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Summary

Description

Loch Lomond And Trossachs National Park Planning Authority

Probably late 18th century with later additions and alterations. Single-storey, three-bay, cruck-framed cottage with corrugated iron roof and lower ranges adjoining each gable. Although a once common form of vernacular construction, very few cruck-framed cottages survive in anything approaching their original condition, and this is an unusually good example that is relatively unaltered.

The main part of the house has a central door with a small window to each side. The cruck roof is composed of two central crucks at three metre centres, unusual serpentine braces curving around three ridge poles, and paired tree purlins supporting closely laid branches on which the thatch sits. There is evidence of a hanging lum to the east. Early 20th century byre range to west gable with cobbled floor, part now incorporated into cottage. The garage at the west end is made from a former bothy and has a small fireplace.

Small wing adjoining east gable has mid 20th century window opening.

Materials: Rendered random rubble with boulder footings. Timber cruck frame. 20th century half-glazed timber-boarded front door. Plate glass windows in timber casements. Rendered chimney stack with squat red clay can.

Statement of Special Interest

A settlement named Wester Achra is shown on General Roy's map of circa 1750, but none of the buildings shown have the same relationship to the road as the present one, and it is very unlikely that a simple cottage would survive from that date. The present building is more likely to date from the end of the 18th century, when Lochearnhead was developed as a village of crofts to resettle families from over-crowded 'fermtouns' (see Stewart). This cottage seems to be shown on Stobie's map of 1783, which suggests that it was one of the earliest crofts to be established in Lochearnhead.

The Ordnance Survey maps show this cottage as consisting of a main building divided into two (indicating that two families had one room each) with smaller wings set back to each side. The east wing is probably the same as the one shown on the map, but the west wing is considerably larger, and was probably rebuilt in the early 20th century.

The corrugated iron roof was probably put over a heather thatch roof following the opening of the Lochearnhead, St Fillans and Comrie railway in 1904 as sparks from the passing trains would have posed a serious fire risk. When the building was visited in 2014 as part of the SPAB survey, no remains of this thatch was seen.

One other cruck-framed cottage, Briar Cottage, survives in Lochearnhead (see LB4173).

Listed building record revised in 2020 as part of the Thatched Buildings Listing Review.

References

Bibliography

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