Methlan Park House, 38 Helenslee Road, Dumbarton

Methlan Park House, located at 38 Helenslee Road in Dumbarton, is a two-storey mansion designed by architect John MacLeod and built between 1880 and 1881. The house features a main entrance in a square, four-stage campanile on the east side. It is constructed from coursed, stugged ashlar with polished dressings, and has rusticated quoins on the house that are banded on the tower.

The east elevation showcases an off-centre campanile with paired Ionic columns that support a balustraded porch, all of which are painted. The upper two stages of the campanile have slightly recessed panels, and the third stage contains paired round-headed, pilastered, and keystoned windows, along with a four-light pilastrade above. The roof is flat pyramidal with bracketted eaves and a finial.

On the south elevation, there are four bays with the outer bays advanced. The two-storey projecting windows are canted to the left and semi-circular to the right. The remaining windows are single, either two or three-light. There is a string course over the ground floor and at the cill levels, as well as eaves and lintel bands and a main cornice. The panelled stacks are symmetrically placed but mostly cut down. To the left, there is a recessed, low, two-storey, three-bay service wing. The roofs throughout the building are slated.

Inside, the house has a fairly complete and elaborately decorated interior featuring classical details, dado panelling, panel doors, and doorcases. The chimneypieces include one in the smoking room decorated with tiles by Moyr Smith that depict themes from Walter Scott's writings. The drawing room has two chimneypieces, a stencilled and ribbed ceiling, and a Corinthian-columned screen leading to an ante-room. The library retains a fitted bookcase, and a stair window depicts scenes of MacMillan family traditions.