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

GLEN LOCHAY, MOIRLANICH LONGHOUSELB8263

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
A
Date Added
05/10/1971
Supplementary Information Updated
14/01/2021
Local Authority
Stirling
Planning Authority
Stirling
Parish
Killin
NGR
NN 56215 34141
Coordinates
256215, 734141

Description

Probably late 18th to early 19th century. Outstanding rare survival of single storey, five-bay, traditional cruck-framed cottage and byre under continuous roofline in near original condition with remnants of turf and thatch retained under corrugated iron roof. Remarkably intact interior retains rare hanging lum and box beds. Unusual construction of two drystone rubble skins with inner pinning of clay mortar, occasional bonding-through stones and dry rubble core; roof structure of cruck couples and cabers.

Three bays to right form dwelling with two-leaf timber door to small gabled corrugated iron porch at centre and small flanking windows, further tiny opening immediately to left of centre and byre door beyond. Both gable ends blank and two small openings close to centre at rear.

Four-pane and plate glass glazing patterns in timber sash and case windows. Corrugated iron roof with metal cowl over hanging lum.

Interior: very rare survival of unaltered interior comprising three rooms and byre subdivided by timber partition walls. Walls and ceilings to dwelling covered with variety of early wallpapers (some in poor condition). Jointed and pegged cruck couples (exposed in byre) set into walls and ending above ground; stone floors, cobbled setts with centre drainage channel in byre.

Kitchen (to left of door) with stone hearth under broad-mouthed hanging lum canopy incorporating bracketted shelf and pigeon-hole type storage shelf, all covered with painted paper; bench seat to right in adjacent ingleneuk created by partition wall to front passage, door to small middle room at left. Opposite wall with box bed and door leading to byre.

Main Room with two adjoining box beds at rear wall, both fully lined with variety of wallpapers, cast iron fireplace with timber surround and mantel shelf to outer gable wall and full-height wall cupboard to southwest angle.

Middle Room situated at centre rear with box bed (timber and wallpaper in poor condition) abutting passage wall.

Byre with exposed roof timbers, cruck couples and evidence of thatch. Boarded floor over timber partitions creating loft space at east over small area divided from main byre space.

Statement of Special Interest

The longhouse at Moirlanich is an important and rare survival of a once prolific building type following the tradition of vernacular cottages constructed around a cruck frame. It retains evidence of its turf and thatch roof beneath the corrugated iron roof. Of particular note is the possibly unique survival of a virtually complete interior with rare hanging lum and box beds together with a fine collection of furniture and artefacts. The cruck frame or cruck couples, a once common alternative in Scotland owing to availability of local timber, at Moirlanich are formed of vertically split trunks of elm, ash and sycamore with tie beams and purlins of ash and pine. It is among a relatively small number of traditional buildings with a surviving thatched roof found across Scotland. A Survey of Thatched Buildings in Scotland, published in 2016 by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), found there were only around 200 buildings of this type remaining, most of which are found in small rural communities.

Maps from as early as the 16th century show settlement in the Glen Lochay area with Easter and Wester Moirlanich as two distinct townships. By the time of the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map, the name Moirlanich appears to describe a straggling settlement close to a huge loop of the River Lochay. This handful of loosely associated buildings on the south bank, is reduced to just two small clusters by the beginning of the 20th century, with a small group to the west (later named Tigh na Craig) and an easterly group called Moirlanich. Together with its kail-yard on the south side of the road, the building described above is the sole survivor of the latter group. Exceptional in its unspoilt condition, Moirlanich belongs to a building tradition once found throughout the length and breadth of Scotland and variously named longhouse, blackhouse or byre dwelling. The plan form providing shelter for man and beast beneath the same roof became a well established and practical tradition abounding in local variations of material and building technique according to vernacular diversity.

Moirlanich, which remained part of the Breadalbane Estate until the 1940s, owes its existence to the fact that it was home to at least three generations of the Robertson family, tenant farmers and successful local horse breeders. The last family member to live at Moirlanich was reportedly very worried by the risk of fire and, abandoning the family home, spent the later years of his life in a small stone building on the opposite side of the road. Moirlanich was purchased by the National Trust for Scotland in 1992 using funds donated by the family of the late Sheriff Prain. A collection of working clothes and 'Sunday best' discovered in the longhouse are retained on site and form part of an exhibition on the history and restoration of the building.

Previously listed at category B as two separate listing as 'Moirlanich Farmhouse' and 'Cottage and Byre at Moirlanich'. Category changed from B to A 2007.

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

References

Bibliography

Canmore https://canmore.org.uk/ Canmore ID 82342.

Maps

Ordnance Survey (1859-64) 1st Edition

Ordnance Survey (1898-1900) 2nd Edition.

Printed Sources

Fenton and Walker (1981) The Rural Architecture of Scotland.

The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings Scotland (2016) A Survey of Thatched Buildings in Scotland. London: SPAB. pp.451-452.

Stewart, J. (1990) Settlements of Western Perthshire.

Walker, McGregor and Little (1996) Historic Scotland Technical Advice Note 6: Earth Structures and Construction in Scotland. pp.100-101.

Walker, McGregor and Stark (2006) Historic Scotland Technical Advice Note 30: Scottish Turf Construction.

Online Sources

Historic Environment Scotland (2018) Scotland's Thatched Buildings: Introductory Designations Report at https://www.historicenvironment.scot/archives-and-research/publications/publication/?publicationId=8b3d1317-5a56-4416-905b-a8e800bf4c3c

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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Printed: 28/03/2024 21:55