Threatened Buildings Survey 2009
Date March 2010
Event ID 606916
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type RCAHMS Threatened Buildings Survey 2009
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/606916
The Vine was built in 1836 for George Duncan MP. It is a substantial single storey villa, a neo-Greek pavilion set upon a plinth and set within spacious gardens overlooking the Tay. The architect is unknown but the similarities with Thomas Hamilton’s Arthur Lodge, Edinburgh have been noted by architectural historians Professor David Walker and Charles Mackean. The similarities include the neo-Greek style, the top lit hall, the decoration and the split level arrangement of accommodation.
The house has two principal facades. The south front is of five bays centred on the window of the library from which access can be gained to the garden. The house is entered on the east elevation which is of three bays. A vestibule with niches at the corners and a fine Minton tiled floor leads into the hall. The hall is divided by columns into two areas. The first provides access to the drawing room to the south, with its original plasterwork and fireplace, and the original dining room to the north. The latter has been subdivided and has lost its fireplace.
The inner part of the hall is lit by the cupola and has paired columns at each corner. This whole hall is exuberantly decorated. Much of the original decoration survives but there may have been some extra decoration added at the end of the 19th century. The inner hall has doors to the library which retains its magnificent fireplace and plasterwork. The north door in the hall opposite the library is a dummy or fake door. The west door on axis with the front door gives access to the stair hall. The stair retains its very fine cast iron balustrade. To the front is the original principal bedroom and dressing room. A tight ladder stair leads from the stair hall to a floored attic. The main stair rises a half flight to a dressing room, bathroom and two bedrooms, one of which lies behind the inner hall and the blind door. The staircase descends to the service accommodation and cellars. The original kitchen is located in the northwest corner of the house. Some of the original urns from the gardens are stored in the basement.
Information from RCAHMS (STG), 2010
