Description
Predominantly 19th century farmstead, with some early 20th century alteration and additions. It includes a narrow, single-storey, four-bay farmhouse constructed of local stone with chamfered sandstone dressings and retaining its traditional linear room layout with timber fixtures and fittings including box bed recesses, fireplaces and cupboards. A gabled byre/store adjoins to the rear, with hand-sawn timber joists and a flagstone slab roof covering.
A range of outbuildings extends to the east, stepping up in height slightly, with a further byre with a sheet metal roof covering. A detached barn to the immediate east, has a single doorway to south, a window in the west gable end, and a flagstone slab roof.
There are two further detached barn and byre outbuildings of predominantly flagstone construction that are roofed or partially-roofed. One is located to the west, and one to the north of the main range of buildings. The footprints of buildings on these sites are shown on the Ordnance Survey map of 1880.
The two-storey farmhouse adjoining the west gable of the old farmhouse, and later buildings that are not represented on the Ordnance Survey map of 1880 , are excluded from the listing.
Historical development
'Bow' is one of two named sites on Robert Gordon's 1640 map of the Orkney Islands. More detailed maps by M. MacKenzie (1750) and T. Clerk (1822) show a property called 'Downabout' on or near the site of the current Bu (Bow) farm.
Because of the uniform character of Orkney stone and long-standing construction methods it can be difficult to date the initial construction of early farm buildings. In this case, the appearance of the buildings suggests a mainly 18th to 19th century date range.
'Bow' (now Bu) Farm is depicted on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey Map (surveyed in 1880) as an L-plan arrangement with a small number of detached outbuildings. It is described in the 1880 Ordnance Survey Name Book as a 'substantial farmhouse and out houses, the property of the Earl of Zetland'. Lawrence Dundas (1844–1929), the 3rd Earl of Zetland owned Burray and Flotta at that time and carried out much farm building and expansion in the southern Orkney islands during the 19th century.
The Bow/Bu site changed hands in the 1920s, after which the west section of the linear range was remodelled to provide a larger, two-storey dwelling house (excluded from the listing).
Statement of Special Interest
Bu (Bow) old farmhouse meets the criteria of special architectural or historic interest for the following reasons:
- As a good example of an informally planned Orkney farmstead, illustrating linear building traditions, local materials, and construction methods distinctive to Orkney in the 19th century.
- As a relatively complete group of related farm buildings that retain their rural, agricultural setting.
- For the rare survival of interior plan-form and fixtures in Bu (Bow) farmhouse, including box bed and cupboard recesses, and timber fire surrounds.
In accordance with Section 1 (4A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 the following are excluded from the listing: two-storey farmhouse addition attached to old farmhouse and detached cinderblock structure to north, and rendered concrete addition to north elevation of barn, and stone outbuilding approximately 20 metres east of main range.
Architectural Interest
Design
Much Orkney stone is characterised by its ability to be split into bedding planes, ideal for stacking to create dry-stone walling, flagstone flooring, and slab roof coverings.
The design of Orkney farms and farmhouses throughout the 18th and earlier 19th centuries was a localised practice using long-established linear plan forms, construction methods and locally sourced materials shared with earlier Nordic 'longhouse' traditions. Many Orkney farms were constructed or extended by the landowning lairds between 1850 and 1900, with the dwelling house of existing farms typically remodelled, to make them larger and more comfortable.
Bu (Bow) has a substantial proportion of upstanding remains including the old farmhouse, byres, barns, and other detached buildings which largely retain their 'informal' plan form and vernacular construction. The linear plan form of the old farmhouse range, with chamfered sandstone dressings, and openings set close to the eaves, as well as the low profile and use of local materials, suggest 18th or 19th century construction.
Internally, Bu (Bow) old farmhouse retains a traditional linear plan of rooms arranged end-to-end, containing box beds, timber fire surrounds and cupboard recesses. While still relatively common throughout Orkney until the early 20th century, few little-altered examples now survive. As a group of buildings, Bu (Bow) forms a notable example of a medium-to-large scale Orkney farmstead that retains its traditional character.
While the buildings contain evidence of 20th century repairs and consolidation works, these changes do not lessen the buildings' special architectural interest.
Setting
Bu (Bow) Farm is located at the centre of the southern part of the island of Flotta, with views across farmland south to the island of Switha, and west to South Ronaldsay. There are two other listed buildings on Flotta. Whome Kiln and Barn (LB48333) is located to the north of Bow Farm and the other, Flotta Church (LB18813) at nearby Kirk Bay, is intervisible with Bu (Bow) Farm.
The farm is prominently sited in the Flotta landscape and is surrounded by agricultural fields on all sides. The old farmhouse is the main focal point, with the stone-built ancillary buildings contributing to the authenticity of the site as an example of its building type. There have been few changes to the immediate and wider pattern of agricultural settlement. The setting contributes to our understanding of the functional and historical context of the Bow Farm building group.
Historic interest
Age and rarity
As agricultural improvements increasingly took hold during the mid-19th century, so farm buildings in Orkney began to be improved as well. Bu (Bow) is a relatively complete example of a farm with pre-Improvement origins on Flotta, which was rebuilt and improved by the later 19th century and again in the early 20th century.
Agricultural improvement period farm buildings that largely retain their traditional character are increasingly rare in Orkney. At Bu (Bow), the linear internal room arrangement of the old farmhouse survives intact, with timber fireplaces and cupboards, stone floors, and box beds recesses. Collectively, these constitute a rare survival.
Bu (Bow) old farmhouse and outbuildings illustrate a distinctive vernacular method of building and method of construction. A farmstead with this level of ancillary outbuilding survival is unusual on Flotta and the surrounding small islands.
While the buildings contain evidence of 20th century repairs and consolidation works, this is typical for the building type and does not lessen the special historic interest.
Social historical interest
Social historical interest is the way a building contributes to our understanding of how people lived in the past, and how our social and economic history is shown in a building and/or in its setting.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Orkney farms fulfilled the communal needs of the residents while providing an income for the landowner. Farmstead and crofting settlements, based around seasonal patterns of crop and livestock management, changed little in Orkney for hundreds of years. Their decline during the 20th century was largely the result of advances in agricultural mechanisation and production, and improved transport links.
Bu (Old Bow) farmhouse and outbuildings demonstrate Orkney farming construction and practice between the 18th and early 20th centuries. The Bu (Bow) site and its setting contribute to our understanding of how people lived and farmed the land in the past.
Association with people or events of national importance
'Bu' is a Norse-derived naming convention that is found throughout Orkney, often in reference to larger farms or houses that are historically associated with properties belonging to an Orkney Earl or Chieftain. On the nearby Isle of Burray, the 'Bu of Burray' (now known as 'Bow Farmhouse', LB19906) for example, was the site of the principal residence of the Stewart family, who were owners of Burray and Flotta between 1550 and 1800. While Bu (Bow) Farm on Flotta may also have been the location of an earlier residence of the Stewarts on Flotta, there is no other known evidence to support this (2024).
There is no known direct association with persons or events of national importance.
Statutory address amended and listed building record revised in 2025. Previously listed as 'Flotta (Hoy), Bow Old Farmhouse, Byre and Barn'.
Statutory address was amended and listed building record revised in 2026 following a building designation appeal (BDA-011-2025). Previously listed as 'Bu (Bow) old farmhouse, byre and barn, including stone outbuildings, and excluding two-storey farmhouse addition attached to old farmhouse and detached cinderblock structure to north, and rendered concrete addition attached to north elevation of barn, Flotta (Hoy)'.