[Duncan]

Provanhall

City of Glasgow
Private OS 64 NS 667663
3.5 miles west and north of Coatbridge, off B806, 60 yards west of Auchinlea Road, Easterhouse, in Auchinlea Park.

Either built in the 15th century or the 16th, the house and its square courtyard which originally stretched to the shore of Provan Loch { long ago drained } and is now represented by a duck pond.
The house was once a rest stop for the Glasgow-Stirling mail coach. The main structure is of two storeys and a garret, the ground floor having three vaulted rooms with the vaulting in the kitchen running north to south and that in the dairy and hall way east to west.
The hall way gives access to the round stair tower in the north east corner of the building though no evidence shows that a stair way ever existed there.



The first floor contains two rooms each with a fireplace, the main living room was supplied from the dairy below by a primitive dumb waiter.
A curious hollow in the floor just off centre puzzled the historians for many years until it was realised that this was the resting place of the ladder that originally led to the garret space.



The small courtyard has an unusual feature, the eastern wall gate way is protected from above by a look out window and gun loop, they are reached by a flight of stairs set flush to the wall.
Their are also faint traces of what may have been a ditch surrounding the whole, { my thoughts are that it could have been a wet ditch fed by the loch.}






Mary Queen of Scots stayed here and is said to either have planted or sat under an old yew tree which stood just a little way from the stair tower.
One of lairds murdered his wife and son in the first floor bedroom and her image as the White Lady has allegedly been seen and heard at the garden gate calling to her son.

Open all year around except closed 25-26 of Dec, and 1-2 Jan, and when special events are in progress.
Tel: o141 771 4300
other references: Blochairn House, Coach-Mailing.


Facts and some text used with permission of Gordon Mason from his book,
The Castles of Glasgow and the Clyde

[Gordon]

A more modern stair into Provanhall, the old house. The gate is in the wall to the right. Note the gunloop in that wall, the exterior of which is obvious in the second last of Duncan's pictures.

[PaulFox]

Hi Gordon,
I recently did some work at Provanhall and made an interesting discovery. The screen wall with the moulded arched entrance between the two blocks is dated to 1647 by the carved stone surmounting it which bears the date & the initals of Robert Hamilton. I noticed that it was not quite sitting centrally to the arch and that the shape of it was exactly like a dormer gablet. These gablets have rebates carved down the diagonal sides on the back so that you can bed the dormer roof onto the gablet. If the stone was contemporary with the screen wall then it would be a simple decorative date stone - there would be no need to carve the back. On examination there were indeed these rebates on the back. This means that the date stone does not in fact date the screen wall but has been taken from elsewhere. The 18th century building incorporates an earlier structure at ground floor level so it may be that this stone figured in an earlier phase of roof on this building.
Cheers
Paul

[Duncan]

Hey Paul,
Gordon is on holiday to the states for a couple of weeks. Hes taking the kids to Disney land, or thats his excuse any way. I think he just wants to see Cinderellas castle!

I don't remember right off what the details were on the date stone being moved when the screen wall was reconstructed, sorry

[Gordon]

Thanks for that Paul, I had noticed a peculiarity in the stonework there too, and have wondered at times wether it was as a result of the early 20thc restoration work. The roof was rebuilt along with other reconstructive work c1935. This period of work I think is also probably responsible for the lack of a stair, or residual evidence for it in the round tower, and for the lack of attic access above the worn hollow in the floor at first floor level mentioned previously. The remnants of an earlier structure in the more modern block is interesting, and it is not something I had previously been aware of. Provanhall like all old buildings has gone through various previous remodellings and restrorations, and somesuch at the time of both the Hamiltons and Mathers residencies would not surprise me.

[Gordon]

Images from RCAHMS

From Canmore;

Quote

Recording Your Heritage Online
] Provan Hall, Auchinlea Road, late medieval
North block pre-Reformation, linked by screen walls to 18th-century south block, enclosing inner court. Rubble walls, harled at south block. North block late 15th-, possibly 16th-century, Renaissance details, crowstep gables, pedimented gables to dormers. North-east angle, conical-roofed drum turnpike stairturret, shot holes. Forestair at east end of courtyard. Symmetrical south front to south range, steps to exposed stone architraved, pedimented central entrance. Hip-roofed dormers, sash windows. 18th-century timber internal stair, fine interior. Wide Renaissance moulded arched gateway in centre of courtyard wall, 1647 pediment, Hamilton family crest and initials. Refurbishment 2005, Glasgow City Council. National Trust for Scotland, managed by Glasgow City Council, open to the public


