Hamilton House, Luss Road, Balloch

Hamilton House is a large house dating to around 1775, with significant additions from the later 19th century. The original house is a 2-storey over basement rectangular block with five bays, to which a large, 3-storey, 5-bay wing was added at a right angle to the south. The original part is stuccoed over rubble, with raised ashlar margins, rusticated quoins, and an eaves cornice.

The east elevation presents five bays arranged symmetrically. A pedimented bay is at the centre, with a broad staircase leading to the front door which has a Gibbsian surround and a pediment. There are wrought-iron handrails and a modern light attached to the keystone above the door. The first floor window above the door has a lugged surround and fluted keystone, and is topped by a blind bulls-eye window with urn finials. Barred windows are present in the basement.

The north elevation features a broad gable with windows on the ground and first floors to the outer left. A barred window is centrally positioned in the basement, and a further window is slightly off-centre to the right on the first floor. There’s a small, off-centre window to the left in the attic. A broad apex stack is present. A later wing is recessed to the outer right, with pedimented dormerheads breaking the eaves of the attic. To the right again is a two-bay recessed block with a chamfered corner, and a tripartite, mini-gabled dormer.

The south elevation is dominated by the later 19th-century block, which is two storeys high with five bays. The centre bay is slightly advanced and features a full-height (ground to second floor) canted window. A segmental pediment tops the second-floor window, and there is a stone balustrade balcony. Eaves band cornices divide the ground, first, and attic floors, with pedimented dormerheads breaking the eaves.

The west elevation has an eaves cornice at the attic level, an armorial plaque at the centre, and a coped wallhead stack.

The original house has 12-pane timber sash and case windows, while others are 4-pane timber sash and case windows. The main house has a grey slate gabled roof with lead flashings, and the later wing has a grey slate piend and platform roof. Broad, coped wallhead stacks are present, along with 2-pane rooflights.

The interior was not inspected in 1995, but original shutters remain.

A small, octagonal timber gazebo stands nearby. It features chevron joinery, a pagoda style roof with gablets breaking the eaves on alternate facets. A door is on the south elevation, with a gablet above and trefoil louvred ventilation. The roof is clad in terracotta fishscale tiles, with broad terracotta ridge tiles and a terracotta finialled cap. Gablets also have finials. The gazebo interior has boarded seating along each side and a chevron timber floor.