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Summary

Description

For James MacLeod, circa 1800; remodelled 1877 for E H Wood by Alexander Ross (see Notes). Large, symmetrical, 13-bay home farm square. Arcaded with clock tower, stable, byre, bothy, dairy, tack-room and workshop ranges grouped around partially cobbled courtyard. Harled rubble with tooled dressings and margins. Slate roofs. Detached, mid 19th century 'top barn' to N and kennel range to NW.

S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: wide round-arched entrance to centre flanked by single openings to ground and upper floor divided by string courses. Shouldered, pedimented gable rising to CLOCK TOWER: long vents to N and S; shallow corbelling to upper stage; bracketted eaves course raised at centre to accommodate clock faces to N, S E and W elevations; shallow piended platform roof (formerly capped).

Entrance flanked by 5-bay arcades: timber louvred arches to left fronting drying barn (also arcaded to north elevation); arches to right currently blocked, fronting former stables. Slightly advanced, piend-roofed outer bays; former carriage house to outer right.

Bothy and workshop range to N side of courtyard; timber fireplace and recessed presses flanking to W gable; lying-pane glazing to some windows. 2 shallow-arched cart bays to E range facing courtyard with loft above; simple chamfering to byre doorways. Stables converted for cattle use. Vehicular entrance with wrought-iron gates to NW corner of square.

TOP BARN: (Map Ref NG 54930 36512) c. 1856, possibly encorporating 18th century fabric. Long hay threshing barn to N of farm square; dressed, coursed rubble; large area of walling taken up by timber louvring flanking centre door to S elevation, and by wattling to N. Remains of horse walk to N. Piended slate roof.

KENNELS: (Map Ref NG 54915 36536) mid 19th century, long single-storey, rectangular-plan range of kennels to W of Top Barn. 7 segregated runs with cast-iron railings to S; former wash house to outer right with remains of washtub and chimney stack. Piended slate roof.

Statement of Special Interest

Built between 1795 and 1805 by James MacLeod, Raasay House Mains is a fine example of a Classical Improvement farm-square with internal courtyard. Prominently located on high ground, Raasay House Mains heads the junction of the road leading from the Raasay Ferry terminus and serves as a gateway building for the island. While the arcaded ranges have undergone a number of alterations in line with changing patterns of agricultural use, the square as a whole retains its late 18th century integrity in terms of scale, massing and plan form. The pedimented entrance was aggrandised in 1877 for a new owner of Raasay House, with a substantial clock-tower addition by renowned Highland architect, Alexander Ross of Inverness.

The island was the property of the MacLeods, Lairds of Raasay from the 16th century until 1843. Raasay House (see separate listing) was begun 1720 and enlarged by the James Macleod towards the end of the 18th century. The home farm was built during this period of improvements.

The detached Top Barn to N of the square is of the Kintail/Lochalsh type with extensive timber louvring, used for drying hay and heather and for threshing, of the type described by Samual Johnson and James Boswell in 1773. It replaced an earlier one destroyed by fire in 1852. The detached kennel range to NW, comprising 7 units each with its own run with tall cast-iron railings spanning the length of the S elevation, was conceived as part of the mid 19th century expansion and are stylistically sympathetic to the earlier steading plan and design.

List description revised, 2011.

References

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