Newton Cottage, Dunblane Hydro Hotel, Perth Road, Dunblane

Dunblane Hydro Hotel

A substantial 4-storey, 17-bay Italianate hotel designed by Peddie and Kinnear, built 1875–6 with later additions and alterations. The building is constructed of yellow ashlar sandstone with a gabled roof featuring timber bracketed, barge boarded, overhanging eaves. The base includes a projecting course, with cill height and dividing cill bands running across the façade, topped by an eaves course.

The principal west elevation is dominated by a 7-stage engaged entrance tower with a belvedere to the centre. The tower rises through five storeys of stone-mullioned, bipartite windows to the 4th stage (which is canopied), with a small window to the 5th stage above. The 6th stage carries clock faces flanked by small attic bays, while the 7th stage is a free-standing structure with tall semicircular-arched openings to the belvedere, plain corner piers, and a low pyramidal roof. An advanced porte-cochere at ground floor level features raised quoins and frames stone steps to the main entrance, now fronted by a modern steel and glass portico.

Flanking the tower are symmetrical 5-bay blocks. These feature advanced, cast-iron structure arcades to the ground floor with lean-to roofs and regular fenestration to the upper floors. Semicircular-headed roof dormers mark the facade, with a 3-storey advanced canted bay to the centre. Four-storey pavilion blocks with attic storeys occupy the outer positions, each 3 bays wide with pyramidal roofs and regular fenestration, except for bipartite windows to the 1st floor.

The rear (east) elevation displays irregular fenestration with multiple advanced 3-bay gable ends and a large advanced bay to the outer left. Single-storey modern additions extend along the full length of this elevation.

The north (side) elevation comprises 6 bays divided into two 3-bay blocks with regular fenestration. An advanced 2-storey dining wing was added in 1884, featuring a canted central bay flanked by a bay to the left (now abutting a modern glazed dining room extension) and a bowed bay to the right. This wing is finished with mullioned and transomed windows and a balustraded parapet.

The south (side) elevation shows 9 bays divided into three 3-bay blocks with regular fenestration. A 2-storey advanced canted bay marks the block to the left, with a modern addition to the ground floor. The centre block has a canopied entrance, and a gable end of a 2-storey, 9-bay elongated modern wing abuts the block to the right.

Throughout the building, windows are predominantly 4-pane, timber-framed sash and case windows. The roof is covered with grey slates and lead flashing, with cast-iron rainwater goods.

The interior was restored and refurbished in the late 1990s. Ornate original plasterwork has been retained to the public rooms on the ground floor, with the exception of a remodelled ballroom to the rear. Of particular note are the tapered pilasters applied to the walls of the south function room.

South Lodge

A single-storey, 3-bay, rectangular plan lodge stands to the south. It has a piended slate roof with gables breaking the eaves. The west-facing elevation features bipartite windows flanking a central door, with a large gable above and oculi to the gable head. The gable is finished with pierced barge boarding terminating in carved medallions. The rear (east) elevation has a central door flanked by windows and two small roof dormers. The side elevations are blank with gables breaking the eaves. The interior is plain.

West Lodge

A 3-bay, asymmetrical, gabled lodge with yellow ashlar sandstone facing, overhanging eaves with exposed rafters, and a north-facing aspect. The left portion is 2-storey with a bay featuring an advanced canted bay to the ground floor with a corbelled roof and window above. The right portion is single-storey over two bays; the left bay has a single window, while the right bay opens through a recessed entrance beneath an open, gabled timber porch. An advanced canted window marks the Perth Road gable end. The east end is blind. The rear and interior were not observed at the time of survey in 2001.

Gatepiers and Boundary Wall

A pair of square-plan ashlar piers stands at the entrance, each with a plinth, chamfered column, projecting cornice, and swept cap terminating in a ball finial. A low, coped rubble wall runs along Perth Road, while a high, coped rubble wall bounds Newton Loan.