floor.

WINDOWS, ROOFS AND RAINWATER GOODS

Windows throughout are predominantly twelve-pane timber sash-and-case, with thicker astragals largely dating 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 1730–35. It contains a clock dated 1592 from the original tower house, housed in an 18th-century case by Francis Brodie of Edinburgh. The Oak Room has fine panelling and a basket-arched William Adam fireplace with late-19th-century overmantles; it opens into a porch of around 1800 that leads to the garden. The Old Library on the second floor has plasterwork by Enzer including an elaborate frieze and plaster vaults; the original bookcases, now grained, house a porcelain collection. The dining room (restored 1995) and drawing room (restored 1997) are in the west range by John Adam, 1753; the plasterwork in the drawing room was designed by John Adam and executed by Philip Robertson in 1762–63. The New Library was designed by Thomas Brown and Adam Lumsden, 1866–68, and features a Jacobean-style fireplace bearing the inscription "ELD 1868 RD". The remains of a small railway that once carried food from the old kitchen to the dining room are still present.

HA-HA

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

SUNDIAL

A sundial stands at the centre of the south lawn. It is circular in 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, in the words of Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, for "convenience and use." The land originally formed part of the hunting grounds of King Malcolm, used from Edinburgh Castle, and changed hands several times over subsequent centuries. Following the Reformation, the property was divided into several units, the most significant portion being purchased in 1571 by George Dundas, 16th Laird of the Dundas Estate. He bought it as an inheritance for his son James, from 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. George already had an heir to his existing estate at South Queensferry from his first marriage. 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 farms such as Castleton. His grandson Robert inherited the estate in 1679 and, on returning from exile in Holland in 1689, began to improve Arniston with the intention of building a new house and improving the grounds in the manner of the continental mansions and estates he had observed. Improvements to the gardens were begun, but it was Robert's son — also named Robert — who commissioned William Adam to design the new mansion.

The design of the present Arniston House 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 designed Mavisbank (completed in 1727). Clerk's poem The Country Seat described the useful country house, blending, as A.A. Tait has written, "the cultivated with the natural senses." Adam's design was based on the foundations of the existing 17th-century house. The original entrance was through a three-bay temple front with a rusticated ground floor and round-arched openings, now masked by the 1872 porch addition; the three niches above, intended to contain portrait busts, still survive. The remainder of the house was originally harled rubble, with single-storey passages to the service pavilions.

Construction of Arniston was not completed until the mid-18th century, as Robert ran out of funds. By that time William Adam had died, and his son John was engaged in 1753 to continue the work for Robert, 4th Lord Arniston. John Adam was responsible for the west range, which he adapted to contemporary taste by replacing the double-height apartments with the dining room and drawing room. Both rooms were recently restored in 1997, following the discovery of dry rot in 1957.

William Adam's layout for the grounds, which appears to have been carried out to the south, mixed formal and informal elements, comprising a bastioned parterre, wilderness, great avenue, cascade, and basin. From the 1750s onwards there was a long period of improvement, principally involving the informalisation of the grounds. John Adam continued working on the grounds 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 drew up an improvement and informalisation plan for the Arniston grounds; although little of this was actually 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, may have originated at Parliament House, Edinburgh, which was refaced by Robert Reid in 1803.