Leuchie House

In 1779, Sir Hew Dalrymple (1712-90) designed and built a new three-storey mansion over the old foundations. The building work took six years to complete and the result is a fine mansion in neat rubble, with full height bay on the south-facing garden front. The interior features fine plasterwork by James Nisbet of Edinburgh and three well-carved marble chimney-pieces in the Dining Room, Drawing Room and Upper Drawing Room. The house was unoccupied for more than fifty years, but it was then altered and extended before being re-occupied in 1859.

Text from official Listing

1779 to 1785, 3-storey classical mansion incorporating 
foundations of earlier house, with vaulted cellar, almost 
doubled in size and rendered asymmetrical by enlargement 
circa 1860, including low entrance and extensive kitchen 
offices. Red rubble sandstone, formerly harled, with grey 
ashlar dressings to original house, with squared and snecked 
stone for Victorian work. Raised base and band course and 
rusticated quoins. Moulded cornice with die balustrade. 
N (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: (circa 1859) 5-bay. Centre and 
flanking bays to left with tall ground floor windows; 1st and 
2nd floor windows diminishing in size. Doric columned, 
pedimented ashlar porch straddling 2 bays to right with 
single windows each floor above. 
S ELEVATION: (1779) 5-bay. 3 bays at centre in broad canted 
projection with French windows at centre and tall 1st floor 
windows with wrought-iron balconies. 2nd floor lights 
diminishing in size as in flanking bays. Armorial tablet in 
balustrade above centre bay. 
W ELEVATION: full-height bowed bay with 3 windows to each 
floor to right originally centrally placed; additional 2 wide 
bays to N. 2 bays to left (circa 1859) with tall ground floor 
windows diminishing at 1st and 2nd floors. 
E (SERVICE) ELEVATION: full-height bowed bay of original 1779 
house to left with basement cellar door, blank ground floor 
bay at centre, blind windows at 1st and 2nd floor at centre. 
Irregular piend roofed projections from later house 
extension, including 7-bay wing. Single storey outhouse 
projections to left and right of service court. 
12-pane glazing pattern to sash and case windows with 
Victorian plate glass sashes to ground floor windows. Moulded 
coping to broad ashlar dressed stacks, 2 pairs linked on 
original house; decorative cans. Piended slate roofs with 
lead flashings. 
INTERIOR: exceptionally fine interior decoration. Stone 
flagged hall to original house with cantilevered stone stair, 
classical plaster medallion and exuberant classical 
plasterwork in coombed ceiling above. Strong Adamesque style 
throughout. Pedimented doors leading off hall at centre to 
oval rooms in canted bays. Marble chimneypieces, one with 
tablet of Bacchus and Ariadne by Flaxman. Plasterwork by 
James Nisbet; ceilings in late Adam form. New hall and dining 
room added at ground in circa 1859 work. 
Partly terraced garden to S with stone steps. Formerly 
lavishly planted grounds.