Rozelle (also known as La Rochelle, Rosel)

http://portal.historic-scotland.gov.uk/designations

Location and Setting

Rozelle House is situated 2 miles (3km) south of Ayr's town centre, about 1 mile from the sea. It is bounded by the B7024 road into Ayr on its western boundary and by housing on the remaining boundaries. To the west of the B7024 is the Belleisle Park and golf course. The Slaphouse Burn, a tributary of the river Doon, follows the northern boundary. The topography is flat and views of Rozelle Park are limited by its complete encirclement by shelterbelts.

Records of the estate suggest that at one time it extended to 1,800 acres (730ha); however the area of the policies remains similar to that shown in the map of the lawn and pleasure grounds by James McDerment in 1834 and consists of a trapezoidal area enclosed by shelterbelts. The house is set in the middle of the park and the drive runs from west to east across the park. The main change to the designed landscape is the loss of the many clumps of parkland trees which once existed; now only individual trees remain. There are 79 acres (32ha) of designed landscape.

Landscape Components

Architectural Features

Rozelle House was built in 1754 in the style of John Adam with additions by David Bryce in 1830 and is listed A. It was built originally as a two- storey mansion with low two-storey pavilions; the east wing was later extended as a stable-block. The entrance lodge and gatepiers are listed B. There are several sculptures in the grounds by the house, an extension of the art museum.

Parkland

The park is currently used for sporting activities and as an amenity area; there are rugby and hockey pitches, and a pitch and putt course marked out. Some original parkland trees remain consisting of varieties of oak, beech, sycamore and lime, the remains of the clumps shown on the 1834 plan. There are also park trees planted in the 1900s of oak, Acer and elm and more recent plantings of limes, oak, cherries and hawthorn.

Woodland

The perimeter shelterbelts date from when the house was built, ie from c.1754. There are some original yew, beech, sycamore and horse chestnut trees. Additional plantings of around 1900 included holly and sycamore, and recently, beech, hawthorn and sycamore have been added. The woodland has an interesting variety of ground flora species which form the basis of a nature trail. A path runs through the woodlands on the perimeter.

Water Features

There are two ponds in the northern half of the park fed from the Slaphouse Burn to the north of the policies. The northern pond has an island and attracts many water fowl. The shrubbery was planted around the ponds including the Dell and extends south around the house and along the 'Ladies Walk', which runs across the park to the south-east corner of the policies towards the kitchen garden. The shrubbery area was planted up with Rhododendron species in the 1930s and other shrubbery plants were added over the years. The Dell area has recently undergone a major clearance, leaving just the specimen rhododendrons. The Ladies Walk is not shown on the McDerment plan of 1834 but appears on the 1st edition OS map of c.1860. Some specimen trees were planted in the area round the house and along the Ladies Walk and these include the 200 year old Cedar of Lebanon reputed to have been planted on the completion of the house. Other interesting trees include Camperdown elms, Algerian oak, Deodar cedars, Redwood, Holm oak and cut-leaf beech.

Walled Garden

The former kitchen garden lies to the south-east of the policies and adjacent to them. It is now in private ownership as a nursery garden and the rear part is derelict, but it is shown on the 1st edition OS map as having had four compartments with some buildings in its north-east compartment (planning permission has since been granted for this area to be developed as a private housing estate).