Taken from "Greater Glasgow: An Illustrated Architectural Guide", by Sam Small, 2008. Published by the Rutland Press http://www.rias.org.uk

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Archaeological Notes
NS66NE 1 66755 66324

(NS 6675 6633) Provan Hall (NR)
OS 6" map, (1967)

Though the National Trust (1959) and a plaque on the wall (OS [JLD] 10 February 1954) allege that Provan Hall was built in the 15th century, Tranter states that the house appears to date from the late 16th century, and is probably a post-Reformation building erected by Sir William Baillie who obtained these former church lands at that time. The original house forms the north side of a courtyard, the south side of which is occupied by a later dwelling house. High curtain walls form the E and W sides, and in the former is a gateway, protected by a circular shot-hole.
The original house itself is oblong on plan, with a circular stair-tower projecting at the NE angle. The walls are of good rubble, two storeys high, with a garret within the steeply-pitched roof. There are three doors at ground level, all on the courtyard side. An outside forestair has been erected against the E wall of the courtyard to replace the turnpike stair that rose in the circular tower, and a doorway has been formed at the E end of the first floor. Another doorway, now built up, has been opened at some time in the W gable at first floor level. A shot-hole and keyhole type arrow-slit window guard the circular tower at basement level and there are two more shot-holes above. Having been long in a poor state of repair, Provan Hall was purchased in 1935 by a body of private individuals, and after restoration, handed over to the National Trust.
The pediment over the courtyard gateway bears the date '1647', and the initials of Sir Robert Hamilton, the owner of the lands at that time.
Visited by OS (J L D) 10 February 1954.
National Trust 1959; N Tranter 1962-70.

NS 667 663 As part of ongoing research into the history of Provan Hall (NMRS NS66NE 1) a photographic survey of the external and internal elevations of both Provan Hall and the adjacent Blochairn House was completed. An REDM survey of the external elevations was also undertaken. Drawings were made of the kitchen fireplace in the ground floor and of the floor in the first-floor hall. The latter clearly shows wear which reveals the former presence of internal timber partitions.
Sponsor: National Trust of Scotland.
D Alexander 2001

NS 667 663 An evaluation was undertaken as part of a feasibility study for a visitor centre at Provan Hall. Two trenches and three test pits were excavated E and NE of the Hall grounds. These demonstrated that the majority of the proposed site had been built up relatively recently with made ground at least 1.8¿2m deep.
A single trench was excavated within the grounds of Provan Hall. This showed that a mound visible as a surface feature was the product of a rise in the natural topography, exaggerated by recent dumping of concrete, brick and stone. No significant archaeological features or finds were found in any of the trenches.
Archive to be deposited in NMRS.
Sponsor: Greater Easterhouse Environmental Trust.
R Heawood 2005

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Books and References
Alexander, D (2001) 'Provan Hall, Glasgow (Glasgow parish), laird's house', Discovery Excav Scot, vol.2 49
Heawood, R (2005d) 'Provan Hall, Glasgow City (Glasgow parish), evaluation', Discovery Excav Scot, vol.6 75-76
Mather, G R (1899) 'Provan Hall', The Regality Club, vol.3 11-16
Regality Club (1889a) 'Advertisement of the lands of Provan, 1729', The Regality Club, vol.1 37-44
Small, S (2008) Greater Glasgow: an illustrated architectural guide
Held at RCAHMS Quick
Stevenson, J B (1985b) Exploring Scotland's heritage: the Clyde estuary and Central Region, Exploring Scotland's heritage series Edinburgh
Held at RCAHMS A.1.4.HER
Stevenson, J B (1995) Glasgow, Clydeside and Stirling, Exploring Scotland's Heritage series, ed. by Anna Ritchie Edinburgh
Held at RCAHMS A.1.4.HER
The National Trust for Scotland (1959) Illustrated list of properties, Edinburgh
Tranter, N (1962-70) 'The fortified house in Scotland', Edinburgh
Held at RCAHMS F.5.21.TRA

[Gordon]

One interesting point from the digital pics on RCAHMS, in pic SC1114341 another structure is evident in what is now the car park outwith the main gate. There is no such building now evident, could this have been a source of stone in the renovation work of 1935 onwards?
In the list of pics held by RCAHMS though not shown on line, is one of 1936 with the ruined 'outhouse'. Pont's map appears to show a central 'tower', with two lower structures on either side although this may only be indicitive of the courtyard and stair tower.

[Gordon]

Glasgow University Special Collections.