Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

WEST SANDWICK, NORTH HAA (WEST SANDWICK HOUSE), INCLUDING GARDEN WALLS, GATES AND GATEPIERS, WALLED GARDEN, AND PIERLB18648

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
A
Date Added
13/08/1971
Supplementary Information Updated
30/03/1998
Local Authority
Shetland Islands
Planning Authority
Shetland Islands
Parish
Yell
NGR
HU 44557 87973
Coordinates
444557, 1187973

Description

17th century, with addition of circa 1770, both remodelled circa 1830. Laird's house comprising symmetrical 2-storey 3-bay remodelling of 17th century house, connected by central 2-storey link to 2-storey and attic 3-bay classical remodelling of later 18th century house to S; latter flanked to E and W by walls connecting to single storey single bay pedimented pavilions. Harled and lined rubble walls with droved sandstone ashlar margins and details. Projecting cills to windows.

S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: symmetrical, droved ashlar single storey pedimented porch projecting at centre comprising vertically-boarded timber door with plate glass fanlight, channelled ashlar surround, flanked by pilasters with rosettes, urn finial to pediment; windows flanking outer bays at ground; round-arched window centred at 1st floor, tripartite windows in outer bays; principal block flanked by single storey single bay walls with glazed doors; single storey single bay pavilions advanced and flanking to outer right and left, each with Venetian windows and pediments with blind oculi and ball finials.

E ELEVATION: 4-pane timber sash and case window to link recessed between blank gables of N and S blocks; gable of N block advanced at right and blank E wall of E pavilion advanced at left.

N ELEVATION: symmetrical, timber fixed-light with triangulated glazing pattern to upper part of infilled door centred at ground; windows in flanking bays, regular fenestration at 1st floor; 2-leaf latticed gate in single storey courtyard wall extending to left; blank rear elevation of S block recessed at right.

W ELEVATION: 2-bay gable of S block advanced at right, ground floor obscured by lean-to addition, regular fenestration at 1st floor, attic window to right in gablehead; 4-pane timber sash and case window to link recessed at left, blank gable of N block to outer left.

Predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case windows, with 4-pane pattern to link block and lower right window of N elevation. Grey slate roofs to N and S blocks, droved ashlar skew-copes, bracketted skewputts to S block; modern metal roofs to pavilions. Harled gablehead stacks, heightened at N block, all with concrete copes and circular cans; octagonal single-flue wallhead stacks with circular cans to outer walls of pavilions.

GARDEN WALLS, GATES, AND GATEPIERS: harl-pointed rubble walls enclosing roughly square formal garden to S of principal elevation adjoining pavilions at E and W; gates adjacent to pavilions comprising square droved ashlar gatepiers with bases and corniced pyramidal caps, flanked by dwarf walls with fleur-de-lys finialled railings surviving to W; railings removed from ashlar-coped dwarf wall bounding S side, cast-iron stanchions surviving to gate at centre. Basket-arched openings in walls linking N elevations of pavilions to large walled garden enclosing N side of house; garden extends to E and W, with basket-arched openings in S walls and centred in N wall, rounded corners to NE and NW. Harl-pointed rubble ashlar-coped dwarf wall forming semicircular plan enclosure within walled garden adjoining N elevation of N block, gate at N point comprising square droved ashlar gatepiers with bases and corniced pyramidal caps; rubble and concrete steps to E. Additional wall extending E from E pavilion and enclosing yard open to E.

PIER: coursed stugged sandstone sides with slabbed carriageway; steps set into W side at S end.

INTERIOR: late 18th century timber staircase with simple balustrade to S block; partly panelled SW attic room with dentilled cornice.

Statement of Special Interest

The present house was created by John Ogilvy of Quarff soon after his marriage in 1829 to Barbara Grace Robertson who was heiress to the estate. He embarked on a remodelling of what was probably a 17th century house with a grander front block added around 1770. Ogilvy rebuilt the older house, and added the classical details and pavilions to the front block which is likely to have been a standard large Shetland haa of 3 bays with high wallhead concealing a garret. The formal arrangement of garden seems to also date from the remodelling, with the design centring on the S block. This includes the semicircular enclosure to the N which adjoins, but otherwise ignores, the N block. The pier is perhaps Shetland's finest example of a domestic pier. Viewed from the main road, North Haa provides a spectacular focus to this part of western Yell, and indicates the impact the tall lowland design of the haas once had throughout Shetland.

References

Bibliography

John Gifford HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS (1992) p501. Mike Finnie SHETLAND (1990) p72.

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.

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