Sunnybrae Lodge, Galashiels Road, Walkerburn

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Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved. © Copyright and database right 2024.

General Details and Location

Category
AT RISK
Name of Building
Sunnybrae Lodge
Other Name(s)
Stoneyhill House West Lodge
Address
Galashiels Road, Walkerburn
Locality
Postcode
Planning Authority
Divisional Area
Reference No
1305
Listing Category
A
OS Grid Ref
NT 36177 37142
Location Type
Small Town
HS Reference No
49136

Description

One of an identical pair of single storey, symmetrical lozenge-plan, idiosyncratic Ruskinian / early Gothic style entrance lodges with apsed ends and triple gabled entrance porches and attached L-plan single storey, multi-gabled stable range enclosed by gated wall. Polychromatic appearance due to squared and textured whinstone rubble with tooled ashlar dressings (tabbed quoins to window) and sculptured details. Ashlar cill and moulded wallhead band courses; sunk diamond panels with botanical motifs. Pitched and bowed roof with bracketed eaves and foliate ball and spike finials.

The village of Walkerburn grew up around the textile mills of Tweedvale and (later) Tweedholm of Henry Ballantyne, the founder of the village. He was also responsible for the earliest workers' housing and laying out the village we see today. By his death in 1865, Walkerburn was a flourishing manufacturing village with a population of just under 800 people. The company and the welfare of its staff were passed to his five sons (until 1870 when 3 of them left to run a mill in Innerleithen. David and John Ballantyne remained in charge of the Walkerburn mills and set about improving not only their own housing, but also the amenities of the village). After his father's death, John built a commodious villa to the east called Stoneyhill.

Listed as a fine example of a Pilkington lodge building retaining external original features; also highly prized as one of a group of 3 on the same street and for its importance as a Ballantyne property. (Historic Scotland)
Building Dates
1868
Architects
Frederick Thomas Pilkington

Category of Risk and Development History

Condition
Fair
Category of Risk
Low
Exemptions to State of Risk
Not to be confused with East Lodge which is not at risk.
Field Visits
March 2002, 15/12/2008, 12/07/2011
Development History
October 2000: Local planners bring the lodge to the attention of the Buildings at Risk Service. Building Control is currently monitoring the condition of the building, particularly the stable wing. Slates have had to be removed from the roofs after falling into the road, and there is now concern for the stability of the wall fronting the main road should the roof structure deteriorate further. The building is occupied. November 2001: Local planners report that Building Control remains concerned at the condition of the lodge and its roof. There is local concern over its appearance.
December 2008: External inspection finds the lodge is now vacant. The roof has been completely stripped of slates and is now covered in plastic sheeting. The doors of the stable section of the building are unsecured and in very poor condition. There is a broken window at the apsed end of the lodge house.
May 2010: Southern Reporter reports Scottish Borders Council (SBC) is considering a number of options, including compulory purchase, for Sunnybrae Lodge. The article notes the local community council has voiced serious concerns over the deterioration of the lodge,now unoccupied for several years.
July 2011: External inspection finds continued decay is underway. Temporary roof coverings have all but disappeared and elements such as stable doors are collapsing. The property is being marketed for sale through agents JD Clark & Allan WS offers over £125,000.
8 January 2013: Local planners report the Council is to undertake emergency works at the property.
2 March 2013: Peeblesshire News reports that Scottish Borders Council is planning, subject to approval from Councillors, to undertake emergency work at the property following the failure of the owner to comply with a Repairs Notice.
18 February 2014: The Southern Reporter notes Scottish Borders Council is seeking consent for repairs work to make the property wind and watertight. The article notes that the council is awaiting Government approval for a compulsory purchase order (CPO) for the property with a view to selling the property on to a restorer. Should the CPO be affirmed, the Council will seek to implement the consents later this year.
24 February 2014: Listed Building Consent for the provision of a new roof structure is being sought ref: 14/00158/LBC.
20 October 2014: Local planners advise the Compulsory Purchase Acquistion has been confirmed by the Scottish Government. Ownership of the property will be passed to Scottish Borders Council towards the end of November 2014.
October 2016: The property has been made wind and watertight and secured by Scottish Borders Council. Condition moved to Fair and Risk to Low.
9 May 2017: Local planners confirm the “wind and watertight” works that have been completed on site, included a new roof structure and slating to the stables block and repairs to the courtyard walls. Following the compulsory purchase of the lodge, the Council has also acquired additional land to the west of the lodge and stables to allow for a large garden alongside the property. The property is about to be marketed for sale by the council to a restoring purchaser.
17 May 2017: The site is now being marketed for sale, offers over £65,000 through appointed agents Edwin Thompson, Galashiels.
19 July 2017: Local planners advise the property is now under offer following a closing date being set.

Guides to Development

Conservation Area
Planning Authority Contact
PAC Telephone Number

Availability

Current Availability
Not Available
Appointed Agents
Price
Occupancy
Vacant
Occupancy Type
N/A
Present/Former Uses
Building Uses Information:
Present Use 1: Residential Former Use 1: Lodge
Present Use 2: N/A Former Use 2: N/A, BARR original text : Lodge to Stables
Name of Owners
Scottish Borders Council
Type of Ownership
Local Authority

Information Services

Additional Contacts/Information Source
Ballantyne Archives, University of Edinburgh Library.
Bibliography
1st Edition ORDANANCE SURVEY MAP (circa 1858) showing undeveloped site. RSA EXHIBITION (1867, published in THE BUILDER, March 9th 1867) 476 - Mansion for John Ballantyne Esq, Walkerburn. 2nd Edition ORDNANCE SURVEY MAP (circa 1897) showing Ballantyne villas and lodges in situ. J Buchan, HISTORY OF PEEBLESHIRE (1925) p423. C A Strang, BORDERS AND BERWICK (1994) p222. Additional information courtesy of The Buildings of Scotland, Kitty Cruft.
Online Resources
Classification
Cottages and Lodges
Original Entry Date
08-JUN-01
Date of Last Edit
04/06/2021