Description
Circa 1800 with mid 19th century addition. 2-storey and attic, 5-bay, near L-plan farmhouse (original 3-bay, T-plan house to E with central stair bay projecting to rear; later 2-bay by 3-bay L-plan extension adjoining W of house) with later 2-storey, flat-roofed extension in rear re-entrant angle; adjoining range of single and 1?-storey farm buildings to rear. Circa 1804 mill, kiln, granary and N range with later 19th century byre and cattle court. Coursed rubble whinstone farmhouse concealed by harling to principal elevation. Plain offset quoins at angles and window margins. Coursed and random whinstone range of vernacular farm buildings with whinstone and tooled ashlar dressings.
FARMHOUSE AND ADJOINING RANGE:
S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: older 2-storey, 3-bay to right of elevation with central entrance door (now replaced by French windows) and regular fenestration. Adjoining to left, later 2-storey, 2-bay extension: pilastered door surround to right (with later multi-paned glazing and timber door), window aligned above to 1st floor; to left, tripartite window to both floors. Entire elevation harled and re-roofed (at time of construction) to conceal change in elevation, although 1st floor window heights differ between building phases. Low garden wall adjoins to SE angle.
W ELEVATION: 2-storey, 3-bay end of house with modern timber conservatory to ground floor right and centre; 3 regularly placed bays to 1st floor (centre and right window blind). Rear of adjoined office and farm range recessed to left.
N (REAR) ELEVATION: to left, blind elevation of original house with stair bay projecting to centre, ground floor centre and left concealed by adjoined range, right of original and all of W extension's elevation concealed by 2-storey, 3-bay flat-roofed extension. Advanced blind wall end to right.
E ELEVATION: gabled end with later window to centre of ground floor; rest of elevation blind. 1 ?-storey outhouse (adjoining NE angle of rear stair) with large window to right and small window to upper left; timber boarded door with small glazed central pane to left return; adjoining recessed continuous range of single storey farm buildings to right return: running from left, bothy style building with later gabled timber porch at door and rectangular windows; long blind building with central timber boarded door; pair of large (late) rectangular cart openings with timber boarded folding doors with small glazing panes at top; to right of range 4 stable entrances.
3-pane glazing in timber sash and case windows to main elevations of farmhouse (smaller plate glass upper sashes and 2-pane lower sashes); some 4 and 12-pane glazing in timber sash and case windows to rear. Pitched slate roof with lead ridging, flashing and valleys; plain skews and putts to farmhouse. Painted cast-iron rainwater goods. Coursed whinstone and ashlar gablehead stacks (W stack now roofline due to later extension) with plain ashlar neck copes, few cans remain; taller harled wallhead stacks with red sandstone quoins to later extension.
INTERIOR: central stone flagged passage leading to pine staircase with turned balusters; single flight with open well to 1st floor, closed flight to attic. Some ceiling cornices remain. E room: stone bead-moulded fireplace surround. Some timber panelling within later extension. Timber and gesso chimneypiece in later SW room, also pilastered tripartite window.
WALLED GARDEN: rectangular garden formed from whinstone rubble walls with plain ashlar flat copes to S, W and N, plain vehicular entrance cutting E of N wall and aligned with pedestrian entrance in S wall (walls sweep down to form inverted semi-circle bisected by path); E wall (and SE angle boundary) formed by rear of single storey farm building range and farmhouse.
FARM BUILDINGS: farm steading comprising W range adjoining farmhouse (see E ELEVATION above), S block comprising adjoined cart shed, byre and stables, former mill complex to E, byre and stable range to N and central cattle court with attached byre. Cobbled between buildings.
S BLOCK CONTAINING CART SHED, BYRE AND STABLES: single storey cart shed to W with 3 segmental-headed openings with whinstone voussoirs and piers; blind returns. N facing 1,?-storey 5-bay byre with single window (with tabbed ashlar quoins) to 1st, 3rd and 5th bays, and similarly styled doorways to 2nd and 4th bays (left door now blind) with piend-roofed timber hayloft doors breaking eaves. To E elevation, gable end of byre to right with rectangular-headed cart opening (sliding timber door) and to left, lean-to return of stables with now blind door abutting byre. S facing stable with catslide roof formed from rear of byre (formerly 3 rectangular-headed cart shed openings now in-filled with timber stable doors and separate pedestrian door to left).
FORMER MILL COMPLEX TO E: 1?-storey, T-plan former water powered threshing mill and granary. W elevation comprising of symmetrical 5-bay ground floor: small square windows with whinstone voussoir lintels and 6-pane timber sash and case windows surviving to 1st, 3rd and 5th bays and latched timber boarded doors to 2nd and 4th bays; boarded hayloft door with piended roof breaking eaves of 2nd bay. To left return, gabled end with arch-headed timber boarded door to upper floor; to right return, formerly as left return but door in-filled to form small square window. N elevation with return of granary advanced to right; in-filled slot for water wheel in re-entrant and door to ground floor left of E wing. Advanced centre to E elevation formerly containing a partially demolished kiln/smithy (remains of rough whinstone walling at ground floor with remnants of kiln and interior fireplace); to 1st floor central (formerly interior) doorway with tooled ashlar quoins and remnants of adjoining gable; various joist holes noticeable. Returns of E elevation and W wing (blind) forming S elevation.
STABLE AND BYRE RANGE TO N: single storey, 4-bay, symmetrical rectangular-plan range with segmental headed cart openings to 1st and 4th bays (each with ? height timber boarded gate) and doorways to central bays. Small window to right in left return; right return and return concealed by later modern barn.
CENTRAL CATTLE COURT AND ATTACHED BYRE: whinstone rubble walls to N, W and S forming cattle court with entrance to NW (now covered with partially open timber gabled roof). Bounding to E, single storey whinstone L-plan byre, mostly blind with door to N and entrance in W from court; ? slated ventilation roof surviving.
Statement of Special Interest
Sited nearby is the ruin of the 16th century Nether Horsburgh Castle, a scheduled monument (listed separately). The estate had connections with the Horsburgh family who owned Horsburgh and Nether Horsburgh Castle (both listed separately). This estate passed from the family in circa 1725. Before the present farm was built, maps show the site as Nether Horsburgh Mill. A thatched farmhouse existed here in1754, but was likely to be the ruins sited to the N of the castle (listed separately). It changed hands many times, with the Earls of March and the Duke of Queensberry becoming owners. The fourth Duke sold it to an Edinburgh candle maker, Thomas Bell in 1788. The water powered threshing mill, kiln and granary were "newly built in 1804". The mill was fed from a raised pipe running from the mill lade, just below the sluice. The original farmhouse, walled garden, offices and servants houses (adjoining range) were described as "all built within these few years". Alexander Campbell was the owner by 1811; it then passed to Robert Nutter Campbell (of Kailzie). He was obliged to assign the estate to trustees, who then sold it, in 1841, to James Ballantyne of Holylee (listed separately). It is believed this farmhouse started life as a simple 2-storey, 3-bay, later 18th century building with sash windows and harled walls. Later, a wing was added to the west, with triple windows and a new doorway. A range of farm buildings added to the back of the property were originally offices, stables and servants quarters. An unusual and undated stone with a carved Latin cross contained within a circle has been built in to the E elevation of this range. The site of the mill wheel and kiln can still be seen, as can a sluice on the mill lade. These, like many of the buildings in the district, are constructed from coursed whinstone. Listed as a good example of a little altered farm steading with original buildings and plan surviving intact. The farmhouse, although altered remains a good example of how a building would change depending on finances, new owners and changing agricultural practices.