Timeless elegance
Period manor offers style and plenty of space
WITH majestic views and ornate, grand interiors, it is very easy to see why this Edwardian masterpiece is described as being possibly ‘the most magnificent home in the area’. The ten-bedroom Uplands looks out to the Wallace Monument and Stirling Castle, while its rooms are beautifully laid out and rich in detail.
Built in 1907 by Glasgow architect William Leiper in the Arts and Crafts style, the property is situated within two acres of land in the popular town of Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire.
There are several public apartments – including morning room and drawing room – servants quarters and a conservatory.
The public rooms, main hallway and one of the bathroom suites are wainscoted – walls with panelling to a certain height, topped off by a different finish above.
The effect adds a deep richness that befits the building.
The entrance alone is sufficiently grand to take the breath away, with stonemullioned walls, leaded glass and stone archways more reminiscent of Glasgow’s City Chambers than a country house.
But then this building carries echoes of other fine properties designed by one of Scotland’s finest architects of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.
The mullion windows recall the public spaces of Piersland House Hotel in Troon, Ayrshire. The design is reminiscent of Glasgow’s famed Templeton Carpet Factory, an ornate industrial site Leiper fashioned on the Doge’s Palace in Venice.
Bachelor architect Leiper also designed the interior of the Russian Tsar’s yacht Livadia in 1880, so you can tell he never really did ‘budget’ projects.
The entrance to Uplands screams opulence from the get-go, but in a restrained, Scottish way.
The aforementioned wainscoting stretches the full length of the hallway. A network of wooden beams adorn the ceiling and – to ensure you get the message that wood is good – the floor is wooden, while the staircase at the end of the hall comes decorated with individually turned newel posts and spindles. The walls of the staircase are wainscoted, too.
There are fine views of the Wallace Monument and Stirling Castle from the wainscoted morning room, while the drawing room retains its original cast-iron radiators.
The magnificent 24ft by 23ft dining room has a bay window, facing westward. Its highlight is an Arts and Crafts-style fireplace in natural stone. Unsurprisingly, the room is wainscoted.
The kitchen area features a warren of little rooms and pantries and even a rear hallway, with access to two large walk-in store larders with original shelving.
In the master bedroom, the fireplace is a wonderful feature in its own right. Composed of natural stone, it has lovely turquoise tiles inset with an oak mantelpiece surround.
This beautiful room is decorated in neutral tones, with wooden cornicing, and there is a doorway giving access into the neighbouring dressing room.
The room known as Bathroom Suite 1 contains a beautiful original tub by Aston Matthews, the bespoke London company that has been making luxury sanitary ware since 1823.
The bath is set in marble, with oak panelling, and the sink stands on a double-leg porcelain pedestal, with marble splashback surround. It is tiled to dado height, with white tiles.
There are two further bathroom suites. On the second floor, a billiards room offers magnificent views to the castle and monument and comes with specially designed lighting as well as an original fireplace.
The two acres of grounds cement Uplands’ credentials as a potential boutique hotel.
Perhaps future guests should be asked, when checking in, if they would prefer a wainscoted room or a non-wainscoted room. Offers over £750,000 to Liddle & Anderson. Call 01506 822 727.