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Summary

Description

Later 19th century. Single storey and attic T-plan cottage. Granite rubble with tooled dressings. Symmetrical SW (principal) elevation with advanced central gable, with arched opening with timber 4-panel door with upper panels glazed, commemorative plaque (see notes) and window above. Flanking gabled dormers breaking eaves. Gabled dormers to NE (rear) elevation and to NW and SE elevations of rear wing. Later additions of garage to NE gable and lean-to conservatory to SE elevation.

Timber sliding sash and case windows. Decorative bargeboards to SW gable. Grey slate, tile ridge, squat coped gable stacks with 3 short coped octagonal shafts.

INTERIOR: retains many original features including functioning timber shutters, windows, skirting and staircase. The original room layout is still clearly discernible.

Statement of Special Interest

Set in a prominent location on the main road into Braemar from the south, this house is one of the larger residential buildings in the village and it makes a positive contribution to the streetscape through its traditional character.

A smaller building is shown on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey which may or may not be incorporated in the present structure. Robert Louis Stevenson Cottage first appears in its present form on the 2nd Edition OS. The building displays many of the characteristics particular to this region, such as the gabled dormers, decorative barge boards and octagonal stacks, and is a good example of the traditional methods of construction in the area. The building also has an important historic association. It is the house where Stevenson, who suffered from respiratory illness, began his first novel whilst spending the summer in the village, which was renowned for its healthy air.

The plaque above the door, installed by the Braemar Mutual Improvement Society, reads 'HERE R L STEVENSON SPENT THE SUMMER OF 1881 AND WROTE 'TREASURE ISLAND' HIS FIRST GREAT WORK'.

Change of Category from B to C(S), (2006).

References

Bibliography

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