Steading, Ayton Castle

Steading, Ayton Castle

This steading is almost certainly designed by James Gillespie Graham, dating to circa 1850, with later additions and alterations. It forms a 2-storey stable range set around a near-quadrangular courtyard, with a single-storey rectangular-plan projection to the north.

The building is constructed in squared and snecked tooled red sandstone with sandstone ashlar dressings. It features a base course and moulded eaves course throughout, stugged quoins, and stugged long and short surrounds to openings with flush cills. Boarded timber doors are used throughout the complex.

The West Range, viewed from the courtyard elevation, comprises four bays. A large depressed-arched entrance is centred at ground level, with a single window breaking the eaves above in a surmounting gablehead. Single windows occupy both bays at ground to the right, with a squat single window centred above. A timber door sits in the bay to the left of the entrance, aligned with a squat single window above. The outer (west) elevation displays seven bays. Stop-chamfered angles mark a full-height gabled bay advanced at the centre, featuring a large depressed-arched entrance with moulded surround at ground level and a single window centred above, surmounted by a tapering finial. Three-bay flanking ranges have single windows at ground in all bays, with boarded openings centred at first floor. A single-storey two-bay wing recesses to the outer left.

The South Range's courtyard elevation spans four bays. A taller two-bay block at the centre contains two 2-leaf boarded timber doors in depressed-arched cart openings at ground, with single windows offset to the left above. Timber doors with 3-pane fanlights occupy the ground floor of the outer bays, each aligned with a single window above. The outer elevation features a taller two-bay block advanced at the centre with arrowslit windows in both bays at ground and single windows above. A wing recesses to the left with a full-height gabled bay slightly advanced at the centre, containing single windows at both floors and blind flanking bays. A wing recesses to the right of centre with similar treatment, plus an additional single window at ground offset to the left.

The East Range's courtyard elevation contains five bays at ground, grouped 2-1-2. Stop-chamfered angles define a full-height gabled bay slightly advanced at the centre with a timber door centred at ground, round-arched 4-pane fanlight, plain round-arched door-surround with decorative iron light fitting, and a clock face in a square-plan cream ashlar panel above. Single windows at ground occupy two bays recessed to the right, with a squat single window centred above. A single window at ground appears in the bay recessed to the left of centre, aligned with a squat window above. A round-arched pend opening sits at ground to the outer left. The outer elevation features a full-height gabled bay advanced at the centre with boarded openings centred at both floors and a surmounting urn-shaped finial. A two-bay range recesses to the left with a boarded opening at first floor in the right bay and a single window at ground in the left bay, plus a small opening at first floor offset to the left above. A three-bay range recesses to the right of centre, containing a round-arched pend opening centred at ground, a single window at ground in the outer right bay, and boarded openings at first floor in the outer left and right bays.

The North Range's courtyard elevation spans six bays at ground. Stop-chamfered three-bay block slightly advanced at the centre holds a timber door centred at ground with flanking single windows and a gabled window breaking the eaves above. A two-bay range recessed to the left has timber doors in both bays at ground with a single window centred above. A single-bay range recessed to the outer right contains a timber door centred at ground with 4-pane fanlight and a squat single window aligned above. The outer elevation displays a single-storey two-bay M-gabled projection at the centre with single windows, above which sits a single window centred in the 2-storey range behind. A three-bay range recesses to the outer left with boarded openings at both floors offset to the right of centre and timber doors at ground in the flanking bays. A three-bay range recesses to the outer right with arrowslit openings at ground to the left, two single windows aligned at first floor, a boarded timber door at ground offset to the right of centre, and a single window at first floor in the outer right bay.

Windows throughout are predominantly 12-pane in timber sash and case format. The roofs are finished in grey slate with stone-coped skews and moulded skewputts. Decorative ridge ventilators are present, along with corniced ridge, apex and wallhead stacks of various designs.

The interior, observed in 1998, features boarded timber stalls with plain iron railings and ball-finialled newels. Replacement cobbles cover the courtyard. The remainder of the interior was not seen at the time of inspection.