Buchanan Castle Summerhouse, Buchanan Castle Policies

Small square-plan, single room building with a large round-arched opening to the gabled S elevation, allowing people to sit within and view the burn. The roof is barrel-vaulted within, but follows a slated pitched form (in bad condition) on the exterior. The summerhouse is built of random rubble; the S gable has an overhanging stone 'eaves' detail.

This summer house, and 3 associated footbridges, likely to have been built in the early 19th century for the Duke of Montrose, form a landscape feature known as the 'Cascade Walk' along a picturesque wooded section of the Doghouse Burn. They interesting examples of 19th century garden building architecture. The policies of Buchanan Castle are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland (Historic Scotland)

November 2006: Historic Scotland nominate the summerhouse for inclusion on the Register

29 February 2012: External inspection finds the building has been disused for a considerable time and is showing signs of considerable distress with missing stones, poor pointing and a threatened roof collapse. Moved to At Risk.

5 November 2021: External and internal inspection finds the structure in similar condition to previous visit. Increasingly dense mature vegetation is of concern, especially on the roof. There are slipped and missing slates, along with established trees pushing slates out of place. The exterior north elevation shows signs of movement with significant gaps in masonry at the rear corner. There is general decay of the pointing and several smaller stones missing. The interior is damp, especially along the rear elevation.