Chapel And Refectory, Whitehill House, Rosewell

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

The main block is two storeys with basement and attic, laid out on a square plan of eight bays. It is connected by a four-bay link to the south-west, which leads to a single-storey-and-attic, seven-bay stable and office court. Throughout, the building is constructed in coursed, lightly stugged sandstone ashlar with polished architraved mullioned windows. Decorative elements include a base course, a moulded dividing band course, a moulded eaves cornice, a balustraded parapet, buckle quoins, and crowstepped gables. The roof is graded grey slate with lead ridges, and the stacks are barley-sugar clustered, corniced ridge and wallhead types. 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 is advanced to the fourth bay from the right, with each arch flanked by Tuscan columns, keystone to the arches, a simple frieze, moulded cornice, and pierced strapwork parapet. The returns to left and right have small-pane windows with 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 first-floor level on the centre bay, a canted window is enclosed by a strapwork parapet containing a statue of the Virgin Mary. Above this, a curvilinear gable carries a carved shell surmounted by a cross at the apex, flanked by two carved unicorns supporting Ramsay family crests.

The two flanking bays to left and right are recessed, each with a two-light window flanked by a single-light window at ground and first-floor levels, and regular fenestration to the basement. The outer right bay is advanced and has three-light windows to the basement, ground floor, first floor, and a recessed attic floor flanked by square angle turrets.

To the penultimate bay on the left is 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 at first-floor level, and three-light windows to each elevation of the second-floor tower stage. The remaining section of this part of the elevation has a four-light window to the basement, four-light windows with panelled lintels to the ground and first floors, and a three-light window to the gabled attic floor, with a square angle turret to the left.

SOUTH-WEST ELEVATION

The south-west elevation is predominantly obscured by the link building, the stables, and later additions and alterations.

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, two storeys and attic to the south, seven bays wide, and laid out around a courtyard plan with later additions and alterations.

North-west elevation: The gabled centre bay has an infilled round arch containing two windows, with a stepped hood mould surmounted by a Ramsay family crest of a unicorn's head and mullet, flanked by two urns. The three bays to the left have regular fenestration. The third bay from the left and the penultimate bay to the left each have attic dormers with strapwork gables. The third bay from the right has a ground-floor window; the penultimate bay to the right has a glazed panelled timber door; and the outermost right bay has a gabled dormer above at attic level, as does the penultimate bay.

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 a Ramsay crest set in the gablehead, flanked by two square angle turrets. The remaining three bays have regular fenestration breaking the eaves with strapwork pediments. 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 to the basement floor; gabled dormers at the two outermost right bays at attic level; gabled bay to the outer left.

South-east elevation: Asymmetrical, two storeys and attic, seven bays wide. The ground floor of the second, third, and fourth bays from the left each have two-leaf boarded timber doors; there are infilled openings to the outer left; the penultimate bay to the right has a flat timber door flanked by two glazed panels; and the first floor has irregular fenestration. Four dormer windows sit at attic level. The gabled bay to the outer left has red brick additions. 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-floor level, and a three-light window with a hoodmould and Ramsay family crest set in the gablehead at first-floor level, flanked by square angle turrets. Red brick additions adjoin to the outer left.

Left return: Five bays wide, with a basket-arched opening to the outer left leading to the servants' court. There is a lean-to addition to the central bays at ground-floor level, a panelled timber door to the outermost left bay reached by downward steps, three windows above the archway, and 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, with a window to the flanking bay to the left, and two gabled dormers at attic level. The south-west elevation has regular fenestration to all bays except one door in the penultimate bay to the left, and two gabled dormers at attic level. The north-west elevation has basket arches of former coach houses obscured by a glazed 20th-century lean-to addition, with two gabled dormers to the centre of the attic floor. The north-east elevation has a flat-roofed 20th-century addition to the ground floor and two gabled dormers at attic level.

SERVANTS' COURT

The servants' court lies to the south-east of the stable court and is square in plan with additions and alterations.

North-west elevation: Asymmetrical and four bays wide. Three bays to the right have regular fenestration to the ground and first floors; the bowed angle bay to the left has a window at ground and first-floor levels.

North-east elevation: Asymmetrical and four bays wide. Regular fenestration to the ground floor; 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; and a window to the right return.

South-east elevation: Asymmetrical and three bays wide. The central bay has a basket-arched opening with a boarded timber door at ground-floor level; the left bay has a door flanked to the right by a six-pane window; and the right bay has a single-storey angle bowed window. Three windows sit to the centre of the first floor, with a replacement tripartite window to the left bay.

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

SOUTH-EAST ELEVATION (MAIN BLOCK)

The south-east elevation is near-symmetrical and seven bays wide. An eight-light shaped bow window runs through the basement, ground, and first floors with panelled lintels, flanked to left and right by three-light windows at ground-floor level. There are harled additions to the basement floor, a door and metal fire escape stair to the first and attic floors of the flanking bay to the left, and a three-light window to the first floor of the flanking bay to the right.

Three-storey ogee-roofed towers occupy the penultimate bays to left and right. The tower to the left has single-light windows with strapwork pediments at ground and first-floor levels; the tower to the right has the same at first-floor level, with a doorway at ground-floor level obscured by 20th-century additions. Both towers have three-light windows to each elevation of their second floors. The outer left and right bays are gabled, each with canted windows running through the basement, ground, and first floors, and square angle turrets whose ogee caps are missing. A red brick addition adjoins to the outer left.

NORTH-EAST ELEVATION

The north-east elevation is near-symmetrical and seven bays wide. An eleven-light shaped bow window with a strapwork parapet sits to the centre of the ground floor. Five central bays have regular fenestration at first-floor level, except the bay to the right which has a door and metal fire escape at ground and attic floors. The penultimate bay to the right has a two-leaf glazed timber doorway at basement level. The gabled bays to the outer left and right each have five-light canted windows with strapwork parapets running through ground and first floors. Gabled dormers sit above each of the five central bays at attic level, with three-light windows to the flanking outer left and right bays. The square angle turrets have missing ogee caps.

BRICK ADDITIONS

The 1935 red brick additions by John Devlin adjoin the house to the south-east. They include an apsidal-ended chapel with round-arched stained glass windows. The remainder has regular fenestration, and there is a glazed flat-roofed addition to the south-west.

INTERIOR

The main hall is a large Jacobean space 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 to 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 and surrounds remain throughout the ground floor. The upper storeys contain simpler rooms.

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