Leslie House

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

Type of Site

17th-century formal garden and designed landscape, with 18th-20th century modifications.

Location and Setting

Leslie House is situated at the eastern end of Leslie High Street in the town of Leslie, now a suburb of Glenrothes. The house lies on the south side of the A911 above the River Leven.

The designed landscape was laid out within a sheltered valley formed by the River Leven. Principal views from the house extend south, over the terraced gardens to the River Leven and its tree-clad south bank. Long-distance axial views extend along the East and West avenues. The suspension road bridge allows views east and west over the policies, and towards Leslie House.

Roy's Survey (1747'55) corresponds with a 1775 estate plan (Bell 1775) in showing extensive policy woodlands and parks south of the River Leven, and parks to the north. During the 19th century there was little change in the extent and configuration of the designed landscape (Martin 1810; 1893-4 OS 6").

In 1948, Glenrothes Development Corporation was established to develop Glenrothes New Town. Consequently, in the early 1960s, the south parks were developed for housing with a public park, 'Riverside Park', laid out within a major part of the designed landscape south-east of the house. As residential areas of Glenrothes have been built, so the ornamental policy boundaries have contracted. Nevertheless, the underlying structure of the mid/late 17th-century gardens survive together with some of the major features of the deigned policies, especially along the River Leven.

Landscape Components

Architectural Features

Leslie House, is a 13-bay classical house comprising 3-storeys and basement. The 19th-century Conservatory to the rear, covers part of the foundations of the early house. On the south front are three Garden Terraces with rubble retaining walls. Pedestrian gateways with timber and cast-iron gates lead onto 17th-century staircases descending the terraces.

The West Lodge (Duchess Lodge) on Leslie High Street is probably late 17th-century with mid 19th-century and later alterations. The Duke's Lodge to the east of it, is a single-storey and attic, 3-bay, T-plan castellated lodge of 1906. Close by are Gate-piers dated 1670, which are rusticated with ball finials, the latter probably later additions. The piers originally stood at the east or west forecourts and were removed in the late 18th century. The early 19th-century Forester's Lodge, now isolated from the core of the designed landscape, lies adjacent to the hospital on Lodge Rise. There are coped ashlar Gate-piers with ball finials and adjoining rubble boundary walls. The Mains Lodge is a mid 19th-century, single-storey, 3-bay cottage with Doric columned porch and piended roof. The pyramidal coped gate-piers terminate high whinstone rubble walls, which form the north wall of the Walled Garden, which lies north of the house beyond the Lothrie Burn. There are extensive coped whinstone rubble Estate Boundary Walls.

3 and 4 Leslie Mains are mid-to-late 19th-century 2-storey cottages. 5 Leslie Mains, also known as the Keeper's House, is a 1950's reworking of an earlier building. The Lothrie Burn Bridge within the policies is a simple, single-span, arch bridge, which leads from the 'East Parterre' to the walled garden. Rubble walls flank the brae down to the bridge. Other bridges over the River Leven include Lady's Bridge, to the south of the house, and Cow Bridge on the west side of the A911. East Avenue Bridge is a single-span, rubble bridge with modern, metal fence parapet. The new Suspension Bridge over the east avenue was built in 1994.

Drives and Approaches

The main entrance to Leslie House is directly from Leslie High Street via the West (Duchess) Lodge. The drive curves downhill towards the house, through unmanaged woodland, including some coppice beech on the northern side. This area was known as 'The Grove' (Bell 1775). The last two-thirds of the drive straightens, returning to the 18th-century axial approach, planted with an avenue of Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) in the 19th century. Some yews (Taxus baccata) on the south side of the drive are large enough to be 18th century plantings. The West Lodge entrance is no longer used due to the road realignment.

The eastern approach is planted with beech (Fagus sylvatica), oak (Quercus robur) and some larch (Larix sp.) introductions, but none are likely to be the original plantings.

Parkland

The greater part of the Leslie parks have been developed by the New Town, in particular the South Parks. Housing in the latter is hidden from Leslie House, due to the steep riverside banks of the Leven, which encloses views to the south. South-east of Leslie House, Riverside Park laid over the earlier parkland in a bend of the River Leven, retains its essential naturalistic character. The park is well-known for its paddling pool with hippos by Stanley Bonnar.

Woodland

Macky observed Leslie to be 'extremely well planted with full grown trees, that at a distance seem to be a large wood'. The area retains its woodland character, which are well related to the local topography. This ensures that Leslie House retains a degree of enclosure and privacy. South Wood, a mixed deciduous woodland with a predominance of beech, on the south banks of the Leven, has been continually wooded since the 18th century. The 18th century path network (Roy 1747'55) has been superceded. The woodland also extended to the north of Leslie village green, including St Andrew's mount to the north of Leslie Kirk.

The Gardens

East of the house is a flat expanse of lawn. At its centre is a monumental carved stone urn on a plinth, with the remains of three seated supporting figures. A fluted stem with ivy-leaf decoration supports the basin. The surrounding grass platts are planted with specimens of both golden yew (Taxus baccata 'Aurea') and yew clipped into low domes. The paths are made of concrete slabs. A low stone wall running north'south divides this lawn from a series of raised parterres, the 'noble parterre to the east, cut out into green slopes, adorn'd with evergreens,...' seen by Macky. These 'green slopes' still survive and consist of four rectangular, broad, grass terraces, with sloping banks, divided east'west by an axial path. The terraces are graded to slope towards the house. Those north of the axial path are planted with some old overgrown yews, which may be some of the 'evergreens' described.

The central path, laid out on the axis of the east front, leads to the East Avenue, now disused. Some sweet chestnuts (Castanea sativa) along its length survive from an early planting scheme, but for the most part the avenue consists of beech and oak (Quercus petraea).

A Long Walk extends along the south boundary of the East Garden, turning to lead against the south façade of the house and continuing along the south side of the entrance court. Documentary sources detail the planting of apple trees along here. Andrew Brown, the gardener in 1761, was instructed to remove those 'which do not bear' and replace them with 'good kinds of peaches, figs, apricots, nectrines, pears and plums' (see Taylor).

On the south front the gardens consist of three terraces, descending the slope below the Long Walk, divided by high rubble walls connected by flights of stone stairs. The terraces are planted with mixed shrubs in rectangular beds. A bed formally planted with box (Buxus sempervirens) and golden yew runs the entire length of the lowest terrace.

Further directions for the gardener in 1747 included: 'He is to finish the Bowling Green in the Court, the Grand Walks and borders on which he is to plant a Lawristinus hedge,'. In 1761, he was 'To supply the place of all the dead trees in the grove and in the east side of the Avenue,' and 'Next autumn it will be necessary to trench all the borders in the long walk and the flower garden'(see Taylor).

Walled Garden

The walled garden, to the north, lies on the north banks of Lothrie Burn. It is part walled with a north wall of whinstone rubble with brick buttressing and large stone slab coping. There is a shallow terrace below the wall. The garden is now unused but perimeter paths and a cross-path are still extant.