Old Holylee House

Old Holylee House

A good example of a surviving early 18th century small country house with similar 19th century vernacular extension. Built circa 1734 and extended in the earlier 19th century with 20th century additions and alterations. A 2-storey, oblong dwelling house that was originally 3 bays, extended to form 5 bays, with 2 later gabled entrance porches. The building is harled rubble from Holylee Quarry with painted ashlar margins and chamfered arrises to the original windows. The gabled roof has no skews or putts.

The principal south elevation to the left shows the original 2-storey, 3-bay house with a later gabled porch to the ground floor central bay containing a window to the main gable. At the left return is an entrance door leading to the original main door with an incised lintel dated 1734 IB (for John Ballantyne). A window to the ground floor flanks this entrance. The first floor has 3 regularly placed bays. To the right, a later house of similar style adjoins, with a bay to the first floor left and a bipartite window to the centre of the elevation.

The east elevation is a 2-storey blind gable-end with a gablehead stack and a high rubble retaining wall adjoining to the left. The north (rear) elevation is irregularly fenestrated. To the left, the extended house shows 2 irregularly sized and placed bays to the ground floor, and to the first floor a central timber staircase leading to a planked timber hayloft entrance door with a slightly raised catslide roof and 2 almost vertically aligned roof lights to the right. Adjoined to the right, the original house has a single window to the ground floor left and a central window to the first floor with windows to the flanks. The west elevation is a 2-storey gabled end overlooking Holylee Linn but was not visible in 2002.

Most windows are 12-pane timber sash and case windows. Later 4-pane timber mock sash and case hopper windows serve the porches and the central ground floor window of the north elevation. Two later roof lights appear on the rear elevation. Painted cast-iron rainwater goods are fitted throughout. Plain stock brick gablehead stacks with projecting ashlar neck copes and paired plain cans are present, with a gablehead stack to the centre of the roofline (former end gable of the original house) widened to provide flues for 3 cans.

The interior has been altered to form modern accommodation. A stone fireplace with bead moulding survives in the first floor west gable.

The house was the residence of the Ballantynes of Holylee from 1734 to 1827. The stone for the building came from either the quarry at Hog's Knowe behind it or Holylee Quarry directly below it. The original house is the 3-bayed section sited to the west and measured approximately 44 feet 9 inches by 23 feet 1 inch. It is believed the house originally had a central staircase with a room flanking. A later 2-storey house was added to the east gable, giving the 5-bay structure seen today. The dwelling has been further subdivided, with an upper flat accessed by an external stairway on the north (rear) elevation. It remains part of the Holylee estate and houses workers from there and the adjacent Holylee Farm.