Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Description

18th century with 19th and 20th century additions. 2-storey and attic, 3-bay, L-plan farmhouse with slightly advanced entrance bay rising to nepus gable, steading range extending from rear wing, and further detached steading range. Harled, creamwashed masonry with painted ashlar dressings. Boulder base course; eaves course. Regular fenestration with ashlar window margins.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION: regularly fenestrated principal elevation to W with 20th century porch to entrance and small round-arched window to nepus. Irregular fenestration elsewhere. Adjoining 2-storey wing to rear with ladder to 1st floor door; single storey lean-to in re-entrant angle to rear with door to side elevation and window to rear. Single storey steading range attached to rear of SE wing. Detached parallel 2-storey rectangular-plan steading range to N.

Non-traditional uPVC windows. Ashlar-coped skews. Coped ashlar gablehead stacks with thackstanes and some buff clay cans. Grey slate roof. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

Statement of Special Interest

A fine and early example of a substantial Ayrshire farmhouse with good architectural detailing and the remains of an extensive steading, occupying a prominent position in the landscape. Buildings are shown here on the Blaeu Atlas of Scotland (1654), but the current buildings appear to be later. The long, low proportions, narrow end gables, central nepus and boulder base course of the farmhouse suggest an 18th century date, and the existence of thackstanes implies that it was originally thatched. Parts of the steading may be of a similar date but they were certainly either altered or extended in the mid-19th century as contractors were advertised for in the Ayr Advertiser of 19 February 1857. The 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map shows a simple L-plan building with slightly projecting central entrance bay, and associated steading buildings; the separate block to the north then formed the south-west corner of an extensive steading courtyard. The larger part of the rear entrance extension to the house had been added by the time of the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey map (1894'6). Alterations were approved by the New Buildings Sub-Committee of Ayr County Council on 15 March 1907 (Ayrshire Archives, CO 3/12/2/3), and the smaller lean-to currently containing the back door first appears on the 3rd Edition Ordnance Survey map (1907-9). The interior has been significantly remodelled. The steading block extending to the rear of the house originally contained millwheel workings.

According to local lore, the farm and hill on which it stands are named after the 'Guil Tree- (signifying 'guilt tree'), situated close to the farm entrance, which was used for hangings.

References

Bibliography

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.