Statement of Special Interest
Dated to 1763, the house at 4 Crook O'Ness Street was one of the first buildings to be built in the new planned village of Down following the laying out of feus and lots by the Earl of Fife. The village of Down, now Macduff, was built in the mid-18th century during the early period of planned village construction in Scotland. 4 Crook O'Ness Street is a good surviving example of early planned village architecture in the northeast of Scotland which largely retains its external character.
In accordance with Section 1 (4A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 the following are excluded from the listing: the interior, the single-storey lean-to addition to the north gable and the two-storey additions to the rear.
Age and Rarity
The house at 4 Crook O'Ness Street, Macduff was built in 1763 during the first years of the laying out of the new planned village of Down. In the mid-18th century Down (also referred to as Doune and Doun) was a small sea town shown on Roy's Military Survey of the Highlands (1747-52) as a cluster of structures by the coast.
Down was developed as a planned village from the mid-18th century by James, Lord Macduff who became the 2nd Earl of Fife in 1763. The Earl funded the enlargement of the harbour around which a series of regularly planned streets and lotted farm lands were laid out. The village became a Burgh of Barony in 1783 and was renamed Macduff.
Around 490 planned villages were founded in Scotland between 1720 and 1850. The majority of these were founded by individual landowners who planned out regular streets, building plots and adjacent lotted fields or lands on their estates.
The founding of planned villages was a reaction to the social and economic changes of the 18th century and the spirit of 'improvement' that saw a revolution in industry and agriculture and dramatic changes in rural settlement. For landowners, new planned villages provided new opportunities to diversify income from their estates whilst offering land, markets and employment to a rural population displaced by agricultural improvement.
The northeast of Scotland was one of the greatest areas of planned village development in Scotland with around 100 built in the region between the early 18th and mid-19th centuries. The development of new coastal and fishing villages increased with the expansion of the fishing industry from the 1780s, particularly in the Highlands and Moray Firth.
Down, later Macduff, is an early example of a planned village in the northeast of Scotland. Gardenstown, founded in 1720 to the east of Macduff, is one of the few earlier examples in the region.
Dated 1763, 4 Crook O'Ness Street was one of the first houses constructed in the new planned village of Down. In 1761 the Aberdeen Press and Journal reported that Down was to be feued out in regular tenements with the shore dues to be used by Lord Macduff to construct the harbour. A plan commissioned by the Earl of Fife of 'the Lands of Down' from 1763 shows a grid plan of streets curved down to the coastline with field lots or lotted lands laid out behind this to the south (RHP31135). In 1763 feus were advertised in the Caledonian Mercury with manufacturers and craftsmen encouraged to set up business in the village.
Walker and Woodsworth suggest that 4 Crook O'Ness Street and the neighbouring house at 2 Crook O'Ness Street may have been built by Lord Macduff to encourage feuing in the village near the harbour (2015: 285).
4 Crook O'Ness Street was in use as a public house from at least 1869 when the building was labelled the Ship Tavern on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map, (surveyed 1867-1869, published 1871). On the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey (revised 1902, published 1904) the building is labelled the Macduff Arms. The building continued as a public house until 2008.
Macduff developed rapidly from the 1780s after it was declared a Burgh of Barony in 1783. The greatest period of expansion of the town occurred following the arrival of the railway in 1860.
While houses built as part of planned villages in Scotland are not a rare building type many have been altered and their historic character is less apparent. Additions to roofs, such as box dormers and alterations to openings, such as the enlargement of window openings are typical changes which can be seen in this building type. What sets this house apart in terms of rarity is the lack of alterations to the street elevation; the roofline remains largely unaltered and there have been few alterations to the openings. The secondary doorway, now infilled in brick, may not be part of the first build but it is an early feature. For buildings which were deliberately constructed to be functional and without any overt architectural pretention the survival of these types of features is taken into account in determining merit for listing.
Within Macduff few properties remain of mid to late 18th century date. The main street along the harbour front contains slightly later buildings of early to mid-19th century date. Examples of other mid to late 18th century buildings in Macduff include 2 Crook O'Ness Street (listed at category C, LB37620) Nichol's Brae (listed at category C, LB37633) and 31 Duff Street (listed at category C, LB 37625).
The house and former tavern at 4 Crook O'Ness Street is a rare survival dating to the early origins of Macduff. Built in 1763, the first year of construction of the planned village of Down laid out by the Earl of Fife, it is one of the earliest buildings to have been built in the new town and is of significance to the historical development of Macduff.
The rear and interior of the building has been altered over the past two centuries reflecting its continued use as a dwelling, tavern and public house. The 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map, (surveyed 1867-1869, published 1871) shows additional structures to the rear of the property at the east. There is currently a two-storey extension to the rear of the house and a single storey lean-to addition to the north gable which appear to date largely from the 20th century. The two-storey addition to the building has also involved changes to the interior of the house.
The planned villages that were developed in Scotland in the 18th and 19th century are an important part of Scotland's social and economic history. Macduff is an early example of a planned village in the north east of Scotland and 4 Crook O'Ness Street is an early surviving example of a planned village building which retains its streetscape character.
Architectural or Historic Interest
Interior
The interior of the building has been substantially altered over the past two centuries reflecting its continued use as a dwelling, tavern and public house.
The ground floor accommodation was used as a public house from at least 1869 until 2008. The first floor and attic are in use as residential accommodation. No features of special interest in listing terms are apparent in the interior of the property.
Plan form
The rectangular plan form of the mid-18th century house, which is typical of houses of this date, has been altered.
An extension to the rectangular plan form is visible on the 1st Edition OS map, (surveyed 1867-1869, published 1871). The current extension appears to be a 20th century replacement.
The internal arrangement of the building includes later 20th century subdivision.
The plan form of the building is not a feature of special interest in listing terms.
Technological excellence or innovation, material or design quality
The design and materials of this building is typical of mid-18th century village architecture.
Setting
The building is prominently positioned directly opposite the harbour on Crook O'Ness Street, a main thoroughfare through the town. The building makes an important contribution to the streetscape and harbour frontage of Macduff as a two-storey mid-18th century house representing the early development of the town as a planned village in the 1760s.
The harbour was constructed in the mid-18th century in order to attract business and settlers and was the focus of industry in the new village. As one of the early houses constructed in the new village it is likely that the feu for the house at 4 Crook O'Ness Street was chosen for its convenient proximity to the harbour. A plan from 1763 shows the plot boundary surrounding what is now 4 Crook O'Ness Street laid out exactly as it survives today (2018) (RHP31135).
The survival of the 1763 plot boundary and the fact that the historic setting of the house opposite the harbour remains largely unchanged adds to the interest of the building.
Regional variations
There are no known regional variations.
Close Historical Associations
There are no known associations with a person or event of national importance at present (2018).
Statutory address and listed building record revised in 2018. Previously listed as 4 Crook O'Ness Street, Macduff Arms.