Cardross House

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

Type of Site

Early parkland landscape with garden around the house and arboretum.

Location and Setting

The Cardross Esate lies off the B8034 road, north-east of Stirling, and to the south-east of the Lake of Menteith. Cardross is a heavily wooded park situated on a plateau above the River Forth, with views to the south over the Carse of Stirling and the Campsie and Kippen Hills. There is a view to the north along a vista of oak to Ben Ledi.

General Roy's Military Survey of c.1750, shows Cardross House surrounded by a square park. Cardross Castle is labelled and indicated east of the present Cardross House. An estate map of 1767 shows more detail and indicates the house in the present position, with the entrance drive from the west, a vista to the north, avenues to the south-west, very much as it is today. The offices were moved north from the site they occupied to the south-east of the house and the drive was extended through the park with another entrance to the north. The walled garden was built in the 19th century.

Comparing an estate plan of 1761 with the 1st Ed O.S. 1:2500 (25in) map of 1859, the estate has expanded on the east and western perimeters. To the west, with the building of the Cardross Bridge in 1774 over the River Forth, and to the east probably in the late 18th early 19th century with the building of the walled garden and the stableblock. The estate was further added to in the east, taking the boundary out to the Meikle Burn. The Glen is really an extension of the area of garden around the walled garden which includes ponds where the burn has been enlarged.

Landscape Components

Architectural Features

Cardross House originally had a Z-plan layout with a circular stair tower to the north, and a square tower on the south. The date 1631 is inscribed on the ceiling. In the late 18th century, the north front was given a symmetrical facelift with a recessed front. A Gothic two storey stable block, circa 1790, lies to the north-east of the house, replacing earlier offices to the south-east. It has a two-storey symmetrical frontage to the south, with a blind arch in the centre and corner pavilions.

The walled garden lies to the north of the stable block, with a curved north wall and a low south wall. There is a wrought iron hand gate on south wall with stone piers. There is an early sundial, which sits on a later column, with a brick plinth. The Erskine graveyard is situated in the far east of the policies with six gravestones, bearing the Erskine, Bruce, and Stirling names, from 1767 onwards. They are all simple except for neo-medieval cross of 1849 to George Keith Erskine. A small stone walled garden lies on a bank to the south of the house, possibly late 18th century. The garden is roughly semi-circular in shape, with a coursed rubble wall. There are moulded cap stones. The front wall is low and topped by a thorn hedge. Access is by a narrow wrought iron gate on the eastern side. There is a dried out cross- shaped pond in the centre of the garden, with a central fountain. Between the park and garden to the south of the house is a small stone ha-ha, with stone wings to east and west. These may be connected with the pavilions that used to exist on this front. A small larch pole rustic hut with pantile pointed roof, has been constructed in the garden near the house. A recent rustic hut sits on the site of an earlier summer house backing onto the walled garden. The earlier cobbled base has been re-used. A building described as a Heather Tower in Hunter, 1883, was made by a Mr Wyber, who had been gardener at Cardross for about 50 years. It was built of larch and Scots fir pillars, 'sparred and thatched with heather outside, and lined with moss inside.' The lower part was a summer-house and the tower was about 40 feet high. It was built as a viewing tower to look at Stirling Castle and Abbey Craig. This must be the building marked on the 2nd Edition O.S. 1900 as a Pagoda, although nothing remains today of this building apart from the foundation. Any view of Stirling Castle has been long obscured by tree growth.

Drives and Approaches

The main approach is from the west along the line of the drive shown on the 1761 survey. The drive goes directly east to the house through the parkland. A fork in the drive leads to the back of the house, or otherwise the drive continues past the front of the house where there is an entrance court on the north front of the house. The drive then takes a right angled turn to the north, past the stableyard and walled garden to the back lodge.

Parkland

The parkland at Cardross is roughly rectangular with the house placed in the centre. In the 18th century it was much smaller but it expanded to the west, probably in the late 18th century when Cardross Bridge was built in 1774. It expanded to the east with the building of the walled garden, probably in the early 19th century, and the development of the Glen into an arboretum, along the Meikle Burn. There is a slip garden between the arboretum and walled garden which is lined with fastigiate yews. The arboretum contains specimen Douglas fir, sweet chestnut, hollies, copper beech, Himalayan cherry (Prunus serrula), purple plum, oak and various other conifers.

The parkland retains features relating to the 1761 plan, including the oak vista to the north of the house, and part of the vista to the south which includes some old sycamores. There was an ancient sycamore, mentioned in Hunter's 'Wood's of Perthshire', but it died in the last ten years.

The Gardens

The garden around the house consists of a flat lawn running down to a small ha-ha. There is a paved area by the house with a double ribbon line of box, and Cupressocyparis leylandii 'Haggerston' growing in the curves. The area around the house is protected by mature trees with an understorey of Rhododendron. The trees include deodar (Cedrus deodara), x Cupressocyparis leylandii, sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa), common silver fir (Abies alba), and Noble fir (Abies procera).

Walled Garden

The part walled garden to the north-east of the house is now unused, but it also formed part of the pleasure gardens. There are remains of paths and box hedging and planting including fruit trees and yew trees.