Boathouse And Gateway, Manderston House

The Boathouse and Gateway at Manderston House, designed by John Kinross in 1894, is a two-stage structure built in the Swiss chalet style. The boathouse is constructed from harled rubble and features rusticated ashlar sandstone quoins. It supports a slatted timber viewing room that is surrounded by a bracketed timber balcony with a pierced timber balustrade. A decorative iron gateway complements the structure.

The principal elevation showcases broad two-leaf boarded doors at the center of the boathouse. Flanking this are two-leaf part-glazed doors leading to the viewing room, which is bordered by windows featuring rounded arched astragals, carved friezes, and cornices. A block pediment beam spans the elevation beneath the gable head, adorned with additional carved ornamentation. The eaves are deeply overhanging, supported by curved timber brackets and exposed rafters.

The glazing consists of leaded square panes, and the roof is covered with timber shingles. At the rear gable head, there is a corniced barley sugar ashlar stack.

Inside, the boathouse features a decorative scheme from the 17th century. It includes panelled wainscot with a fluted frieze and billeted cornice. Fluted Ionic pilasters flank a tripartite chimney wall, which features a Tudor arched stone chimneypiece with a carved frieze and a gadrooned timber mantlepiece below a six-panelled carved heraldic display. Round-arched glazed doors lead to built-in cupboards flanking the chimneypiece, which have aprons of geometric panelling and strapwork carving. The coomb ceiling is decorated with vine plasterwork and birds.

The gateway, located close to the boathouse, features a decorative wrought-iron screen gate with railed pilasters flanking two-leaf six-panel gates. These gates are embellished with guilloche decoration and finials, some of which are part gilded.