Rapture and verse
Stylish riverside home calls to mind a classic poem, says Paul Drury
It IS a chocolate box cottage in the city, a bucolic haven which inspired one admirer to quote enchanting verse. An artist friend of the owner believed Envoy, a short poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, described perfectly Glenseaton Lodge.
It reads:
‘Go, little book, and wish to all; Flowers in the garden, meat in the hall; A bin of wine, a spice of wit; A house with lawns enclosing it; A living river by the door; A nightingale in the sycamore.’
Glenseaton Lodge occupies three acres of land on a wide loop of the River Don, just three miles from Union Street, in Aberdeen city centre.
there has been a residence on this spot since the 14th century, when it formed a two-room miller’s cottage.
Private and secluded, the house developed handsomely over the years to such an extent that, in the 1860s, one of Scotland’s greatest craftsmen was asked to enhance it further. Glasgow’s
Daniel Cottier was a specialist in stained glass who went on to open design houses in London, New York and Australia.
the former Dowanhill Church in his home city, now an entertainment venue, was named Cottiers in his honour for the work he carried out on the A-listed building. Even Dutch Master Vincent van Gogh was said to have been an admirer of the Scot. Cottier was asked to design, build and decorate the main drawing room and dining room at Glenseaton Lodge. there’s little in the way of stained glass but the rooms still stand as testament to his genius. the elegant drawing room has a yellow pine floor, with a door to the dining room.
there, everything is dominated by the vaulted cedar ceiling, which must have made a huge impression in Victorian Aberdeen.
And you do not have to go far to see more of Cottier’s work. Just across the river from the property is St Machar’s Cathedral, and its stained glass windows were fashioned by the Glasgow craftsman.
Glenseaton is a stunning family home set over three levels and bristling with period features such as original marble and stone fireplaces.
It enjoys modern touches, too, as the property was rewired in 2014 and a significant part of the roof was renewed.
Upstairs, a feature landing leads to five bedrooms, adorned by Gothic doors and lead-paned windows.
APARt of the house could serve as a selfcontained apartment, sharing the back door, with a bedroom and bathroom on the lower ground floor plus a secondary kitchen and sitting room on the ground floor.
A front porch offers beautiful views of the gardens, rich in rhododendrons, azaleas and mature trees such as copper beech, monkey puzzle, sycamore and oak.
A joining fee payable to the Aberdeen Angling Association allows you to fish for salmon at the bottom of your garden.
So consider. What could be better than lazing around on the river… in the city?
Offers over £799,000 to Hamish Spencer-Nairn on 01738 567892 or email hamish.spencer-nairn@ struttandparker.com.