Gatepiers And Garden Features, Boundary Walls, Lodge And Stable, Callander Lodge

Callander Lodge is a villa dated 1863 with late 19th century additions, set within the Leny Feus development and recognised as the best villa in that scheme. It is an asymmetrical double-pile, 2-storey, 4-bay, rectangular-plan house with imposing conservatory and Edwardian Baroque entrance porch to the principal south elevation. The building displays good architectural detailing and sits within an interesting collection of ancillary buildings and garden features spread across impressive grounds. The rear north block, formerly the servants' wing, has been sympathetically converted to a separate dwelling known as Robertson House.

The principal south elevation is dominated by a large 7-light conservatory added in the late 19th century to the left of the porch. It is plainly decorated with canted sides and a simple corniced flat roof, with large windows divided by stone mullions and oculus vents set below. The prominent central 2-storey entrance tower was altered in the late 19th century to incorporate a high-quality entrance porch. The porch consists of a round-arched opening with an architraved arch-head flanked by ornate consoles supporting a heavily corniced open pediment embracing a coat of arms flanked by reliefs. The interior of the porch has a stone bench to the right with a pulvinated and incised back, and the ceiling is plaster groin-vaulted. To the right is a 2-storey, 3-light canted window bay corbelled out to the gablehead and containing a decorative datestone.

To the garden west elevation are two wide gabled bays. A 3-light box window lights the ground floor dining room. A 2-storey, 3-light canted window occupies the slightly advanced right bay. A 2-storey dormered former servants' wing is recessed to the left with an altered single-storey gabled arm projecting out to the left.

The rear north elevation is the plainest, as it primarily housed servants' accommodation. A wide gable to the left is blank, with a single-storey 3-bay range extending to the right. The central former servants' section, now the principal entrance to Robertson House, has a breaking eaves stone gablet flanked by small narrow windows.

The east elevation is relatively plain, with the regularly-fenestrated 2-storey 3-bay dormered former servants' wing to the right. A wide gabled bay is positioned off-centre to the left, with bipartite windows to ground and first floor. This part of the house has been given over to Robertson House and is internally separated from the main house. The left portion is blank apart from a tall round-arched stair window.

The house is constructed of stugged, squared and snecked 'pudding stone' rubble with blond sandstone ashlar dressings. The later entrance porch and conservatory have polished ashlar dressings. The main door is six-panelled with a plate glass round-arched fanlight. Windows are predominantly 4-pane timber sash and case to the principal elevations, mainly 6-pane to the conservatory and 8-pane to the rear elevation. The multi-paned stair window features stained glass depicting thistles to the border glazing. Grey slate roofs are plain timbered bargeboards to gables with overhanging eaves and exposed rafter-ends. A tall tripartite wallhead stack to the south elevation has a panelled base, stop-chamfered shafts and corniced copes with circular clay cans.

The interior features an encaustic-tiled decorative floor to the entrance and stair hall. A round-arched fossiliferous-limestone chimneypiece with engaged barley-sugar columns stands in the hallway; the owner reports that the mantelpiece and grate are believed to be purely ornamental with no flue. A varnished pine timber dogleg stair has a barley-sugar newel and turned balusters. Principal rooms have 4-panel doors with classical overdoors, restrained folaceous and strapwork plaster decoration, and cornices. Timber panelled shutters are throughout.

The Lodge is an L-plan single-storey and attic building with the entrance set in a single-storey link to the southeast. A stone entrance porch and link supports a quirky roof-top walkway with decorative wrought iron balustrade, providing first-floor access from the stable block to the lodge. The owner attributes this arrangement to a former lodge keeper's numerous offspring, as further living accommodation was formed in part of the stables. To the right of the entrance is a single-storey canted window centring the advanced gable, with a window centred above. The northeast street elevation is dominated by a wide gable to the left with a bipartite window to ground floor and a window centred above; to the right is a slightly recessed regularly-fenestrated dormered bay. Internally the lodge has 2 rooms to ground floor and 2 rooms to first floor.

The lodge is constructed of snecked stugged rubble 'pudding stone' with sandstone dressings. It has a grey slate roof with plain timber bargeboards to gables and exposed rafter-ends at eaves. A large centred corniced stack has circular clay cans.

The Stable is a single-storey and loft rectangular-plan former stable and coach house with single-storey link to the lodge at the north end. A breaking eaves loft door gives access to the roof-top walkway to the northeast. The northwest elevation faces the enclosed stable yard with a large 20th-century opening with sliding timber door to ground floor. Above this is a piended dormer window breaking eaves, probably added when part of the stable was converted to living accommodation. A stone pen-check stair with wrought iron handrail to the outer left gives access to the roof-top walkway. The southeast elevation is predominantly plain with a timber-mullioned window to the right bay, and timber-louvered ventilation openings below eaves to each bay.

The stable is constructed of random rubble 'pudding stone' with smeared pointing and sandstone dressings. It has a grey slate piended roof with exposed rafter-ends at eaves.

Gatepiers and Boundary Walls

A set of matching gatepiers stands east of the lodge, each with bases, panelled shafts and boldly corniced caps, linked by a dwarf wall which extends along Leny Feus to the east (originally with railings, which no longer exist as of 2004). A coped rubble boundary wall sweeps down west of the lodge to capped ashlar gatepiers and a 2-leaf timber gate providing access to the former stable yard. High random rubble boundary walls enclose the garden perimeter to the east and west, running south. A low rubble wall runs south along Leny Road.

Garden Features

The house sits within its original plot consisting of extensively landscaped and planted grounds running to 4 acres. A canalised burn passes the lodge and stable block with a simple timber board bridge providing pedestrian access to the lodge. The burn passes over a cascade and into a pool west of the house. An underground channel carries it some distance further before it emerges to the far southwest of the garden, running close to the south boundary wall. A kitchen garden is situated west of the stable yard. A plain 5-bay mono-pitch timber greenhouse is built against the wall extending west from the lodge. A grotto of circular-plan stone rubble retaining wall with earth banked behind it is situated southwest of the garden, with an entrance cut into one of its sides. Ferns and ivy are heavily planted around it.