Duchal House

http://portal.historic-scotland.gov.uk/hes/web/f?p=PORTAL:DESIGNATIONS:0

Type of Site

A medium-sized, formal landscape, characteristic of the late 17th/early 18th century and incorporating later 18th and 19th century modifications.

Location and Setting

Duchal House is situated southwest of Kilmacolm, west of the A761 and south of the B788. The house and immediate policies lie within a large loop near the confluence of the Green and Gryfe Waters. The landscape at Duchal is generally flat but rises slightly to the east. There are views out of the estate to the south-west to Duchal Moor, and the Duchal designed landscape is highly visible from the roads that surround it. There are good general views from the A761 which is raised above the level of the policies to the north-east, and fine views of the lime avenues and across the water courses from the Craigends Bridge road, off the A761, to the south-east of the estate.

The earliest estate plans show Duchal House estate was developed by the Porterfield family from 1544 onwards. General Roy's Military Survey of 1747-55 shows a formal late 17th/early 18th century designed landscape bounded to the north and east by the Gryfe Water and extending over the Green Water to the west where it is contained within a rectangular-shaped enclosure. Outlying fields and parks beyond the western enclosure stretch towards the Old Place or Castle of Duchal which lies approximately one kilometre to the west-north-west of the existing estate. Duchal Castle and Duchal Wood, probably the castle's nearby hunting park, do not appear to have belonged to the Porterfields but this remains to be confirmed.

Duchal House policy boundaries appear to change little until the later 19th century when the designed landscape was extended northwards to Kilmacolm. Between 1863 and 1898, the landscape was affected by the expansion of Kilmacolm and by the building of the now disused Greenock branch railway line.

The designed landscape today extends from the B786 in the west, the B788 and southern edge of Kilmacolm in the north, the Gryfe Water and Mill Burn on the east and south-east, and to Duchal Mains in the south.

Landscape Components

Architectural Features

Duchal House, c.1768, is a relatively modest country house, consisting of two storeys and basement. The early 18th century laird's house survives as the south wing. A third storey was added later. The Offices and Stables, dated 1764, are symmetrically arranged around the east-west axis of the c. 1768 house. The north offices comprise two single-storey, semi-detached cottages; the south office and U-plan stables are also single-storey. An Octagonal Game Larder, harled, with slate roof and timber vent, lies adjacent to the north offices. The Doocot stands in a small park south-west of the house. It is a circular stone-built building with conical, slated roof. The original roof burnt down accidentally in the 1950s and was restored by the current Lord Maclay. The stone Ha-ha follows the line of the south-west drive separating the garden from the park. The Timber Bridge over the Green Water replaces an earlier arched stone bridge. The original Stone bridge, carrying the north drive across the Green Water, was a plain arched structure, replaced in the 19th century by a Victorian wrought iron humpbacked bridge. This second bridge was washed away in a flood in the 1950s. One set of the original gates, pillars and stone vases which stood at either end, has been retained by as an entrance beside the round house. There is now a wooden bridge, raised by an additional 75cm to give extra clearance. No wrought iron parapet railings have been retained on the estate. The Ice-house, shown on the 2nd edition OS map of 1913 remains in the undergrowth near the north-west corner of the walled garden. The Walled Garden is bounded on three sides by a high stone wall. There are double cast-iron gates in the north and south walls. A circular brick-lined pond, similar to one at Caprington lies to the north of the garden. The North and South Lodges are single-storey, stone-built with slate roofs. Mid Lodge is a later Victorian asymmetrical two-storey lodge. The present Lord Maclay believes that all three lodges were built in 1871 as compensation for the railway, the construction of which causing the redundancy of the original drive from the front of the house to the B761. Two Stone Columnar Gateposts with pyramidal caps stand in an isolated location to the south of the 1710 house. They may relate to the old north-south avenue on the west side of the house.

Drives and Approaches

There are two main drives to Duchal House from the south-west off the B786 and the north-east off the B788. The lodges are both 19th-century. Roy's plan suggests that the north-east approach, originally from Milltown on the north side of the Green Water, is a long-standing approach which continued past the west side of the 1710 house. By the time of John Ainslie's plan, 1796, a new, informal south-west drive followed a picturesque route alongside the Green Water. This remains the south-west drive today and is planted with oak and beech, many of which are young specimens and part of the ongoing regeneration programme.

In the early 19th century, before the 1st edition OS map of 1863, there was a south-east approach from the A761. This was truncated and subsequently abandoned when the Greenock branch railway to Kilmacolm was built in 1869.

The later 19th-century extension to the north-west drive is still used for foot traffic and vehicles travelling from Duchal House to Kilmacolm.

Parkland

The main ornamental parkland at Duchal is located to the southeast of the house. The planting is dominated by twin double tree avenues. In the 18th century these two parallel avenues were probably all lime, but today the northern one is beech, probably planted in the 19th century. Gaps in the southern avenue continue to be replanted with lime. Towards the house is a lone sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) which could date from around the time of the 1710 house, or even earlier.

A plantation of conifers on the site of a deciduous tree clump shown on the 1st edition 1863 OS map provides an edge to the parkland on this side of the house.

Woodland

To the northwest of the Walled Garden is a large area of mixed deciduous/coniferous woodland which superseded and expanded upon the 18th century wilderness shown on Roy's plan. Within the woodland is a fishpond which may be early 19th century. Walks were made around it which were edged with Rhododendron planting. The Rhododendrons no longer survive. Other woodland further west includes shelter belts and perimeter planting inside the boundary wall, such as ash, sycamore, and Wych elm (Ulmus glabra). The wooded areas on the banks of the Gryfe Water are dominated by native alder. Within the policies to the north of the house are clumps of mixed deciduous trees.

The Gardens

Sweeps of mown grass and shrub groupings are maintained close to the house on three sides, to act as an immediate foreground to the wider parkland landscape. The main garden area is located to the northwest of the house. A small stone ha-ha between the house and garden isolates a lawn area beside the house which acts as the prelude to the Walled Garden.

Walled Garden

The Walled Garden is the main garden area at Duchal. It was probably built in the late 18th century (after the house was extended), and lies on the northwest side of the Green Water, overlaying part of the former mid 18th century landscape layout. The garden is reached by a timber bridge which replaces an earlier Victorian stone and wrought-iron one.

This garden is a traditional mixed flower and vegetable garden which still contains much of the original box hedging and fruit trees. Some of the features in the walled garden may relate to the 18th century formal landscape, for example the mound, which may be a mount, planted with holly and rhododendron. There was an eagle's cage which was constructed in the 19th century and is no longer extant. To the north of the walled garden is a circular brick-lined lily pond. An axial double border bisects the garden from north to south.