The Retreat

The Retreat is a late 18th-century house in the Gothick style, with later additions and alterations. It comprises a circular-plan former hunting lodge of two storeys with a cellar and attic, featuring eight bays of openings. A single-storey T-plan wing extends to the south-east, linked to the central block by a later single-storey lean-to corridor. To the north-west stands a separate single-storey, near T-plan wing with a single-storey and attic cottage forming the right wing, known as The Retreat Cottage. A screen wall links a rectangular-plan vaulted block to the north-east. The building is predominantly painted harl with polished cream sandstone dressings. The north-west wing incorporates harl-pointed rubble whinstone with painted margins, and the cottage is painted harl with sandstone dressings. Pointed-arched openings with sandstone margins and projecting cills feature throughout, though some square-headed openings occur on the wings. A walled garden to the south-east contains an associated single-storey outbuilding.

From the north-east entrance, the main house displays a part-glazed timber-panelled opening (possibly a former door) offset to the right of centre, topped with a pointed-arched Y-tracery fanlight. A smaller window aligns at first-floor level. The remaining bays contain regularly disposed single windows at ground level, with smaller single windows aligned at first-floor level and small box dormers regularly disposed above. A projecting porch centred in the screen wall, recessed to the left, contains a two-leaf timber-panelled door with a replacement opaque fanlight beneath a Tudor-arched surround with architraved hoodmould.

From the south-west garden elevation, steps lead to two-leaf glazed French doors centred at ground level, surmounted by a Y-tracery fanlight. The remaining bays display regularly disposed single windows, with smaller windows aligned at first-floor level and box dormers above. A single window offsets to the left of centre in the single-storey corridor, recessed to the right, with a timber door in a bay to the outer right.

The south-east wing's north-east elevation features a single timber door centred in the advanced single-storey wing to the outer left, with square-headed single windows in two bays to the left, a square-headed bipartite window in one bay to the right, and a square-headed single window in a bay to the outer right. The south-west garden elevation adopts a T-plan arrangement, with a pointed-arched single window in the projecting central bay, a pointed-arched single window in a bay recessed to the outer left, and larger pointed-arched single openings in two bays recessed to the outer right.

The north-west wing's south-west garden elevation also follows a T-plan, with a pointed-arched single window in the projecting central bay and a timber door in a bay recessed to the outer left, boarded with a pointed-arched fanlight. The cottage is recessed to the outer right with a two-leaf boarded timber door centred at ground level topped by a plate-glass fanlight. A square-headed single window sits at ground level in a bay to the outer right, and square-headed bipartite windows occur at both floors in a bay to the outer left, with the attic light breaking the eaves.

The interior of the circular block contains a central corridor running south-east to north-west, forming semicircular sections on either side. A rectangular-plan drawing room with apsidal ends features a plain cornice, a replacement fireplace and replacement dado panelling, and a large semicircular cabinet built into the southern apse. A square-plan reception room to the north-east adjoins an irregularly-planned kitchen set in the remaining portion of the semicircle. A bowed, half-turn stair rises to the first floor and attic, whilst a separate stone stair descends to the cellar, set beneath the south-west semicircle. Timber-panelled doors feature deep panelled reveals. The interior contains some interesting fireplaces. Unusual undulating ceilings feature throughout, most prominent on the upper floors but absent from the ground-floor reception rooms.

The south-east wing has been converted to a separate holiday residence, with boarded timber panelling in the drawing room (a former byre) and plain plaster cornice. The north-west wing retains stalls in the former stable block with boarded timber doors and open timber ceilings. A vaulted kennel block, formerly possibly a granary, extends to the north-east. The cottage interior was not examined in 1997.

Windows predominantly feature Y-tracery upper panes with 6- and 12-pane lower glazing in timber frames, some single-pane sections within. The north-west wing cottage displays 4-pane upper, 2-pane lower glazing in timber sash-and-case windows, and some vented lower panes with Y-tracery uppers occur in the stables. The south-east wing's north-east elevation contains 18-pane timber sash-and-case windows. Some modern windows exist at the rear, and skylights line the linking corridor.

The main block carries a graded grey slate conical roof, with grey slate roofs to the flanking wings and a corrugated-iron roof to the rubble range in the north-west wing. A corniced, circular-plan sandstone stack sits centred above the house; corniced sandstone ridge stacks occur to the north-west wing and south-east wing, a brick-built ridge stack tops the cottage, and a coped wallhead stack crowns the north-east elevation. Circular cans feature throughout, and some cast-iron rainwater goods remain in place.

The walled garden to the south-east follows an irregular, near-triangular plan enclosed by random rubble walls with a bowed end. The western lower wall was lost following a mid-20th-century flood. The associated single-storey outbuilding is harl-pointed whinstone rubble of square plan. Its east elevation features a door opening in a bay to the right and a small single window offset to the left of centre. A grey slate pyramidal roof crowns the structure. The interior was not examined in 1997.

A square-plan sandstone sundial dated 1800, originally from Dumfriesshire, stands to the south-west of the house, embossed carving adorning its upper facets, with a metal gnomon in place.