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Summary

Description

16th century house, reworked by James Matthews, 1867; NE baronial wing by Dr William Kelly, 1905; classrooms and gymnasium added at W in 1960s. Tall 2-storey and attic, crowstepped tower house with conical-roofed corbelled bartizan and some vaulted interior passages; low link section over paired segmental-arched cart entrance adjoining single storey, raised basement and attic wing. Harled with granite dressings and quoin strips. Ashlar base course (on rubble to S), bull-faced to raised basement at NE; eaves course. Segmental-arched doorway. Stone-pedimented dormerheads with fleur-de-lis and thistle finials; stone transoms and mullions. External elevations survive to wallhead and dormerheads following a fire in 2011. Now roofless (2022).

E (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: 3 earlier bays to left comprising crowstepped gable at outer left with bipartite window at ground, heraldic panel at 1st floor and single window in gablehead; set-back bays to right with full-width entrance porch in re-entrant angle incorporating segmental-headed doorway with deep-set 2-leaf panelled timber door at left and bipartite window at right, all under deep blocking course, 2 windows to set-back face above giving way to 2 pedimented dormer windows each with carved detail to tympanum, that to left with initials 'LC/WRK' and that to right with thistle in laurel wreath. Lower set-back link section to right with transomed stair window under crowstepped half gable at left and paired arches under small bipartites at right. 1905 wing to outer right with bartizan at outer left, 3 fenestrated bays below pedimented dormers at centre and round tower to outer right.

S (GARDEN) ELEVATION: regularly-fenestrated 3-bay elevation with crowstepped gable at left, this with additional gablehead window, small dormer window (with rose on pediment) rising from eaves at right, and corbelled bartizan at outer right angle. 1960s stair tower set-back at outer left and partly obscuring 3 early bays behind, these with regular fenestration, 1st floor windows breaking eaves into dormerheads incorporating relief carved detail (see Notes), and moulded with initials 'W, R, K, L' between centre and right bays. Further narrow link bay projecting at outer right with window to each floor of return, that to 1st floor breaking eaves into semicircular-pedimented barrel dormer window. Ball-finialled crowstepped gable on return to left with low 1960s wing projecting at outer left.

Coped harled stacks with some cans. Ashlar-coped skews with skewputts.

INTERIOR: No interior remains following a fire in 2011.

TERRACED WALL, BRIDGE AND MEMORIAL STONE: garden elevation overlooks ha-ha type flat-coped squared rubble terrace wall with ball finials flanking short flight of stone steps at right; buttresses at centre probably formerly also flanking steps. Single segmental arched granite road bridge with voussoired arch and partly stepped ball-finialled flat-coped parapets. Queen Victoria's Memorial stone (broken at top right) (to E of house) with incised 'VR 1887'.

GATEPIERS: pair of tall circular pinnacled ashlar gatepiers.

Statement of Special Interest

Tertowie House is of special interest on architectural and historic grounds, for its association with its estate and its building evolution, which includes an early 16th century core and notable Scots Baronial remodelling.

The small estate of Tertowie with its fine early house reworked by Aberdeen architect James Matthew has, exceptionally, remained as a single entity through a number of changes of ownership which culminated in conversion to residential and agricultural premises for Aberdeen University in the twentieth century. Matthews worked on a number of important Aberdeen buildings including the Grammar School (1861), St Machar's Cathedral (1867) and Advocates Hall (1869). The small group at Tertowie is set in a fine designed landscape and which includes terraced formal garden with ornamental bridge immediately South of the house, walled garden to the East and stable courtyard to the Northeast.

Tertowie House forms part of a historic group and is set in a small historic estate landscape. The house is listed as part of A-Group with other listed buildings including the Walled Garden (listed category B, LB50071), Stable Courtyard (listed category C, LB500070) and Nuclear Bunker (listed category B, LB500069).

The addition of a nuclear bunker (to the West) in the 1960s further contributes to the overall interest of the property.

Tertowie House was the home of the King family, several of whom enjoyed distinguished military careers, and is connected with Archbishop William King of Dublin. Their ancestors came from Barra Castle, having held that property since the 13th Century. The family coat of arms incorporates a symbol which appears to be a musical note and can be seen on the principal elevation, in the coloured glass stair window and standing alone on a small crowstepped gablehead to the N elevation. Another symbol which appears on both dormer windowheads and coloured glass coat of arms resembles an axehead or cojoined leg or symbol somewhat like that of the Isle of Man. By 1845 Tartowie, presumably an alternative spelling, was in the ownership or rental of Dr Ewing, with a 'valued rent' of 'L84, 13s 4d'. Another family name connected with Tartowie, Aberdeen is that of 'Littlejohn'. John Bain Littlejohn, son of John Bain Littlejohn and Jane Robinson, was born here on 29.11.1859.

Statutory address and listed building record amended in 2005 following a designation review of the estate.

Supplementary information in the listed building recorded updated in 2022.

References

Bibliography

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