St Margaret's Well, Dalzell House

St Margaret's Well, Dalzell House

This is an early 16th-century fortified country house, now converted into 16 apartments, with significant additions from 1649 and extensive modifications by the architect R.W. Billings between 1857 and 1859. The building was restored and converted in the 1980s. It is arranged as a three-storey square-plan courtyard house with a keep at its centre and flanking wings enclosed by a courtyard wall opposite.

The Keep

The early 16th-century keep is a three-storey rectangular-plan structure with a caphouse to centre. It features a bartizaned parapet with billeted corbelling and round angle towers. The walls are constructed of squared red sandstone with yellow ashlar quoins.

On the west (courtyard) elevation, a four-centred arch doorway occupies the centre with a bead-moulded architrave and roll-moulded reveal. Angled panel frames bearing Hamilton ciphers flank the arch, and a gunloop appears to the right. The second storey displays two offset arrow slits in the outer right bay, while the third storey has paired tall architraved windows at its centre. The caphouse features a crowstep gable with a coped gablehead stack bearing a panel frame with the Hamilton of Dalzell arms.

The east (rear) elevation has a narrow window at its centre, an entrance to the right, and a tall narrow window on the second storey. The north and south side elevations are obscured by the adjoining wings.

The North-East Wing

Built around 1649, this three-storey rectangular-plan block extends four bays and terminates in a crowstep gable. It is constructed of squared red sandstone with yellow ashlar quoins and margins to openings.

The east (principal) elevation includes a base course with a continuous stugged hoodmould to the first-floor windows. The second floor was added by R.W. Billings in 1857-59 and features shoulder-arched windows beneath a corbelled and crenellated parapet. A four-stage square-plan stair tower with an octagonal embattled parapet was added to the north-east corner and is battered to its octagonal form. The west (rear), north (side), and south (side) elevations are partially obscured by adjoining structures.

The South Wing

Also dating to around 1649, the south wing is a three-storey rectangular-plan gabled block extending seven bays. Pedimented windows break the eaves with strapwork to the tympanum. A stair tower with a candle-snuffer roof occupies the south-west corner. The walls are of squared red sandstone coursers with crowstepped gables.

The north (courtyard) elevation comprises three storeys with four bays and a three-stage corbelled stair turret at centre with small gunloops. A triangular-plan addition by Billings appears on the outer left return with small pedimented windows to the second and third floors. A small half-gable end with a ground-floor window is situated to the right.

The south (garden terrace) elevation is four storeys with seven bays of slightly irregular fenestration. Pedimented dormers and gabled roof dormers break the eaves. A four-stage corner tower with a candle-snuffer roof stands at the far left. A Billings addition extends full-height with a gabled, canted bay at centre and bowed oriels flanking a canted oriel to the centre of the first floor, embellished with billeted fan corbelling. A gabled attic storey with corbelled bartizans sits above flat-roofed bays behind the gablehead. An engaged two-stage stair tower appears on the right return.

The east (side) elevation displays a panel frame to the gablehead and a projecting battered chimney flue to the far right, terminating in a coped wallhead stack. The west (side) elevation has a window to the left and pediments with strapwork tympani carving.

The North Wing

Built by R.W. Billings in 1857-59, this three-storey L-plan gabled block extends five bays. An octagonal stair tower with crowstepped gables occupies the north-west corner.

The south (courtyard) elevation features a three-stage engaged stair tower at centre with a candle-snuffer roof and asymmetrical fenestration. Gabled dormerheads break the eaves on the second floor. A pointed arrow slit with a small diamond-shaped window appears at the centre of the third storey. An engaged four-stage stair tower with a small bartizaned gabled caphouse stands on the south return. Narrow recessed links connect the main body of the north wing to the keep.

The north (rear) elevation is partially obscured by an adjoining coach house but displays corbelled machicolation to the first floor. The west (side) elevation has a stepped stringcourse between floors and a bipartite three-stage octagonal-plan stair tower at the north-west corner.

Interiors

The house was converted into 16 apartments in the late 1980s. R.W. Billings's Jacobethan interiors have been largely preserved throughout, including coffered wood panelling, plasterwork, doors, and fireplaces. Principal apartments include a drawing room (flat 7) with free-standing carved timber Corinthian columns; a library (flat 6); a banqueting hall (flat 8); a billiard room (flat 16); and a vaulted entrance hall.

Windows and Roofing

The windows throughout are predominantly 12-pane sash and case windows. Roofing is of grey slates with lead flashing. Gable stacks and skews are coped with skewputts. Cast-iron rainwater goods are installed.

The Courtyard Wall

A later 17th-century curtain wall, heavily altered by R.W. Billings in 1857-59, encloses the courtyard. The wall comprises seven bays with a central walkway behind a parapet, constructed of red sandstone coursers and yellow sandstone ashlar. A cavetto-moulded cornice supports an embattled parapet stepped to link with an angled square-plan corbelled corner turret on the south. Arrow slits and incised star-shaped cresting ornament the wall.

Large segmentally-arched carriage entrances occupy the north and south outer bays, with roll-moulded reveals and hoodmoulds. The interior elevation is arcaded with a continuous plinth, banded columns with corbelled capitals, and diamond-shaped openings above with short nailhead mouldings and a continuous hoodmould.

The Wellhead

A canopied stone wellhead designed by R.W. Billings in 1857-59 sits within the courtyard. It comprises a plinth, banded columns, guilloche moulding to the entablature, a rope-moulded cornice, conical roof, and ball finial. The roof is covered with grey fishscale slates and features a decorative wrought-iron screen.

The Steading

Built by R.W. Billings in 1857-59, the steading is predominantly single-storey and arranged in a rectangular-plan courtyard block. A half-gabled entrance tower with a gablet-roofed belfry occupies the north. The walls are of squared and tooled yellow sandstone coursers with crowstepped gables. Fenestration and converted entrances face the courtyard; exterior walls are blind.

The north (entrance) wing is two-storey with a single bay and a square-plan entrance tower to centre. The south (rear) wing is two-storey with four bays and a mansard roof. The east (side) wing is single-storey with an exposed basement, five bays, and flying entrance steps to a stepped central doorway. A three-bay link connects to the main house, adjoining to the left, with a three-bay shallow columnar arcade to the ground and a small gabled caphouse. The west (side) wing is two-storey with four bays at centre, and a three-stage square-plan gabled clock tower set at angle to the centre rear.

The Terraced Garden

The extensively terraced garden dates from the later 17th century and was altered by R.W. Billings in 1857-59. Three tiers of steeply descending narrow rectangular-plan terraces face south, overlooking the Dalzell Burn gorge. They are constructed of squared sandstone coursers with ashlar ovolo-moulded semicircular-arched coped parapets.

The first tier is adjacent to the house. An entrance from the park appears to the far left with stepped coping to square-plan piers bearing nailhead boss ornament and moulded pyramidal caps. Recessed steps from the front esplanade of the house have caps with segmental pediments to square-plan piers, embellished with strapwork carving to the tympani. Recessed steps at the centre lead to the second tier.

The second tier has corbelled bartizans at the outer corners. A small flight of steps ascends to a small mezzanine terrace to the far right, and a door in the outer wall to the far left gives access to steps descending to the third tier.

The third tier features quadrant corners with three horizontal terraces running down from right to left.