3 bedroom flat for sale

Formakin Mansion Gallery forms the garden portion of the original house, which is built of local grey whinstone with the occasional blocks of Lanarkshire red sandstone. The property is entered via a wooden door to a circular reception vestibule with an attractive stone floor and symmetrical eyelet windows on either side. The 90ft reception hallway stretches out from here with wooden panelled doors to all apartments.

The Mansion Gallery is a perfect testament to Lorimer's style and is full of quirky and unexpected features including grand imposing fireplaces and medieval style design.

The drawing room's main focus point is an imposing stone Minster fireplace which measures some 11ft in width with a central solid fuel burning stove. From here an open arch leads to a formal dining room with views over the garden.

The master bedroom has deep wardrobe storage and a well appointed en-suite shower room with attractive tiling and a white suite by Sottini. There are two further double bedrooms with fitted wardrobes, the second of these having an access hatch to the substantial cellar space which could be put to a variety of uses.

The kitchen is in contemporary style with beech units at wall and base level, a Corian style work surface and a range of appliances by Milele. The kitchen also has an attractive stone Minster fireplace with solid fuel burning stove. In keeping with the contemporary/traditional balance, the bathroom in the Mansion Gallery, with a deep freestanding cast iron bath and a white suite by Sottini, is in the original circular turret of the property, with circular stone floor similar to that in the reception vestibule.

Accommodation
Painted wooden door leads to circular reception vestibule.

Reception vestibule with stone tiled sun dialled floor and two symmetrical eyelet windows.

Reception hallway which measures some 90ft in length and contains access doors to all main apartments.

Boiler cupboard.

Master bedroom with low voltage downlighters, twin hardwood astragal windows. Twin wooden panel doors to deep wardrobe with shelves and hanging space. Door to:

En-suite shower room with coving a low voltage downlighters. Glass shower compartment by Mira with tiled surround and chrome Aqualisa shower above, Large profile tiles to dado height with attractive glass tiled border. WC and wash hand basin by Sottini.

From reception hallway, 15-pane glass panel French doors open to:

Kitchen with coving abnd low voltage downlighters. Corian style work surfaces. Contemporary beech style units at wall and base level incorporating sdtainless steel sink with mixer tap. Miele hot plate hob and Miele oven. Fridge and freezer. Stainless steel Miele dishwasher. Stone tile floor. Deep and imposing stone Minster fireplace with orso freestanding wood burning stove.

Drawing room with magnificent stone Minster fireplace, measuring some 11ft in width, with cast iron freestanding solid fuel burning stove. Eyelet window. Hardwood sash and case astragal window overlooking gardens. Low voltage downlighters. Wall lights. Open arch to dining area.

Dining area with coving and low voltage downlighter. Hardwood sash and case astragal windows overlooking gardens.

Utility room with sloping ceiling. Plumbed for washing machine and dishwasher.

Bathroom, circular room in original turret. Deep freestanding cast iron bath with ball and claw feet and Victorian style mixer tap with shower attachment. WC and wash hand basin by Sottini. Stone tiled floor in sun dialled pattern.

Bedroom 2 with coving, wall lights and built-in fitted wardrobes.
Hatch to cellar .

Bedroom 3 with coving and deep stone Minster fireplace. Built-in fitted wardrobe.

Cellar which is currently used as storage with a stone floor and brick walls, incorporating deep individual storage sections which could be used for a variety of purposes. The cellar measures some 35ft x 13ft at its widest points.

The grounds at Formakin are splendid and comprise of approximately 170 acres shared by the residents of the estate who also share the cost of their management.


Formakin Mansion Gallery is an elegant country house apartment forming part of the imposing Mansion of Formakin within Formakin Estate, which extends to approximately 170 acres of rich parkland, policy woodlands, lakes, a stream and more formal gardens with particular themes, such as the Oriental Garden and the Fountain Garden. The design and layout of the park and the gardens were greatly influenced by Gertrude Jekylls' work at Munstead Wood in Surrey and are in keeping with the medieval style design of the house.

Formakin Estate lies on the fringe of rural Renfrewshire, close to the River Clyde and approximately four miles from Kilmacolm. Kilmacolm is renowned for its village shops, pubs, restaurants and churches, as well as the co-educational school of St. Columba's. Kilmacolm has its own well respected golf course; other golf courses in the area include Old Ranfurly Castle, Gleddoch and Mar Hall, a luxury hotel and spa, which has the 18-hole Earl of Mar championship course which offers a five star golf experience.

Formakin is very accessible for Glasgow International Airport which offers an increasingly wide range of flights to domestic and international destinations. Glasgow itself is one of the UK's largest financial centres and is renowned for world class shopping.

Historical Note
Formakin Estate was created by four farms bought in 1902 by the Paisley stockbroker John Augustus Holms. Holms required a country estate not only for residential purposes but also to house his collection of old Chinese porcelain, English silver plate, oriental rugs and English furniture. Holms' first priority was to lay out the park and gardens before turning his attentions to the buildings.

He enlisted the help of a friend, the eminent Scottish architect Robert Lormier, who was closely involved at every stage. Holms was a character of considerable artistic vision, concerning himself with every small detail during the creation of Formakin. In order to prevent the bell shaped roofs from appearing too austere, Holms suggested the addition of little diabolical figures. Later he decided monkeys would be more effective, and these became the theme of the estate, giving rise to its popular local name, "The Monkey House". The same attention to detail was applied to the stable block, motor and coach house, visitor's stable and accommodation for Holms' hunters. The stable roof, for example, had to show "beams and sarking, no inner living to gather rats and dirt" and window ledges must slope "as men can't then arrange to keep brushes, hair candle ends, matches, bandages, etc, there".

Sadly, Holms was never to see the completion of his masterpiece. In 1912, he was severely concussed following a bad fall while hunting, and a few months later he was obliged to settle illicit dealings made without his knowledge by his business partner. Almost overnight, Holms' fortune dissolved. Work stopped abruptly, workmen left their tools in exact positions where they had last worked and Holms instructed they were not to be touched. Holms died in 1938 and A E Pickard, a Glasgow entrepreneur, bought the estate for £7,000. however, he struggled with the high level of maintenance and the onset of the Second World War made labour scarce. In 1978, planning permission was sought to build 195 new houses on the estate. The proposal was rejected by the Secretary of State, and the local District Council took up the fight to preserve and restore the estate with generous help from agencies such as the Historic Building Council and the Countryside Commission for Scotland. The huge task began of saving the Estate for prosperity.

Eight years after the initial work commenced, the historic builder Kit Martin became involved in the sensitive conversion of the properties of Formakin Estate.