Policy Gate (former Ardno Lodge, also known as ‘Maggie Luke’s’)
(Christina Noble’s House)

Policy Gate Lodge appears in the 1841 census and also as a rectangle on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey.

Christina Noble possesses a series of photos dating back to 1971 showing the building from various viewpoints, very much as today, bar the rear wing. This shows the cottage very much as it is now with the exception of a former lean to shed, dark in colour and wood in construction, this abutted the eastern half of the rear wall on the south side of the building. Just west of this there was a window. Between the existence of this lean to and the construction of existing rear wing, there was a further lean to structure containing a kitchen.

In the possession of Christina there are a set of plans for a rear extension dated March 1971 by Bernard G.L. Prestin, Chartered Surveyor, 61 West Princes St. Helensburgh. They are titled Proposed Improvements to Policy Gate lodge, Ardkinglas, Cairndow for John Noble Esq. They show a flat-roofed rear extension and a continuous dormer occupying the central portion for the rear pitched to the south of the main roof.

The set of plans for the existing rear wing are by Archie Provan, dated March 1985. The rear range is built double-skinned concrete block construction. There are good series of photographs of work in progress in 1985 held by Christina Noble. Built by John MacDonald.

The original rear extension involved the widening of the early opening shown in the rear wall, which may have been a window. The existing rear extension involved slapping a new opening through the rear a little bit further to the E.

ii. General

A well-preserved estate cottage of one and half storeys with a new extension on the back, making it a T-plan. Both the main range and the rear extension are double pitched and slated, and the entirety of the exterior is harled and painted white. The frontage of the earlier part of the building faces Loch Fyne to the N.

In common with some of the other earlier estate cottages, such as Glaschoine, Policy Gate is relatively deep in plan and commodious.

The building is accessed from the shore road running on the N side where there's a stone built boundary wall with a gate within it, stone steps rising up directly opposite the principal entrance.

iii. Exterior

The N frontage is symmetrical - a central entrance with equally spaced windows on either side. The latter are relatively recent though of traditional sash and case form, detailed with plain horns extending down from the upper sash. The eastern window has a raised margin surround of tooled stone, with harl butting up against this; by contrast for the western window the harl has been taken around the arises and there is no margin.

The entrance is accessed by two stone steps and contains an original door and door frame. The door itself is of two opposing leaves and there's an iron latch brass key plate, etc. and it's vertically boarded and there's a bead at the junction of the tongue groove. Above there's a pair of small horizontal lights.

The rear range has a slightly steeper pitched roof and is accessed by external door at the N end of its E wall. Further S in this wall there is a window. In the S gable end there is a projecting squared chimney breast, a small window on its E side, and in its W wall two individual windows; the windows are all of traditionally detailed sash and case form.

The present livery of the building is white with grey woodwork. In some places on the earlier parts of the building lime wash is visible below the later paints, these are multiple layers of white and, later on, an apricot hue.

There are various Allan & Mann : Govan Road : Glasgow bricks lying around the outside and also the heavily worn schist threshold stone of what may have been ?the original back entrance, before the extension.

Interior

The front entrance contains opposed doors of plank and batten construction. Internally there are various pieces of door furniture, box-locks and latches, etc. and stay-bars still in place. The two lights above have a simply chamfered glazing bar profile.

Hall-vestibule

One entered into a small hall-vestibule with a stair entrance directly opposite and further entrances into the ground floor principal rooms on either side. This interior is plain plastered. All of the doors, plasterwork and door frames are apparently original and in very good condition, an excellent example of this type of architecture. The three entrance architraves are of plain boards affixed onto the frames. The three doors are all of plank and batten construction, those on either side of four battens, the stair door with three. All are tongue-in-groove jointed with narrow beads at the joints. Each of the three doors has a good iron latch; the door to the E has a box lock with bakelite handles and a brass key plate.

E ground floor room

The principal ground floor room to the E is a well-appointed interior. It is lit by the window to the S; this has narrow glazing bars, the window appears to be secondary. There is a fireplace in the centre of the E gable wall this is equally well preserved with cast-iron inset and wooden surround with keystone and mantelshelf above and stone hearth surviving.

To the N of the fireplace there is a press whose wooden shelves remain; this seems likely to have had a door, hinged from the N, that no longer remains. Skirting throughout is of plain pine boarding, walls plastered onto the hard, ceiling plaster seems to have been replaced. Within the internal partition walling to the W there was formed a central recessed area.



E ground floor room, looking SE

The principal feature of the room lies to the S where there survives a very well preserved pair of early box beds. These are simply framed, the timbers employed edged with a narrow bead. The lower part of the bed interiors are plank lined, whereas the upper part are plastered. There are small brass knobs on either side of the bed openings, presumably tie-backs for the hangings in front. There are under-bed spaces.

W ground floor room

The W room is relatively well preserv