Birchwood Hotel, 2 East Moulin Road, Pitlochry

Birchwood Hotel, 2 East Moulin Road, Pitlochry

The Birchwood Hotel is a 2-storey, 3-bay house of the later 19th century, probably designed by Peddie & Kinnear. It is built in the Baronial style with distinctive architectural features including a 3-stage pavilion-roofed entrance tower and decorative fretwork bargeboarding. The walls are constructed of squared bull-faced rubble with stugged and polished ashlar dressings, with a base course throughout. The main door features a keystoned and voussoired round head with stepped ropework hoodmoulds above, while window heads have corbelled and crenellated detailing. Stone transoms and mullions feature throughout.

The principal (south) elevation is dominated by a slightly advanced tower positioned to the left of centre, with a further advanced bay to the outer left. This outer left bay has a blind shield incorporated into the hoodmould of a canted 4-light window at ground level, with corbelled angles giving way to a canted first floor containing a similarly detailed bipartite window. Corbelling returns to square angles at the gablehead. To the right of centre sits a lower broad bay with a slightly advanced, crenellated tripartite window to the ground floor and two windows above, each breaking the eaves into a dormerhead.

The tower itself comprises three distinct stages. The first stage displays fluted pilasters flanking a corniced doorway, which is surrounded by ropework moulding and features a 2-leaf panelled timber door with a semicircular plate glass fanlight. Above this sits a stepped pediment with a weathered shield on the tympanum and flanking dies with squat polygonal finials. The second stage contains a single window with a blind shield incorporated into its hoodmould. The third stage features a narrow round-headed window with ropework-moulded arrises, breaking into corbelled corniced eaves and a pedimented dormerhead with a small blind roundel. Similar windows occur on the east and west elevations. The tower is topped by a slightly bellcast roof with a decorative cast-iron finial.

The east elevation comprises 5 bays arranged in groups of 3 and 2. The left group has a single window to each floor at the centre, with the first floor window breaking the eaves into a dormerhead. A slightly advanced gabled bay to the left features a crenellated canted 4-light window at ground level and two windows above. A projecting crenellated tripartite window to the right is paired with a bipartite window above that breaks the eaves into a dormerhead. The right group of bays contains a small bipartite window to the left at ground level, a single window to its right, and two further windows to the first floor, each breaking the eaves into a dormerhead.

The west elevation displays 4 gabled bays. To the outer right, two ground floor windows are aligned with a further window above at the centre. Two closely aligned windows below a bipartite window sit to the right of centre. A slightly advanced bay to the left contains a bipartite window at ground level and a single window above. The outer left section features a wide-centre tripartite window to ground level with a bipartite window at first floor.

The north (rear) elevation presents a variety of elements in a near-symmetrical composition, with broad outer gables flanking a dormerheaded window, and a boarded timber door with glazed fanlight and a small adjacent window with a timber lean-to. An enclosed courtyard stands behind this elevation, featuring a 4-light transomed staircase window.

Most windows are timber sash and case windows with 2-pane upper sashes over plate glass lower sashes. The staircase window features coloured etched glass with margined detailing. The roof is covered in grey slate with a fishscale pattern applied to the tower. Chimney stacks are constructed of shouldered and coped ashlar with some cans. The building displays overhanging eaves with decorative bargeboarding featuring pendants and decorative cast-iron finials; plainer bargeboarding without ornament appears to the north, northeast and northwest elevations. Cast-iron downpipes with decorative rainwater hoppers and fixings complete the exterior detailing.

The interior contains decorative plasterwork cornicing and brass sash lifts, with panelled reveals to windows and doors. The entrance hall is tiled, while the inner hall features timber panelling with a carved timber fireplace. A dog-leg staircase with timber balusters and ball-finialled newels rises from this space. A white marble fireplace is also present within the building.

The property is bounded by coped rubble walls.