Stables, Duns Castle

Stables, Duns Castle

This is a substantial stable block built between 1791 and 1794 to designs by John Baxter, with subsequent alterations. It forms a square-plan courtyard block measuring 11 bays by 15 bays, standing two storeys tall and constructed in the Tudor Gothic style.

The building is faced with droved ashlar and polished ashlar dressings on its eastern elevation. The north, south and west elevations, together with the inner courtyard faces, are built of rubble with ashlar dressings. A base course runs around the building, with corner pilasters at the angles. Ornamental corbels sit at the eaves. Most openings throughout are finished with pointed arches.

The eastern elevation is the most formal. A string course spanning the windows serves as a hood mould. A central advanced bay features corner pilasters and contains a two-storey entrance to the courtyard, with windows at ground and first floor levels (the upper window now blinded). Flanking this are 3-bay groups with openings at ground floor and windows at first floor, though the right group has been altered where a square-headed window now appears. Two advanced 2-bay groups extend further out, each with two-storey openings. The outer right group has 2-leaf boarded doors, now partially blinded, with square-headed windows at ground level. The outer left group is similarly detailed but now boarded, with flanking windows at first floor.

The northern elevation displays a more complex arrangement. Two advanced 2-bay groups sit at the outer ends. The left group has blinded openings at ground floor; the right group has lit openings with boarded arches. Both feature square windows with hood moulds at first floor. Between them extends a 9-bay section where most ground floor openings are blinded with hood moulds, except for the 8th bay which contains a two-storey entrance to the inner courtyard. First floor openings in this section are mostly blinded, except for a square window in the 3rd bay and boarded sections in the 9th and 10th bays.

The western elevation shares the same basic structure of advanced outer 2-bay groups flanking a 9-bay intermediate section. The outer bays have pointed-arched openings with upper sections either blinded (left) or boarded (right), topped by square windows at first floor. The left 2-bay group's inner bay contains a flush-panelled 2-leaf door with a 4-pane rectangular fanlight and a square hood-moulded window above. The right 2-bay group's inner bay has a hood-moulded opening with square-headed window and boarded upper arch, with matching first-floor window. A boarded door between bays in this group includes a 4-pane rectangular fanlight. The intermediate 9-bay section has varied ground floor treatment: blinded openings to the outer left, a 2-leaf boarded door with 4-pane fanlight at the 2nd bay, and lit openings elsewhere with blinded upper arches. A timber addition of full height projects from the 7th and 8th bays. First floor windows are generally present except where square-headed hood-moulded windows appear in the 4th and 5th bays.

The southern elevation comprises two advanced 2-bay outer groups and an 8-bay intermediate section. The outer left group has blinded windows at ground floor and square-headed windows at first floor (the left bay blinded). The adjacent bay has a square-headed ground window and a tripartite first-floor window above. A buttress divides two bays. The intermediate 8-bay section displays varied fenestration: the 1st, 2nd and 4th bays have windows at ground floor with blinded upper arches in ashlar; the 5th bay contains a Tudor-arched entrance to the inner courtyard with a bipartite window above; tripartite windows light the 1st and 4th bays at first floor; bipartite windows appear in the 2nd, 3rd and 8th bays; single square-headed windows occupy the 6th and 7th bays. A vent with ashlar surround sits between the 7th and 8th bays. Iron bars protect windows in the outer 2-bay groups.

The inner courtyard presents an irregular arrangement of bays and opening types. Two conical-roofed bowed bays occupy the re-entrant angles at the north-west and north-east. Three segmental-arched cart openings face south-west. Openings at first floor are flanked by boarded 2-leaf doors adjacent to the western range entrance. A segmental-arched pediment with a carved heraldic shield adorns the bay to the right of the eastern range entrance.

Windows throughout employ timber sash-and-case frames in a variety of configurations: 4-pane, 6-pane, 9-pane and 12-pane lights appear across the building. The pointed-arch openings to the north elevation feature Gothick tracery. The roof is slated with stacks of both ashlar and rendered finish.

The interior was not fully inspected during a 1995 survey, but some original stalls remained in situ within the stable spaces. Later alterations have been made throughout, including the blinding of certain windows and the boarding of openings, though the overall Gothic character remains intact.