58, 60 Abbotsford Road, Netherby Galashiels, Scotland

Text courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland. © Crown Copyright, reprinted under the Open Government License.

Netherby is one of an important group of mill owners houses in this part of Galashiels. This house is of particular interest for its unusual design and quality of detail and execution. The interior features, which have survived the conversion to a care home, contain several features of particular interest and the presence of the (later) lodge and walled garden are notable. The addition of a lodge in the 1930s is most unusual. These houses are closely related to the growth of the textile industry in Galashiels and reflect the success of the industry at its height in the later 19th century. From the 1860s mill owners began to move away from houses closer to the mills and commenced the building of a series of ostentatious houses along Abbotsford Road. A number of these houses are built as miniature country estates, with all of the requisite parts, including, in this case, a walled garden. Netherby is thought to have been built for William Roberts, a partner in Victoria Mill. James Campbell Walker (1821-1888) worked for William Burn and David Bryce before setting up his own practice by 1858. Initially, he worked on a number of poorhouses, including that in Galashiels (1859), slowly moving into larger houses, such as Langlee, Galashiels (1860). Initially, the principal and service blocks were separate. The house is known to have been extended c1875 and this probably involved the current single-storey block with a large greenhouse to the front. This was later linked into the stable. The large projection to the rear of the main block may also date to c1875. There have been further accretions through the 20th century. Netherby was used as an Eventide home for much of the later 20th century, before being re-converted as a single dwelling in recent years (2005). Use as a home involved the conversion of the stable block to accommodation.