Stables, Vogrie House

Stables, Vogrie House

A Gothic stable block built circa 1825 in a U-plan with a screen wall enclosing a courtyard. Single storey and attic with a stepped down basement to the rear, it spans 5 bays and is now used as a Girl Guide Hostel. The building was constructed under the direction of James Dewar, who was also responsible for laying out the country park in the early 19th century. He died before realizing his plan to build a new house to accompany these structures. Alexander Cumming Dewar, James's second son (his eldest son having died childless without altering Vogrie), took on the task of building a new house later in the century.

The exterior is finished in coursed droved sandstone ashlar on the southwest elevation, with coursed squared tooled sandstone rubble and droved dressings elsewhere. Architectural details include a base course, chamfered reveals, hood moulds, ashlar coping to wallheads, and octagonal angle turrets with decorative finials.

The principal southwest elevation is symmetrical across 5 bays, featuring a central screen wall to the middle 3 bays that is canted out and stepped up, containing a 4-light unglazed traceried Tudor arched window at its centre with Tudor arches leading to the courtyard in flanking bays. Stepped gables between octagonal turrets flank the outer bays on left and right, each with a central Tudor arched 2-light traceried window. Modern fire escape doors accessed by metal steps serve each bay.

The courtyard features a 3-storey tower at the centre of the northeast range. An infilled Tudor arch with a glazed timber replacement door occupies the centre, and a Tudor arched window lights the attic floor. Above sits an octagonal tower with a quatrefoil recessed to 3 sides; the southwest face originally displayed a painted clock, now boarded up. A machicolated parapet with carved finials tops the angles. Flanking bays show regular fenestration, with an infilled Tudor arch to the left and gabled dormers to the attic floor. The northwest interior elevation displays a 2-leaf glazed timber door with 4-pane fanlight to the right, a bipartite window to the left, and gabled dormers to the attic. The southeast interior elevation has 3 infilled Tudor arches, with windows in the 1st and 3rd, a window to the outer left bay, and 2 gabled dormers to the attic.

The southeast elevation is asymmetrical across 4 bays, with a stepped gabled bay advanced to the penultimate bay on the left. Fenestration is distributed irregularly across ground and attic levels. An octagonal turret without finial marks the angle with the outer right bay.

The northeast elevation, finished in random rubble with droved dressings, shows irregular fenestration to the ground level and 2 boarded timber doors to the right of the basement, with a small rectangular opening to the left.

The northwest elevation is asymmetrical across 4 bays, with 2 windows in the outer left bay, a central door to the basement below, regular fenestration to remaining bays, and a bipartite window breaking the eaves in the penultimate bay to the left.

Windows throughout are predominantly small-pane timber sash and case windows, many of which are replacements. The roof is graded grey slate with later skylight windows and lead ridges. Cast iron rainwater goods are present, along with a coped gablehead stack to the right of the southwest elevation and 4 later ridge ventilators.

The interior was not seen during the 1997 survey.

The New Statistical Account records that "the stables afford a specimen of the taste and splendour with which the entire design would have been executed." Certain architectural elements suggest Indian influence alongside the obvious Gothic character—notably the Tudor arches and the brackets supporting the tower's parapet. Although there is no evidence that James Dewar spent time in India, both his sons had considerable experience there, which may have influenced the design. The architect or architects remain unknown, though C McWilliam suggests that R and R Dickson may have been responsible.