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BSPC FEATURE PROPERTY
A virtually unchanged period villa in an elevated and Dating from around 1830, Ladylaw House is an elegant B-listed Italianate-style villa, which occupies an elevated and totally secluded setting that belies its close proximity to the town centre and provides outstanding views across the town and valley. But more than that, it’s also an important house in Hawick’s architectural history. Italianate house plans, which were first developed in the UK around 1802 by John Nash, borrow elements of the rustic villas of northern Italy – and Ladylaw perfectly demonstrates the classical proportions and gently pitched roofs with wide overhanging eaves that combine to make this architectural style aesthetically beautiful in both urban and rural settings. However, Ladylaw is outwardly unusual in that the front and back doors both face the same way and are on the same front elevation, with a stone wall separating the main entrance from what would have been the tradesman’s entrance. Built circa 1830 by John Wilson, brother of Hawick’s first Provost George Wilson and son of William Wilson of Ladylaw Mills, Ladylaw House was the first villa of its kind in the Wilton area.
In the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries other mill owners also built homes here, attracted by the area’s seclusion and panoramic views over the town. The property was extended in 1902 to create a north wing and in 1910, Ladylaw was purchased by James Pearson Alison, a prominent local architect who, having survived a gas explosion at the house, commissioned a fireplace to be built in the reception hall that incorporates a full-height stone chimney breast bearing a Latin inscription, the translation of which says: ‘By the mercy of God, praise we are not destroyed – in the month of February 1910 – While I breathe I hope’. Later, in the 1950s, the north wing extension was separated from the original rectangular-plan house.
Ladylaw house is an architectural wonder, a single -storey symmetrical blond sandstone house with full-height lying-pane windows overlooking mature garden grounds, which include a private woodland, terraced lawns, patio and orchard. The property also has a double garage, stores, outhouses, and a sweeping driveway off Rosalee Brae. Internally, the layout comprises entrance vestibule (large enough to be usable as a room) with original mosaic tiled floor and double doors into the reception hall, drawing room, dining room, study, four bedrooms, large dining kitchen, cloakroom and utility/laundry room where a door gives access to a cobbled courtyard and side garden.
BSPC FEATURE PROPERTY
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secluded setting records a piece of Hawick’s heritage A quirky feature, a staircase in the kitchen leads to just one room with skylight windows, now the fourth bedroom but originally it would have been the maid’s room. Given its size and location, just off the kitchen, it would also make an ideal family/TV room or children’s playroom. The interior of this beautiful home is even more remarkable in that it has retained a wealth of original period features - working window shutters, cupola, ornate plasterwork and panelling, intricately worked gilt pelmets, leaded display cabinet doors, four-panel doors (some with silver-plated fingerplates), marble fireplaces – even the servants’ bell system is still in working order. The detail is outstanding, particularly in the reception hall, where an archway, supported on either side by fluted timber Doric columns, frames the fireplace wall with its stone chimneybreast and carved inscription. But then there are also things to marvel at elsewhere: the drawing room has decorative wall panelling, an ornately carved marble fireplace mantel, inset open fire, over -mantel mirror and recessed display cabinet with Art Deco leadlight doors.
Ladylaw House, Hawick, TD9 7HH Offers Around £315,000 Details on page 20
The master bedroom is quite magnificent and on a scale that almost makes a four-poster bed mandatory – and also has a marble fireplace and full-height south -facing windows with gilt pelmets and shutters. The second bedroom, which could similarly house a four - poster bed, also has a feature fireplace. The dining kitchen has an Aga cooker and Belfast sink and a connecting hall that leads to the utility and cloakroom and back door to the courtyard, outhouses and additional parking. Ladylaw House is an architectural masterpiece and hopefully whoever buys this historic property will preserve its period charm and features for future generations.