Building record MAB15722 - OLD HARTHILL

Farmstead, still in use, depicted on historic mapping.

Farmstead, still in use, depicted on historic mapping. The OS 1st edition map shows a U-plan steading open to the southeast with an attached horsemill on the northwest. To the south is an L-plan house with attached garden enclosure and pump further south, and there are two small buildings southeast of the steading. These two smaller buildings had been replaced by a single one by the time of the 2nd edition, although this has since also been removed. The steading has also since been extended. Described in the Aberdeenshire OS Name Books, 1865-1871, volume 70 (OS1/1/70/35) as: ‘A farmsteading and dwellinghouse one storey thatched and in good repair; property of Colonel Knight-Erskine, Pitodrie.’. Possibly built on the site of a castle or an earlier manor house (NJ62NE0034). A Level 1 Standing Building Survey was carried out on the farmhouse in December 2023 by Deborah Anderson Architect prior to proposed demolition. The L-plan farmhouse is a typical Aberdeenshire vernacular one-and-a-half storey cottage with a rear section housing a kitchen area. The south wing is the earliest part, the northeast wing added subsequently, with a final addition comprising the addition of a small side lean-to extension containing a vestibule and bathroom. The farmhouse is constructed of rubble granite stonework, finished with a wet harl. The building has a slated roof with granite skews, granite chimney stacks and cast-iron gutters and down pipes. Internally the kitchen/dining area retains an original fireplace. The later lean-to extension is stone built with a wet harl finish. A photograph in the Aberdeen Weekly Journal in August 1939 shows a cheese press from 1823 still then in use.

Period Notes
Work carried out 1881.

Author unknown, 1918, Aberdeen Weekly Journal, 24/08/1939 (Bibliographic reference). SAB40.

DEBORAH ANDERSON ARCHITECT, 2023, STANDING BUILDING SURVEY, HARTHILL FARMHOUSE, HARTHILL, OYNE, INSCH, L1 SBS (Bibliographic reference). SAB4070.

Record last edited

Sep 23 2024 3:11PM