Sites and Monument Record: Knowe, The (SMR 313)

Description
1897 house of 2-storeys, 1907 addition 3 storeys, complex asymmetrical building. Partly squared and snecked rubble with ashlar dressings, partly harled with ashlar dressings and applied timber framing. 1897 building with advanced bay and 2-storey canted window, gabled central porch variety of window designs, 1 at 1st floor with wallhead, finialled gable. Tall addition with domed angle turret, corbelled from 1st floor at SE, and jettied upper floor at SW, with full height projecting square bay on S elevation. Some interior panelling. 1912 new billiards room added on upper floor.
The front room on the south side has a King George and Queen Charlotte, Adams fireplace for Wedgewood in a winter theme - dates about 1780.


ERNGATH ROAD, THE KNOWE INCLUDING GATEPIERS AND BOUNDARY WALLS

Description:
A Porteus, 1897, with billiard room and corner turret addition by Matthew Steele, 1907. 2- and 3-storey, 3-bay plain Tudor villa retaining notable interior decorative schemes. Squared and snecked tooled sandstone with ashlar dressings and some harl with brick dressings. Corbels; mock half-timbering; some stone mullioned and transomed windows, chamfered arrises.

W (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: 2-storey elevation. Centre bay with keystoned basket-arched opening below tiny 8-light window to ball finialled, pitch-roofed stone porch giving way to single window at 1st floor; advanced ball-finialled gabled bay to left with canted window at ground corbelled out to further canted 4-part window at 1st floor; bay to right with wide-centre tripartite at ground and single window above breaking eaves into ball-finialled dormerhead. All windows transomed.

E ELEVATION: asymmetrically-fenestrated, 3-storey elevation with variety of elements including corbelled 2-stage turret rising above roofline at outer left angle, projecting square-plan tripartite windows to 1st and 2nd floor right and further 2nd floor tripartite jettied out over outer right angle, both 2nd floor bays half-timbered.

N ELEVATION: altered elevation with broad stepped half-timbered gable jettied over 1st floor left above diminutive canted 1st floor window, modern conservatory and stone-pedimented dormer window to centre bay, and blank gabled bay breaking eaves at right.

Variety of glazing types, timber sash and case 9-pane over plate glass with horns to canted bays of W elevation. Some 4-pane without horns. 12-pane over 12-pane to turret. Some casement windows. Grey slates. Coped ashlar gablehead stacks to N & S, mid roof stacks to E, with some polygonal cans. Ashlar-coped skews with moulded skewputts. Overhanging eaves.

INTERIOR: good decorative schemes, largely intact. Timber screen door, upper panel etched glass with stained glass fanlight and sidelights. Timber panelled entrance hall and stairwell with encaustic floor tiles, timber staircase. Further stained glass. Timber-panelled billiard room with timber ceiling with detailing in yellow and black chequerboard inlay. Further green and black chequerboard inlay. Some original fireplaces and chimneypieces. Timber-panelled bathroom with original fittings including showerhead.

GATEPIERS AND BOUNDARY WALLS: to SW, pair of square ashlar gatepiers with pyramidal caps with impressive timber and cast-iron 2-leaf gate with studded decoration and ornamental hinges. Low rubble boundary wall with scrolled iron railing.

Notes:
One of Bo'ness' most impressive villas set on an elevated site overlooking the town and with a characteristic turret looking out over the Forth.

Built for George Cadell Stewart. Cadell Stewart founded the Bo'ness pit prop industry along with his business partner, James Love of Glasgow on the reclaimed foreshore. Timber props allowed much more coal to be mined from the seams and replaced the system of allowing pillars of coal to uphold the passages. Cadell Stewart also founded the Bo'ness Children's Fair in 1897 and it is still held today. He became Provost of the burgh and held this office from 1894-1904.