Holybrae, Birgham

Holybrae in Birgham is an early 19th century house, possibly built around 1805, with later additions and alterations. It is a two-storey, three-bay rectangular-plan house featuring a lower wing at the rear that forms a T-plan, along with a single-storey lean-to addition beyond and a flat-roofed porch at the front. The exterior is heavily harl-pointed rubble with cream sandstone dressings, droved quoins, long and short surrounds to the openings, and projecting cills.

On the southeast entrance elevation, there is a single window in the projecting flat-roofed porch at the center of the ground floor, with a timber panelled door to the right. A single window is aligned above on the first floor, and there are single windows at both floors in the flanking bays.

The northeast side elevation shows a two-bay house with a single window on the ground floor to the left and a tripartite window with narrow sidelights on the right. The lower two-bay wing is recessed to the right, featuring single windows in both bays at ground level. A part-glazed timber door is located in the lean-to addition to the outer right.

The northwest rear elevation has a gabled wing projecting at the center, with a full-width lean-to addition at the front. There are single windows on the first floor in the bays recessed to the outer left and right, and a lean-to addition at ground level to the outer right.

The southwest side elevation also features a two-bay house with single windows at both floors in each bay, and a lean-to addition to the left. The lower wing is recessed to the left, with a timber door at ground level to the right, which has a letterbox fanlight above it. There is a timber-mullioned tripartite window at ground level in the bay to the left, and squat windows in both bays above.

The house predominantly features 12-pane glazing in timber sash and case windows, along with rooflights. The roof is covered with purple-grey slate and has stone skews, with iron rainwater goods. The apex stacks are brick-built with circular cans.

The boundary walls consist of rubble sandstone enclosing the site in part. There are coursed rubble sandstone square-plan piers flanking the entrance, topped with pyramidal caps, and there are two-leaf spearheaded iron gates.