Morham & Brotchie, Chartered Quantity Surveyors

Projects » Visitor centres & museums » Blackburn House

Blackburn House, West Lothian

Blackburn House is a category A listed mid-eighteenth century country house. The design of the house is a five bay pedimented block and includes quadrant wall and hipped roof pavilions enclosing an entrance court. Alterations were carried out to the house during the nineteenth century, when the first floor windows to the north were enlarged by two stone course heights, the parapet was added with some alterations to the chimneys, the attic windows were added and alterations were carried out to the internal partitions. The front porch is also thought to have been added at this time. With the exception of these alterations the house is largely untouched, and the conservation and restoration of all the historic fabric, including these later alterations, is critical to the project.

The existing West Pavilion is a two storey stone built structure with slate roof. One wall of the East Pavilion remains one storey high. The East Doo'cot wall structure exists but only one wall of the West Doo'cot survives. The boundary and quadrant walls exist in part, and some are forming support structures to sheds, which will be demolished as part of the works.

The project aims to conserve this important structure and allow a new lease of life to the house through its use as Offices, Recording Studios and two Ground Floor Period Conference Rooms (the latter to double as film location sets). The East Doo'cot is also to be refurbished to form an exhibition area which will display the house's history.