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Summary

Description

Early 19th century vernacular single storey rectangular-plan 3-bay croft house with adjoining byres extending to E on sloping ground forming irregular linear group. Small deep set irregularly spaced windows with later new windows openings to N wall and thick set tarred chimneys. Whitewashed rubble walls. 2 separate barns to S and E with finely worked rough rubble walls form irregular u-plan courtyard with croft house.

4-pane sash and case windows with some later fixed timber casements; boarded timber doors. Corrugated asbestos roofs with stone ridges; stone skews with concrete overlay. Tarred rubble masonry stacks with clay cans. Plastic and aluminium rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: Not seen (2005).

Statement of Special Interest

South Yarrows Croft is thought to be the best preserved and most complete early 19th century croft house of its type in the Caithness region. Some internal modernisation is known to have been made in the 1960s to include a new bathroom, however the croft house retains much of its original vernacular character. Having been in the same family ownership since 1906, it is the only one in the area to remain occupied.

The croft house was part of a sheep farm on the Thrumster estate for many years, and previous to this, the farm formed part of the lands of the Sinclair family which were agriculturally improved circa 1800.

The area of Yarrows is amongst the most archeologically rich areas of Scotland, with evidence of human habitation dating from 3,500 BC. From the late 16th century, Yarrows was also part of the lands of the Sinclair of Ulbster family, and benefited from the agricultural improvements carried out by Sir John Sinclair, 8th of Ulbster. Sir John Sinclair is also celebrated as the instigator and publisher of the 1st Statistical Account of Scotland, recognised as amongst the most important social history document of the 18th & 19th centuries. In the 1st account's description of Wick Parish, the Yarrows area is described as the best land in the parish for sheep rearing, and South Yarrows has been used for this purpose until very recently. The croft house itself is thought to have been built in the early 19th century. The tacksman of Sinclair's lands, Capt. David Brodie, is known to have provided money to build 20 new thatched houses together with arable land for the introduction of sheep circa 1806. South Yarrows is likely to be one the cottages built in this campaign of improvements.

References

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