Newbattle Abbey House

Newbattle Abbey House is a substantial 16th-century mansion built on the site of a 12th-century Cistercian monastery, incorporating remains of the medieval complex into a 16th-century L-plan tower house. The building was extended in the late 17th century and altered during the 18th and 19th centuries, with 19th-century wings added to the north, a central classical porch built in 1878, and a modern accommodation block erected to the far north in 1967. The house now stands in 19th-century parkland with a formal garden to the rear. It is predominantly built of sandstone rubble, squared and snecked on the north wings, with ashlar surrounds to the openings. The main house is three storeys high with nine bays, crenellated in the Gothic style, and arranged around an inner courtyard.

West (Entrance) Elevation

The entrance front presents a symmetrical three-storey, nine-bay crenellated elevation with a central porch added in 1878. The porch is three bays wide with a flat roof, built of snecked sandstone with a base course and a corniced ashlar frieze. It has a central panelled two-leaf door with moulded surrounds, advanced Tuscan columns, and a plain architrave decorated with guttae. The frieze features triglyphs and carvings of the Lothian coat of arms, a sun emblem, and initials, all beneath an overhanging cornice. Flanking the porch are windows, with two windows to the left return (one blocked), a small lancet window set back to the left, two windows to the right return, and a small lancet window to the right.

The central three bays of the elevation are advanced, each containing a window. At ground floor level, there are three round-headed bipartite windows and a small window to the left of the porch, located in the chapel. These were previously three rectangular windows with roll-moulded stone surrounds, the remains of which are visible to the right. To the right of the porch are three windows, with mullioned Y-tracery in the far right window. The first and second floors each have nine windows, and the second floor features three arched windows at the centre. Most windows have hoodmoulds with acanthus leaf detail. A corniced eaves course runs below taller crenellations at the centre. Two gas lamps flank the porch.

North Elevation

The north elevation shows a complex arrangement resulting from successive building phases. To the left, a first-floor Venetian window and second-floor tripartite window are blocked by a later wing. A fourth-floor window sits in a curvilinear gable at the far left. To the left of the tower is a four-storey, three-bay section punctuated by three set-off buttresses. Each storey and bay contains a rectangular window, except for an arched window with Y-tracery in the ground floor second bay. Three dormers break through the eaves, each with a decorative curvilinear gable head and a floral motif finial.

A stair tower stands to the right, with a round-headed first-floor window, a rectangular window above, and decorative corbelled work below a corniced course at the third stage. The fourth stage has a narrow arched slit, with a bracketed and corniced eaves course below a swept slate roof topped by a ball and spike finial. A set-off buttress appears to the right of the tower, with a blocked ground floor arch at the far right and a corniced eaves course with crenellations above.

East (Rear) Elevation

The rear elevation features a symmetrical four-storey, seven-bay section to the left. The fourth storey was added by the architect William Burn in 1836. Hoodmoulds appear on all windows except those on the fourth storey. The outer bays have tripartite windows at ground floor and second floor levels, with blocked flanking panels to the left of the left-hand ground floor tripartite window. A door with Y-tracery occupies the second bay. Each bay is centred with a window. The first floor outer bays contain Venetian windows, while the fourth floor outer bays have smaller tripartite windows. Five central dormer windows break through the eaves, each with a curvilinear gable head surmounted by a flower motif finial. Curvilinear gables appear on the outer bays.

South Elevation

The south elevation comprises two distinct sections. To the left is a three-storey, four-bay crenellated section with a flat-roofed billiard room extension at the first and second bays, rising from a base course. Two ground floor mullioned windows with Y-tracery appear to the right. The first and second floors each have four windows, with a door opening to the flat-roofed wing located in the first floor left window. All windows have roll-moulded stone surrounds. Hooks and metal strips remain from exterior sunblinds. A corniced course runs below the crenellations.

