Sites and Monument Record: Carronglen House (SMR 1189)
Description
Carronglen House (NS 7965 8294) is a large mid-Victorian villa executed in the opulent style of the period. It was constructed in 1860-1863 for Andrew Duncan, the owner of the Herbertshire Paper Mill, which was located 140m to the west. Duncan had been manager of the failing mill and, having revived its fortunes, he bought it out. At the time he lived next to the mill in Glen House, which is described in the Ordnance Survey Name Book as “a dwellinghouse, two storeys, slated and in good repair. Property of Andrew Duncan Esq, resident.” Although a substantial building, it was old fashioned and rather too close to the mill for Duncan’s new status. The new house lay in extensive grounds with a lodge at the entrance to the carriageway from the Fankerton Road. The lodge was similar in style to the house (see Dean of Guild, Denny, 14/36), with fishscale slating, but was unfortunately demolished c1995. The grounds were well wooded with terraced lawns to the east of the house and a steep slope northwards to the rocky banks of the River Carron. It is this location that gave the villa its name of Carronglen House, though it is sometimes referred to as Glencarron House.
Carronglen House is a large building, measuring c31m by 25m. This consists of a two storey dwellinghouse on the east (15 x 25m) overlooking the lawns and a single storey office suite to the west facing Glen House and the mill. The dwellinghouse has three principal ranges facing south, east and north with the roof ridges aligned accordingly. The main range is that facing south, which contains the entrance. Its ridge extends along the whole front. The rectangular space created in the centre of these ranges is filled with a piended roof and it houses the grand staircase. The office suite took the form of two westward projecting wings (the northern being of one and a half storeys) whose west gables were connected by a tall cross wall with a central arched gateway to form an open courtyard. The dwellinghouse formed the eastern side of this courtyard – the wall here containing a large 3-light stair window. The courtyard was built over in the early twentieth century to form addition single-storey office accommodation. These alterations were carried out in a sympathetic style, leaving a light well for the stair window.
Throughout the building the masonry is of good quality being of coursed sandstone with tight joints filled with white mortar. At the base is a plinth course, which at intervals contains fretted cast iron ventilation covers. It has a protruding chamfered angular cap. Between the ground and first floors there is a similar stringcourse, which steps up and down at the oriel windows and forms triangular or pedimented panels elsewhere. The window and door margins are roll moulded with additional floral decoration in relief. Their heads are low-arched if wide, but with a point in the centre if narrow. The steep pitched roof lines are covered with large Welsh slates, forming bands of diamond pattern slating alternating with bands of conventional slating. The ridge is capped with a decorated cast iron band of fretted pinnacles. The chimney stacks tend to rise from the building on rectangular bases, but at a lower band of moulding the individual chimneys emerge as singular octagonal columns linked by a second moulded course below the squat cans. The numerous gables and gablets are all surmounted by elaborate cast iron finials (some now only surviving as stubs). All have plain skews with horizontal banding and canopied shield skewputs. The shields bear simple St George’s crosses. The rhones are of ogee moulded cast iron with cast iron down pipes tucked into the ingoing corners of the building. The water heads are of relatively plain angular design.
The south façade is broken into segments by the use of a variety of advanced gables (winglets) and pediments. The central feature is a winglet containing the main entrance to the dwellinghouse. To its west are the single-storey elements of the offices, consisting of another, smaller, winglet with a shield in the gable, connected by a wall that once possessed two gabled dormer pediments (but now has two modern windows in the box roof in place of the pediments). To the east the two-storey wall is relieved by a shallow square bay window with a gablet and by another dormer pediment. A moulded stringcourse separates the ground floor from the first floor.
The principal entrance takes the form of a 3-bay porch with low arches reached from a broad flight of three stone steps, flanked by dwarf walls. The vertical roll-moulded margins of the bays have a geometric “vine” decoration. The porch is now glazed with wooden frames set a little back from the face. The steps have been modified to cover only the central portal. At first floor level there is a 3-sided splayed oriel window; the three lights reflecting the disposition of the three bays below, with the central one being the largest. Its corbelled underside has a finely carved band in a geometric style. The roof of the oriel window is of chamfered stone terminating at a point, from which a flagstaff used to extend upwards, protruding beyond the apex of the gable. The round stone rest for the pole is still evident. To either side of the porch at ground level are shallow buttresses that serve to emphasise the entrance and permit the entry bays to be on a large scale. The buttresses have two 3-sided chamfered intakes, the upper occurring at the level of the stringcourse. This stringcourse climbs in a single step to form the sill of the oriel window. The side wall behind the buttress to the east has two lancet windows to light the porch. Above these, on the first floor, is a single window with a broad chimney stack that narrows by two chamfered intakes to give an octagonal upper section with a moulded top and a small chimney can.
