Page:The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth century (1887) - Volume 2.djvu/315

 TOLQUHAN CASTLE 299 FOURTH PERIOD in the basement floor are small towards the exterior, while many of them towards the courtyard are large. In the kitchen passage there is a circular recess in a turret, with a stone seat round the wall, where ser- vants might wait, and there is also under the window a shot-hole which commands the entrance gateway. The other portions of the ground floor contain offices entering from the courtyard. They are all vaulted, and those in the north-west angle seem to have been the brewhouse. The eastern wing is unfortunately greatly ruined. As above men- tioned, the bakehouse seems to have been situated at the south-east angle, in connection with the old tower. The other buildings probably contained stables and offices, but their various uses cannot now be dis- tinguished. The principal staircase is square, and 6 feet wide. It conducts to the first floor (Fig. 753), where a wide landing gives access on one hand to the hall, and on the other to a suite of apartments over the west side of the quadrangle. The hall is 38 feet by 20 feet, with windows on three sides, and the usual large fireplace with moulded jambs. A small por- tion of the original pavement still survives. It is composed of stone flags, shaped as elongated hexagons alternating with small squares. At the south-west corner is the stair to the cellars already mentioned, and in the north-east corner is a stair in the turret which contains the servants' seat in the basement. This stair, and also a small stair off the landing of the principal staircase, lead to the upper apartments over the hall and private room, which were no doubt bedrooms. The private room (18 feet 6 inches by 19 feet) is of good size, and contains the usual safe closet and garde-robe. The private stair from the kitchen was no doubt used when the lord and his family or guests wished to dine apart from the company in the hall. Fig. 754 shows the appear- ance of the buildings on the south side of the courtyard. The stair turret exhibits the label moulding, the corbelling, and the crow-stepped gables of the period. A finial lying on the ground is shown in the left- hand corner of the sketch. The long apartment in the west side of the quadrangle was evi- dently the gallery, a feature of which we have already met several in- stances, and which we shall find, as we proceed, soon became common during this period. It would also be used as the withdrawing-room or reception-room. This room is 58 feet long by 14 feet wide, and has windows on each side. Entering from this gallery in the north-west tower was a bedroom with fireplace and shot-hole, while over the entrance gateway are smaller rooms in continuation of the gallery. The eastern side of the courtyard was also carried up at least two stories in height, but the internal arrangements cannot now be distin- guished. The north end, however, was raised to a considerable height,