To the right is a four-storey, four-bay section with a window in each bay. The ground floor left bay has a window slit, while the first floor has round-headed windows. The stonework surrounding the second window at the third floor reveals a former larger opening. All windows except the slit window have roll-moulded surrounds. Two curvilinear gables appear in the right bays, each containing a single window. Monastic masonry, including a base course and three buttress bases, is incorporated into the south elevation.

North Wings

The north wings show evidence of several building campaigns. The west elevation features a three-storey section set back to the right, added before 1834, with irregular fenestration and a moulded string course below crenellations. Hoppers dated 1858 are positioned at the far right. A three-storey, three-bay advanced wing to the left was added in 1875 and crenellated in 1886. It has a replacement door to the left and two windows to the right. The first and second floors each have three windows with roll-moulded surrounds and heraldic keystones incorporating the Lothian rising sun motif. A datestone between the first and second floors bears a monogram and the date 1886. Corbelled eaves support the crenellations. Changes in the stonework reveal alterations to the west wings.

The east elevation of the north wing features an advanced two-storey, five-bay addition from 1858 to the right of the main block. It has five ground floor windows and a corbelled tripartite oriel window at first floor level to the left, topped with a polygonal swept slate roof and ball finial. A projecting gable head in the fourth bay contains a small central window and has a corniced coping with five decorative finials. Corniced string and eaves courses run beneath chamfered window surrounds with stops.

At the far right stands a three-storey, two-bay crenellated tower with a tall base course and corniced string courses at the first and second floors. Each floor has two windows, with hoodmoulds at the third floor and a corbelled eaves course below the crenellation. An advanced buttress appears to the right with a wall stack on the right return. A modern single-storey harled boiler house at the far right is not part of the statutory listing.

A uniform accommodation block to the north, designed by Robert Matthew, Johnson-Marshall & Partners in 1967, encloses the courtyard. It comprises a four-storey, three-block wing aligned east-west, a single-storey wing to the east, and a two-storey wing to the south. The block is built of rock-faced sandstone with a piended roof and regularly placed fenestration.

South Wing

The south wing consists of a single-storey flat-roofed billiard room wing to the right of the main block, with crenellations to the west. The west elevation has three windows, with Y-tracery in the central truncated window. The wall continues to the right with four arches featuring Y-tracery and a mullion in the left window and open arches to the right. The wall continues without crenellations to the south gable end, where a niche contains decorative carved stone at the top and a moulded base carved with foliage and a green man head at the bottom, with a cross pommé below.

The east elevation of the billiard room wing is built of tooled snecked sandstone with a tall base course. Three windows are set into moulded ashlar surrounds with window ledges. A door and window with moulded surrounds appear on the left return beneath a plain frieze with a moulded band. A chamfered arris to the base course is carved with 'M90', and a decorative cast-iron hopper is dated 1872. The wall continues to the left with three open arches supported on square plinths with ashlar surrounds. Later railings fill the openings.

Building to South

A building to the south is constructed of squared sandstone with chamfered quoins to the north, a corniced eaves course, and later (blocked) crenellations above beneath a corrugated-iron catslide roof. A moulded arched door in the north wall has a keystone carved with a head. The east wall displays two carved stones: a carved stone frame with a coronet in the keystone and a stone centred in the frame with effaced initials dated 1776, and the Lothian family crest to the left with a carved head above. The wall terminates in a crenellated gable to the south.

The south elevation is built of tooled sandstone with two narrow moulded columns at the south quoins. An arched niche appears in the north wall. The south elevation has advanced outer bays, each with an arched niche, and a recessed central bay with a blocked opening to the left. A marble plaque carved with the Lothian emblem of a rising sun with a crown (similar to one at Southside) is positioned in this bay. A carved representation of wine-making at the base depicts a figure with a strainer, spoon, and barrel.

