Maines House

Maines House is a substantial mansion built in 1834 in the style of Burn and Bryce, though it may incorporate earlier fabric. It has been extended and altered subsequently. The building comprises a 2-storey main house with basement and attic, arranged over 3 bays, featuring distinctive Tudor gables. A gabled porch projects to the south-west, while a pyramidal-capped square-plan tower rises to the north. Single-storey ancillary ranges adjoin to the north, enclosing a service courtyard.

The main structure is built from coursed and stugged pink sandstone with sandstone ashlar dressings. The base steps out at ground level, and a moulded string course divides the ground and first floors. Stugged quoins frame the elevations. The margins are slightly raised and chamfered, some droved in part. Windows feature sandstone mullions with chamfered cills and stepped hoodmoulds. Tapering finials crown the gables, and sandstone wallhead gabled dormers punctuate the roofline.

The south-west (entrance) elevation is dominated by a single-storey projecting porch at its centre, containing a central tripartite window with a blind square-plan panel above it. Two-leaf timber panelled doors are set in returns to left and right, accessed by flanking steps. Above, a bipartite window is aligned at first-floor level, with a small attic light in the surmounting dormer. To the outer left, a bay contains a tripartite window at ground level and a bipartite window at first floor, again with a small attic light. The outer right features a full-height gabled bay advanced from the wall, centred with a tripartite ground-floor window, a bipartite first-floor window, and a small attic light in the gablehead.

The south-east (side) elevation displays a full-height gabled bay at its centre, containing a single basement window, a 4-light glazing row at ground level, a tripartite first-floor window, and a bipartite attic light in the gablehead. Bays recessed to left and right have single basement openings, 5-light canted windows with tiered stone-slabbed roofs at ground level, bipartite first-floor windows, small attic lights in surmounting dormers, and offset box dormers. A 2-leaf timber panelled door in a single-storey recessed porch appears at the outer left. Modern windows are set within the single-storey ancillary range to the outer right.

The north-east (rear) elevation contains a full-height gabled bay to the outer left with a tripartite ground window, bipartite first-floor window, and centred attic light. A recessed bay to the right incorporates steps leading to a part-glazed timber panelled door at ground level, with a narrow window above at first-floor height. A single-storey ancillary range projects to the right, with a bipartite window in the outer bay at first-floor level.

The north-west (side) elevation features a full-height gabled bay offset left of centre, containing a tripartite ground window, bipartite first-floor window, and small attic light above, with a later addition offset to the left at ground level. A square-plan tower adjoins to the right, presenting bipartite windows at ground level and single windows at upper floors. A single-storey ancillary range adjoins further right, with a large stair window recessed at first-floor level and a bipartite attic light in the surmounting dormerhead. A full-height gabled bay advances at the outer right, and single-storey ancillary ranges adjoin to the outer left.

Windows throughout are predominantly fitted with 4-pane glazing in timber sash-and-case frames; dormers are 3-pane timber types. The roof is covered in grey slate with gablet-coped skews, bracketed and finalled skewputts. Coped sandstone ridge and apex stacks carry clustered, diamond-set flues. Cast-iron rainwater goods serve the building.

The interior, converted for use as a hotel, contains a part-glazed timber panelled revolving door, plain plasterwork, and timber panelled doors throughout. The main stair features sandstone treads, foliate iron uprights, a foliate newel, and timber handrail. The remainder of the interior was not inspected in 1998.

Ancillary single-storey ranges adjoin the main house, forming a near U-plan service courtyard. These are built from predominantly harl-pointed sandstone rubble with stugged dressings, timber doors, and grilled windows. Grey slate pitched and piended roofs cover these ranges, though some roofing is missing.

Decorative iron railings on low coped rubble walls flank the front porch and run to the side of the rear addition. A coped and squared sandstone wall encloses the courtyard, punctuated by square-plan gatepiers with pyramidal sandstone caps flanking the central entrance. The gates are missing.