Sw, Gatepier And Boundary Walls To Nw, Robertson House (Formerly Flowergrove) Including Gate, 11 Bridgend

Loch Lomond And Trossachs National Park Planning Authority

Simple yet with some refinement, Robertson House is a symmetrical mid 19th century 3-bay, 2-storey, rectangular-plan house with later alterations. Imposing within the local surroundings of Bridgend being for some time directly associated with the adjacent Callander Primary School (formerly McLaren School, see separate listing).

Door to centre with Greek sandstone doorpiece; tapered pilasters supporting an entablature carrying a shallow pediment. Both side elevations were probably built as blank, subsequently the SW has had openings created at both ground and 1st floor. At some time the NE elevation had an opening created which has been refilled at a later date. The rear (SE) elevation shows the raggles of what was probably a central stair tower.

The house is named after Major Robertson, a man of good standing within the local community in the later/late 19th century. Major Robertson commissioned the nearby Mission Hall and Julia Cottages, (currently unlisted, 2004) he also commissioned and lived in Callander Lodge (see separate listing). It is said for a time he lived in this house.

After the adjacent school was built in the early 20th century the house was reorganised to accommodate classrooms on the ground floor and teacher's living quarters on the 1st floor, it was probably at this time the stair tower was added. The present owner believes that the house was reorganised in the 1960s offering living accommodation for teachers at both ground and 1st floor. It was converted back into a single dwelling house in the 1990s with the loss of the stairtower (now replaced by a modern timber balcony).

Interior

Gutted and modernised in the 20th century.

Materials

Modern timber door and modern timber tilt-top multi-paned windows. Squared, tooled 'pudding stone' to principal elevation, coursed random 'pudding stone' to side elevations and rear. Sandstone dressings; margins and rybats to window openings, base course and rybats to outer edges. Pitched grey slate roof, modern roof lights to rear. Raised ashlar skews with ashlar gable apex stacks with cans.

Gatepiers and Boundary Walls to NW and SW.

Pair of cast iron gatepiers to entrance of drive, low rubble boundary wall with ashlar cope to NW, higher rubble boundary wall to SW with rubble copes laid on end.