Interior

The interior is exceptional, containing remains of monastic structures and an original late 19th-century decorative scheme in the drawing room, as well as a 17th-century plaster ceiling in the library. The hall features a central imperial timber staircase decorated with carved foliage and marquetry, with a central 18th-century marble roundel depicting putti and a goat. The hall has a parquet floor with marquetry edging and a water-powered organ to the right. Various marble fireplaces are found throughout, some with richly carved timber overmantels, including examples in the porch (dated 1878), the hall, and the south wing billiard room, which features a carved depiction of the story of Solomon.

Monastic remains of vaulted chambers flank the staircase at ground floor level, with original rib and barrel vaulting surviving in parts and replaced elsewhere. Some chambers retain original 14th-century column bases. Parquet floors mark the positions of former column shafts and mirror the vaulting above. Two large stone fireplaces bear stone carvings of the Lothian coat of arms above them. A late 19th-century fireplace stands to the south, and a 17th-century panel above the north fireplace shows 16th-century work in the moulded jambs.

A vaulted room to the west was converted to a chapel in 1900. It contains a marble altar, a timber and painted rear screen, a decorative stone arch to the chancel, and a decorative marble aumbry and screen at a window to the left of the altar. An ornate parquet floor copies the original medieval tile design, with two original tiles positioned in the chancel floor. A blocked elevated 'leper's window' is located in the southwest corner. The chapel also contains an early 16th-century hexagonal font on a 19th-century base carved with coats of arms, including those of Margaret, Queen of James IV, and Madeleine, wife of James V.

The double-height drawing room on the first floor was richly decorated by Thomas Bonnar around 1870 and remains largely untouched. It has a panelled dado and shutters with ornate brocade pelmets, with gilded heraldic carving surmounting the pelmets and tall pier glasses between the windows. The walls are covered in Hay's patent imitation damask with gilt fillet to enhance the illusion of damask. Two doors have geometric panelling with marble architraves. Two fireplaces have corniced marble surrounds with Ionic columns and gilded overmantels painted with scenes of Princess Margaret's visit to Newbattle in 1503 by Riccardo Meacci. The deeply coved painted ceiling features putti, Lothian emblems, three-dimensional gilded stars, and gilded cornices.

The dining room to the east contains 18th-century and later panelling, including Corinthian columns, a decorative overmantel, timber cornice, shutters, and panelled doors. Carving in the style of Grinling Gibbons and a recessed buffet niche are present. Three images of pastoral scenes hang above the doors. The pink marble fireplace surround has tiled cheeks. The plaster ceiling features putti, stars, and a floral design.

The L-plan library to the northwest has a 17th-century moulded ceiling with pendants, lions, and dragons. Shelving throughout features spiralled shafts surmounted by carved heads. Two fireplaces have marble surrounds and Morris & Co tiles, with a carved timber overmantel featuring gas fittings behind lions' heads, spiral columns, and carved Lothian emblems. A portrait of de Gusman attributed to van Dyck hangs over one fireplace, and a copy of a Sheffield-type portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots hangs over the other.

Decorative fireplaces and cornicing are found in David Bryce's 1858 wing, including the vaulted ceiling of the Marchioness' boudoir, decorated with gold and green lattice and gold stars. Two blocked (previously external) windows with roll-moulded stone surrounds and rising sun keystones face into a corridor in the east wing, with a datestone between them bearing the monogram MKLN and the date 1580 (Mark Ker, Lord Newbattle). A similar blocked (previously external) window is positioned in the inner hall to the small drawing room wall at first floor level and above at second floor level, indicating the extent of the external wall of the former L-plan house. A ground floor door with a stone roll-moulded surround may also align with these first and second floor windows.

The second and third floor rooms are now teaching rooms and studies. Two turnpike stairs are located to the southeast and northwest, and an open well stair to the north.

Exterior Details

The house has predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case windows. The roof is piended and slated, with various stacks including spiral stacks to the southeast. The east chimneys have crowsteps, with end crowsteps carved as a man's head with a beard. Cast-iron rainwater goods are fitted throughout, with some hoppers decorated with the Lothian rising sun motif and dated.