October 19 2022

A ruinous B-listed Borders castle is set for a new lease of life with proposals for its full refurbishment as a palatial home.

Cameron Strachan Yuill Architects with Narro Associates propose the repair, refurbishment and extension of Cavers Castle, around 10 miles east of Hawick; including the reinstatement of a lost 18th-century wing.

Set within mature woodland the crumbling pile is all that remains of a once grand estate house, largely demolished in 1953, that traces its origins back to a 16th-century tower house. This latter element remains partially intact, together with elements of later remodelling in the 18th and 19th centuries, and forms the basis for its 21st-century revival.

Avoiding the prioritisation of any one era the design team will introduce more contemporary elements while ensuring the grounds are made more accessible to visitors. In a statement, the architect wrote: "The applicant’s ambition is restore the grandeur befitting of a stately home. Given the building’s adaptation and development over centuries, largely driven by trends and fashion, the proposals do not seek to emulate a previous design specifically.

"The design is respectful of the building in scale, proportions and materials while being more contemporary in its aesthetic and upgrading it using modern technology."

Key to this approach will be the reinstatement of a northern wing, adopting a 'hybridised' form of the original Baronial design of 1885 with modern windows and balconies. This will stand alongside the refurbished tower house, a surviving Georgian element and a low-key extension to the south.

New elements of solid masonry will be finished in harling and painted off-white. Landscape works include the reinstatement of a formal drive and repairs to a walled garden. 

6 Comments

#1 Posted by geist of christmas past on 19 Oct 2022 at 15:34 PM

Baronial-facist, very zeitgeist.

#2 Posted by Nairn's Bairn on 24 Oct 2022 at 13:35 PM

They must have quite the classic car collection to need a multi-storey car park.

#3 Posted by You've got to be joking on 24 Oct 2022 at 16:04 PM

If I were Benito's lawyer I'd be having a word in their shell-like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palazzo_della_Civilt%C3%A0_Italiana
What? Did they think nobody would notice?

#4 Posted by Nairns Bairn on 24 Oct 2022 at 16:23 PM

Good call #3.

Closer to home it brought to mind Ian Begg's multi-storey car park behind the Edinburgh Rad:

https://tinyurl.com/Rad-Car-Park

#5 Posted by Alex on 26 Oct 2022 at 14:47 PM

This grand design is a welcome reuse of the remaining scots baronial (and earlier) multi story tower and brings balance back to the Georgian side with its bay window. I am not keen on the new wing's stack of arcades which seems clumsy and too monotonous for a building which has irregular detailing. Instead I like the alternative option B in the Design and Access Statement for this new wing. It has irregular balconies and brings a contemporary element into the design, which shows that the building continues to evolve. Opening up the south facing valley gardens and recreating walled gardens will bring a special quality to the setting of this project and will be a pleasure for the new occupiers to use.

#6 Posted by Jim on 26 Oct 2022 at 19:28 PM

Alex, please re-read the Urban Realm comment section user guide, specifically section 3b, "Don't be a hero", para. 2., line 1, which states that "at no point shall serious design criticism be attempted, nor sensible opinions expressed".

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