Mackenzie Lodge, Brioch Terrace, Crieff

Mackenzie Lodge, Brioch Terrace, Crieff

Designed by Frederick Thomas Pilkington and dated 1854, Mackenzie Lodge is a 2-storey villa with basement, arranged on an L-plan and comprising 5 bays. The building is constructed of stugged squared rubble with stugged and polished ashlar dressings. It features a conical-roofed angle tower and a pyramidal-roofed lantern. The basement is battered, with ground floor cill and lintel courses throughout. Openings are fret-carved with shouldered, round- and segmental heads, some with relieving arches. Corbels are deployed across the façades. Arrises are roll-moulded and stop-chamfered, with stone transoms and mullions throughout. The building is surrounded by a 'moat' to the north, east and west, while the south elevation sits above a raised basement.

The principal (south) elevation displays a stepped composition. An angled entrance bay projects to the right of centre as a 2-storey porch in a re-entrant, with chamfered jambs corbelled to a square shouldered doorway. The doorway lintel is inscribed 'Every house is builded by some man: But he who builds everything is God'. Beyond the porch stands a deep-set 2-leaf panelled timber round-headed door with semicircular plate-glass fanlight. A small corbelled triangular oriel breaks the eaves into a pyramidal roof immediately above. To the left in the re-entrant stands a corbelled and mutuled stack with quatrefoil detail. A recessed bay to the outer right contains windows to both floors, with the first-floor window breaking the eaves into a dormerhead. A taller advanced face to the left carries a paired shouldered window to the ground floor and a dormerheaded window above. To the left again rises a taller gabled bay, topped with a Celtic cross finial, containing windows to each floor and a small circular transomed opening in the gablehead. Beyond this, a rounded 'turret' angle features 2 shouldered windows to the ground floor, a 4-light transomed window above, and 2-light transomed windows flanking the angle.

The west elevation contains 2 irregularly disposed windows to each floor, a corbelled oriel to the outer left, and a shouldered stack with cross detail to the right.

The north (rear) elevation displays a variety of elements across a broad 2-bay composition, including a 5-light square-plan cantilevered timber bay rising into a 3-light piended window, and a dominant gable to the right with a stepped chimney breast and gablehead stack.

The east elevation features a set-back piend-roofed bay to the right of centre with a door and adjacent window to the ground left and a window above with a tiny opening in the re-entrant. A gabled bay to the left contains windows to left at each floor and a chimney breast that pierces the gablehead into a paired stack.

Windows are timber sash and case with small-pane glazing patterns throughout; the lantern contains coloured glass. The roof is clad in banded green (Easdale) and purple slates with fishscale detailing at overlaps. Stacks are banded cavetto-coped and mutuled, some with cans. Cast-iron downpipes with decorative rainwater hoppers and fixings run down the façades. Decorative bargeboarding is present throughout.

The interior retains a fine original decorative scheme. Decorative plasterwork cornices, timbered and vaulted ceilings, and carved woodwork are found throughout. Round-arched saltire-panelled doors of white oak and walnut feature chip carving. Gothic-arched stone fireplaces are a consistent feature. Working timber shutters remain in place. The porch and vestibule have mosaic-tiled floors.

The ground floor left room (former dining room) contains an arcaded sideboard recess flanked by doors, a timbered ceiling with moulded consoles, and a stone fireplace with ropework moulding and elaborate cusped carving. The top-lit stair-hall rises around a cantilevered timber dog-leg staircase with pierced quatrefoil detail, finialled newels, and nail-head detail. A ropework-moulded cornice and decoratively-astragalled rectangular lantern light the space. The first floor left room (former drawing room) is vaulted with decoratively-plastered ribs and a carved stone fireplace bearing the architect's initial 'P' over the arch. Further bedrooms retain timber fireplaces and barrel vaulted ceilings.

The southern boundary comprises coped squared rubble walls with inset railings and square-section gatepiers with quatrefoil-detailed ashlar copes. The northern boundary features a glazed semicircular-coped red brick wall with hoopwork iron gates.