Alderston House

Alderstone House, largely early 17th century

Old crowstepped Scots mansion, its west wing a decapitated early 16th-century tower (ground-floor vault, but turnpike stair removed); extended twice in the 17th century with more palatial apartments; then reception rooms on the ground floor and a two-storey bay added in the 19th. Fine crowstepped lectern doocot. Steading glazed over to form an airy garden court. Conversion to company headquarters proposed by Simpson and Brown, 2006, to include a sensitive re-exposure of the older elements combined with a radically modern extension. Meanwhile, bland office pavilions in the former gardens crowd the setting of the building and continue the theme of adjacent streets.

Taken from "West Lothian: An Illustrated Architectural Guide", by Stuart Eydmann, Richard Jaques and Charles McKean, 2008. Published by the Rutland Press http://www.rias.org.uk

NT06NW 4 0438 6628.

(NT 0438 6628) Alderston House (NR)

OS 6" map (1966)

Alderston House, a laird's house, apparently dates from the early 17th century, with a long wing of later construction. However, closer inspection shows that there has been a free-standing 16th century tower incorporated at the N end, where the walling is twice as thick as elsewhere. The early composite structure is 3-storyed, oblong on plan with roughcast walls. The entrance, now reached through a modern vestibule, is near the S re-entrant; over the doorway is the date 1626. The later additions to the E appear to have been erected in the 18th century, in a similar style to the original, though with larger windows, and without crow-stepped gables.

Henry Kinloch in Alderstown had a charter in 1556. He would no doubt have built the original tower. The 1626 rebuilding was done by his grandson, Patrick Kinloch. Since then the house has had many different owners.

N Tranter 1962; H B M'Call 1894

Externally this house is of little architectural merit. Name "Alderstone House" confirmed.

Visited by OS (JP) 20 March 1974

Standing building recording NT 0438 6628 Architectural analysis in October 2005 of this former country house revealed that there is little surviving fabric predating the 17th century, despite knowledge of structures on the site into the 16th century. The earliest part of the existing building is to the NW, the main range of what was likely to have been a small L-

plan tower house or laird's house (NT06NW 4). The surviving range retains a vaulted lower storey with broad arched kitchen fireplace, some early chamfered windows and parts of its crow-stepped gables (the S gable now seen within the roof space). On the N elevation there is a small projecting latrine outlet, supported by two moulded corbels that may be re-used in their present location.

In the mid- to late 18th century the house was greatly extended, with a new wing to the E, widening to the S, and a detached small court of offices to the W. The N and S elevations of the new wing and the E gable end were symmetrically arranged. This phase saw the use of openings with raised margins with rounded inner arises, raised margins at the principal angles and ogee wall head cornices. Such details were also applied to the earlier wing.

A broad projecting bay was added to the E end of the S elevation at the beginning of the 19th century. Later in the same century the house was extensively remodelled, with new fenestration, and chamfers being cut around the pre-existing windows, and some probable modification to the floor levels and internal arrangement of rooms in the E wing.

The early 20th century saw further remodelling of some of the principal ground floor rooms and the stairwell. A further bay projection was added to the centre of the S elevation.

Archive to be deposited in NMRS.

Sponsors: Walker Timber Ltd, Simpson & Brown Architects.

T Addyman 2005