Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Description

John Campbell, mason (probably to a design by Alexander Ross - see Notes). 1875. Single-storey and attic, rectangular plan former school and schoolhouse comprising 3-bay schoolhouse with entrance porch and two gabled dormers and 3-bay school room with entrance in lean-to wing adjoining gable. Rubble with tooled long-and-short sandstone ashlar dressings. Deep, bracketed eaves. Pointed-arch doorways. Largely intact schoolroom.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION: projecting timber porch supported on stone corbels. 2-leaf timber door with stained glass fanlight above.Louvred roundel above pair of windows to E gable end. Single storey former toilet block outshot to rear centre. Small detached rubble built and slated outbuilding to NE corner of former playground area.

Predominantly four-pane glazing in timber sash and case windows with thinly moulded glazing bars to ground floor. Ballachulish slate. Rendered brick ridge and end stacks; ornamental clay cans. Cast iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: schoolroom remains essentially unaltered with ribbed, timber panelled ceiling, timber wall panelling to window height and original timber flooring. Timber surround to kitchen range. Later stair in hall leading to converted attic space with exposed timber beams.

BOUNDARY WALLS: drystone boundary walls extends to rear separating teachers garden from the former playground.

Statement of Special Interest

The Old School at Balnacra is one of the few surviving examples of its type in the Ross-shire area to substantially retain both its original plan form and internal details. The interior of the schoolroom is particularly intact with ribbed timber ceiling, timber panelwork to cill height and timber floor. Relatively simple by design, the building is promiently situated beside the road and railway through Glen Carron at the southern end of Loch Dughaill and contributes to the remote setting. The 1875 School at Balnacra was a response to the Education Act of 1872, which required Parish Boards to construct schools in outlying areas. It first opened on 8th October 1875 and closed in 1955. It was designed to accommodate up to 60 pupils but the schools' Day Journal records that Inspectors complained that by 1890 it had never had more than 26. The school was constructed by Inverness contractor and mason, John Campbell to a standardized design following the style of Alexander Ross of Inverness, the renowned and prolific highland architect whose prominent works include Duncraig Castle, 1866 and Lerwick Town Hall, 1881 (see separate listings). Ross was the architect behind more than 70 schools in the Highlands between 1875 and 1878.

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.