Bear Gates, Traquair House

Bear Gates, Traquair House

The Bear Gates date from 1737-8, with the carved stone bears themselves added in 1745 by George Jamieson. They form an impressive entrance composition comprising a pair of rectangular-plan gatepiers constructed from coursed pale sandstone ashlar worked to resemble brickwork, each topped with a projecting neck cope and flat cap. Surmounting these piers are the celebrated bears proper, carved from Penicuik stone and bearing the Traquair shield inscribed with the motto "Judge Nought".

Between and around the gatepiers run low walls of random whinstone rubble with ashlar margins, which now feature 20th century wrought-iron railings with plain railings decorated with spiked, stylised fleur-de-lis finials and twisted flanking prong heads, possibly by Thomas Haddon. The railings incorporate central tulip finials. At either end, rectangular terminating wing walls with flat copes support a central ashlar urn. To the rear, these wing walls contain segmental-headed recesses that were originally used for seating, though the seat has since been removed.

Flanking the bear gates are two entrance lodges (Number 4 to the north-east, Number 3 to the south-east), with further cottages located slightly to the south-east.

Numbers 1 and 2, known as the Avenue Head Cottages, form an irregularly fenestrated nine-bay terrace now subdivided into two dwellings. The principal south-west elevation has entrance doors at the second and seventh bays, with tripartite windows to the first, third, fifth, sixth and eighth bays, and single windows to the fourth and ninth bays. All windows have slightly projecting sills. The terrace is terminated by blind gabled ends with gablehead stacks. The rear elevation follows a similar style but includes a later piended extension with a central bipartite flat-roofed dormer projecting to the right. A rubble wing wall with a pair of hexagonal ashlar gatepiers topped with low pyramidal caps connects the terrace to Number 3.

Number 3 (Lodge) has an L-plan layout on its principal south-west elevation. The right arm features a semi-glazed entrance door in a re-entrant angle with a narrow window to its far right, while the left arm is blind-ended with a single window in its right return. The north-west elevation comprises three bays with a central entrance door flanked by windows. The rear north-east elevation is nearly blind apart from a slightly advanced piended section to the right containing one single window. The south-east elevation, which overlooks the entrance drive, has an end wall with a central small window and a larger window to the right.

Number 4 (Lodge) has a three-bay principal south-east elevation with a semi-glazed central entrance door flanked by a bipartite window to the right and a single window to the left; the left and right returns are blind. The rear features a window from the main house to the right with an advanced wing to its centre and left, a window to the left with a smaller one towards the centre, and a rear entrance door and window in the right return. A small single storey rectangular-plan outhouse stands to the rear.

All cottages and lodges are harled with projecting sandstone sills. The windows throughout are four-pane glazing in timber sash and case frames with horned upper sashes, except for one smaller window with plate-glass glazing. The pitched slate roofs feature replacement roll ridging, with cast-iron Carron lights to the rear. Rainwater goods are painted cast-iron. The chimneys are very short and squat, harled stacks with single plain cans to the gableheads and paired cans to the two roofline stacks.

The interiors of the lodges and cottages have been modernised and refurbished from 1980 onwards for residential accommodation, with little original work surviving.