The shallow square bay window has a 3-light window at ground level and again the central aperture is the largest. It is emphasised by a small triangular-headed panel formed above it by the stringcourse. At first floor level it houses a single window with a hood moulding. Above this, in the dormer, is a blind arrow slot. The width of the bay is reduced at the level of the stringcourse by the use of an intake chamfered towards the body of the building. To the east of the square bay window the wall is plain. Between it and the porch is a gabled dormer with a central shield; the first floor window being below the eaves. The window at ground level in this segment is placed towards the west end in order to accommodate a recessed panel containing a monogram of the name DUNCAN. This panel has the usual round mouldings and chamfered base, and sits on a raised shield.
The east façade of the villa has a prominent gable at the south end and a smaller one near the north end. The southern one contains a 3-sided splayed bay window with two chamfered intakes at the sides, the upper again at the level of the stringcourse. The stringcourse rises to form triangular panels at the centre of each window light. Like the oriel window on the south elevation, the bay has a chamfered stone roof with a lower band of geometric decoration. Above this is a central blind arrow slot. The corresponding gable to the north is a reflection of it, though treated differently. There is a 3-light window at ground floor level with a square-sided 2-light oriel window above. Again the stringcourse steps up to the sill of the oriel window and the whole is surmounted by a blind arrow slot. There are two gabled dormers between these winglets with windows below them.
The north façade is much plainer. The east end commences with another gabled segment containing a single window on the ground floor, a similar sized window on the first floor with a hood moulding, and a blind slot above. There is then a slightly recessed length of the building with an E/W roof alignment. This possesses two large windows on the ground floor and two smaller offset ones above. This offset creates room for another small shield panel. Another winglet then projects from the west end of the dwelling. It has two windows on the ground floor, one hood moulded window above, and the usual slot in the gable – this time surmounted by another flagpole rest. On the short side wall of this winglet, to the east, is a plain shield set in a raised section of the stringcourse. The shield bears the date 1860 in monogram form. The corners of this winglet are chamfered. At the west end of the north façade there is then a change in height with a one and a half storey office/service block. Two dormer pediments sporting trefoils contain windows that break the eaves level. Below these are similar sized windows, and between them are two small ones. The block is made to look plainer by dispensing with the roll moulded margins and using simple chamfered edges. The stringcourse is retained, though at a lower level. A door near the winglet gives separate access to the servant’s quarters.
The west façade is the most changed of all. It consisted of the gable of the one and a half storey wing just described at the north end, the one storey gable at the south end, with a curtain wall between perforated by a central arched gateway giving access to a courtyard. The cross wall has been replaced by a range of offices with four square headed windows and a similar door under a slated box roof that contains another three square windows. Although stone from the original wall was reused, some reformed stone has been used on the margins. This converted the courtyard into offices and occurred in 1965. The single storey gable at the south end was evidently altered at the same time and now possesses three square voids with plain margins. The one and a half storey gable at the north end is unaltered, with two low-arched windows on the ground floor, a central window on the first floor, and a single corbelled out chimney stack at the apex.
The original wooden glazed entrance lies back from the face of the building. In the vestibule created by modern outer glazing, on the eastern wall, is a brass plaque commemorating the men from the paper mill who gave their lives in the First World War. The main hall has been subdivided by a firewall, but the decorated plaster coving clearly shows the original layout. A plaster archway gave access to the stair. The doors off the hall possess linen fold panels. The grand staircase forms the west side of the hall and is bracketed by an extended Gothic arch in plaster. Two substantial buttressed newel posts with open fretwork caps and pointed finials stand at the splayed foot of the central flight. This rises to a half landing and then bifurcates to the left and right. From here two flights of stairs return along the side walls to reach the upper landing/hall. Below the handrail are wooden panels in a Gothic design. This fretwork is cut leaving simple squared edges, but the overall appearance is very rich. The newel posts are repeated at the half landing and the landing proper. Facing the stairs, on the half landing, is a massive 3-light stained glass window (painted design), suitably framed with hood moulding. The ceiling of the hall, stairwell and upper landing are all finished with ribbed plasterwork set on a slightly curved surface.
The ornate plasterwork is not unique to the hall. It is found in many of the principal rooms. The library, for example, lies on the ground floor opposite the staircase. Here the coving carries acanthus leaves and again the ceiling is deeply ribbed. The heavy Gothic design of the door and door surround are echoed by the oak bookcase that lines the south wall and by the window shutters. The north wall contains a wide marble fire surround.
See full details
Object detail
Unfortunately Andrew died just as the house was completed, in 1864 in Glen House. His widow then occupied the new building.
27965 68294
Public comments
Be the first to comment on this object record.