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
MARGARETSFIELD COTTAGESLB17246
Status: Designated
Documents
There are no additional online documents for this record.
Summary
- Category
- C
- Date Added
- 26/06/1986
- Supplementary Information Updated
- 05/06/2026
- Local Authority
- Dumfries And Galloway
- Planning Authority
- Dumfries And Galloway
- Parish
- Ruthwell
- NGR
- NY 08716 69603
- Coordinates
- 308716, 569603
Description
Margaretsfield is a row of three adjoining single-storey worker's cottages, dating from around the mid-19th century, with later alterations and additions. They are of rubble construction, rendered and painted with contrasting margins. Each has a symmetrical, three-bay arrangement to the main (east) elevation, comprising a central door and flanking windows (one cottage now doubled, with blocked door). Single-storey, piended-roof additions abut to the rear (west) elevations. The roofs are largely graded slate with red ashlar sandstone chimneys and skews. The roof of No. 1 is covered in replacement tiles. The window openings are in a mixture of styles and are largely uPVC replacements. The cottages are situated perpendicular to the road and are located approximately 2.5km northwest of Ruthwell and 12km southeast of Dumfries.
There is a row of associated outbuildings to the rear (now altered) and the cottages have corresponding strips of land to the east. There are low coped boundary walls of brick construction to the south and west.
Statement of Special Interest
Margaretsfield Cottages meet the criteria for listing for the following reasons:
- They are a good representative example of a row of rural worker's cottages that retain much of their mid-19th century vernacular character.
- Their symmetrical, three-bay arrangement, comprising a central door and flanking windows, is characteristic of agricultural cottages dating from the Improvement period.
- Located perpendicular to the road, much of their historic setting remains evident, with a row of associated outbuildings running parallel to the rear (now altered) and the corresponding narrow strips of land to the east.
- There have been later additions to the rear elevations and some changes to the internal and external fabric, but these have not adversely affected the authenticity or overall character of the buildings.
- As a group, their low, linear form and traditional appearance remain largely intact, particularly to the main elevations.
- The cottages are not rare or early examples of their building type, but they retain a good degree of authenticity in their surviving exterior form, roofline and openings.
Supplementary information in building record updated in 2026.
References
Bibliography
No Bibliography entries for this designation
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.