Auchendinny House

Auchenfinny House is a symmetrical classical country house, possibly designed by Sir William Bruce around 1705, with later alterations and additions including a bathroom block undertaken by Leadbetter, Fairley and Reid between 1914 and 1920.

The house comprises a 2-storey corps-de-logis with attic over a half-sunk basement or cellar storey. The main block is a 5-bay rectangular plan with 2-storey, 2-bay flanking pavilions linked to it by quadrant walls. The principal entrance is approached by steps and a platform at principal floor level.

The exterior is finished in pink and cream stugged sandstone, with coursed and squared rubble to the rear and pavilions, polished ashlar dressings, a base course, raised margins to windows, and moulded shouldered margins with consoled cills to the north-west principal elevation windows of the pavilions. The building features an eaves course and strip quoins. A later lean-to greenhouse faces the garden to the rear.

The north-west principal elevation displays a pedimented doorpiece with roll-moulded and lugged architrave, accessed by stair to the raised principal floor. The 2-leaf, part-glazed timber panelled door is flanked by windows at principal and first floor levels, with dormer windows above. A small opening at cellar storey sits to the right of the stair.

The south-east rear elevation is 7-bay in arrangement, grouped 2-3-2. The advanced central 3-bay group, of later construction, contains a 2-leaf part-glazed door with rectangular fanlight at ground level and a window at first floor above. The flanking bays contain windows at each floor, with a tripartite dormer window centrally positioned above. The main block displays windows at each floor including basement level in the flanking bays, with 2 tripartite dormers set above.

The pavilions are single-bay, 2-storey structures with boarded doors to the ground, first-floor windows above, and 2-bay returns containing windows at each floor. The south-west elevation of the right-hand pavilion features a coach arch at ground level.

The fenestration comprises 3 original 24-pane timber sash and case windows to the north-east; 12-pane timber sash and case windows to the main block, with 4-pane versions to the basement; a casement to the central rear dormer; and 6-pane fixed windows to the ground floor of the pavilions.

The roof is bell-cast grey slate with piend and platform sections; piended dormers face the north-west elevation and flat dormers the south-east. The pavilions have grey slate piend roofs. Two ashlar corniced stacks with polygonal cans sit on the platform of the corps-de-logis, while single ashlar corniced ridge stacks top the pavilions. The linking quadrant walls are coped, and cast-iron rainwater goods are fitted throughout.

The interior contains fine finishes: the 1st floor landing is panelled in Memel pine with pine lugged, architraved doors; the drawing room is oak-panelled; moulded stone fireplaces with lugged and corniced surrounds are present throughout; the principal bedroom is pine-panelled with allegorical romantic painted panels; shutters remain intact; a moulded stone staircase with freestone newels rises through the building; stone architraves frame attic doorways; and the basement is partly vaulted with plain cornices above.

The outbuildings comprise a parallel range of two single-storey gabled structures to the north-east, built in squared rubble with ashlar margins to openings. The right-hand building features a segmental arch with boarded doors on its north-east elevation, 2-leaf garage doors to the left, a window to the right, and a boarded door with hayloft opening and weather vane to the gable end. The left-hand building has 2 sets of boarded garage doors on its south-west elevation. Both have grey slate roofs with skylights and coped skews.

The gatepiers are circular-plan ashlar sandstone with band cope, circular cap and ball finial. The boundary walls are sandstone rubble with square cope.