Dun Dubh

Dun Dubh is a small, two-storey asymmetrical mansion built in 1886. It adopts a plain 17th-century revival style, notable for its gabled roofline, irregularly placed red sandstone mullioned windows, a combination of vertical and horizontal window orientations, and an unusual arrangement of quoins – long vertical sections broken by short horizontal ones. The house sits on a wooded site overlooking Loch Ard to the west.

The north elevation features three gables, with the outer two slightly projecting. A deeply corniced, flat-roofed porch extends from the right-hand side of the central section. This porch features a roll-moulded doorpiece with a riveted timber door offset to the right, and a date plaque to the left. A four-light window above the porch illuminates the stair hall inside.

The west elevation is double-gabled. Originally, the mullions in the windows were removed and replaced with modern glazing. A small timber conservatory was originally located to the right of this elevation. Both the west and longer south elevations offer views over Loch Ard. The four-bay south elevation has two central gables and a parapeted, two-storey bay window. The rear (east) elevation includes a gable to the left and a small, single-storey lean-to projection, in addition to the service entrance.

Internally, much of the original joinery and plasterwork remains. The billiard room is characterised by a ceiling divided into squares by timber and plaster mouldings. The west public room has two stone bolection chimneypieces. A small timber-panelled cloakroom is located in the entrance porch. An unusual fretwork design adorns the balustrade of the quarter-turn timber staircase.

The house is constructed from random rubble with red bull-faced sandstone margins and quoins. It was harled at the time of the first survey in 1971 and may have originally been so. The windows are a mix of multi-pane timber casements and sash windows, with some modern replacements. The pitched roof is covered with graded slates and stone skews. Cast iron rainwater goods, including ornamental hoppers, are present, alongside corniced gable and wallhead stacks.