Archaeology Notes

Event ID 776994

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/776994

NJ80SW 7.00 84480 01343

NJ80SW 7.01 Centred NJ 84492 01328 Garden, Walled Garden, Gazebo, Dovecot and Gate Piers

(NJ 8447 0133) Culter House (NAT)

OS 6" map (1902)

'Culter House is a large mansion house dating back to the 12th century and now completely modernised.' 'The present mansion house, which replaced a building of much earlier date, was erected about the year 1640.' Whilst undergoing reconstruction in 1910, the house was extensively damaged by fire, but has since been rebuilt and two wings added. The building is now a Boarding House for St Margaret' s School for Girls, Aberdeen.

Anon undated

The building is as described above.

Visited by OS (WDJ) 17 November 1961.

Mansion house; a house has been on this site since the 12th century but the present house was built in 1640. The SE wing has its tower projections at the ends; the doorway and corbelled centre chimney with Cumin coat-of-arms are original. The other side of the building is 18th century.

A regular nine-bay front of three storeys and a basement with wings added to the N and S in 1910 after damage by fire, the architects being W Dalton Ironside (of Walker and Duncan) and Dr William Kelly. The principal interior room is the 2nd floor ballroom with Roman Doric pilasters, a coved ceiling with painting of Aurora after Guido Reni (by Allan Sutherland, replacing the original lost in the fire). Now a boarding house for St Margaret' s School for Girls.

Walled garden, c. 1730 with large formal layout, rusticated ball-capped gatepiers. Symmetrically disposed dovecot and gazebo, the latter with a dovecot at the roof; both rubble-built on square plans with pyramid roofs.

(Newspaper references: Aberdeen Daily Journal 24 January 1910, Aberdeen Press and Journal 18 May 1925).

NMRS, MS/712/76.