Building record MAB32172 - AUCHTAVAN

Cottage, probably late 18th to early 19th century, possibly extended later, within the wider Auchtaven settlement (NO29NW0015).

Cottage, probably late 18th to early 19th century, possibly extended later, within the wider Auchtaven settlement (NO29NW0015). It is a single storey, three-bay traditional cruck-framed cottage (or byre house) with a heather and turf thatch/sodding roof under corrugated iron and a rare 'hinging lum' and the remains of a loft floor and wall cupboard. The building, on a rectangular plan, is constructed from alternating broad and narrow rubble courses with large squared rubble quoins, with use of lime mortar.t uses lime mortar in the joints and as infill. The south entrance elevation has a doorway in the bay to the right of centre with a small window opening to the right and further doorway to the left. There are the remains of a timber lum to the roof ridge at the outer right. Inside are jointed and pegged crucks set into the walls and ending above the ground, with overlaying of purlines and cabbers. The east gable has an open hearth below a fine timber 'hinging lum' constructed of vertical boards at the front and sides and contained at the back by a stone wall. A small boarded timber cupboard is set into the wall immediately to the east of the south-west door and there is a boarded loft floor on the centre pillar at the west end. Very few cruck-built houses now survive in Aberdeenshire making this quite an important site. A plan of the township, with plans and elevations of the cruck framed cottage were produced by J. Borland of RCAHMS in 1998. Condition survey was carried out in December 2004 by the Cairngorm National Park Authority, following storm damage which had removed almost a third of the roof exposing much of the timber structure, which comprises four cruck-frames and four pairs of tied-rafters, all of which are roughly hewn from either whole or split trunks. Considerable degradation of the stone walling had also occurred, with a 4m long collapsed section on the north wall, and an area of outer collapse at the west end of the south wall. The west (byre) end of the building has a cobbled floor which slopes towards a drainage channel. Remains of mortice and tenon joints around the byre may indicate animal stalls, and there is evidence of a loft over the byre. A standing building survey was carried out by Kirkdale Archaeology in October 2007 during consolidation of Auchtavan Cottage. With the exception of the sections of wall rebuilt during the consolidation work, the walls of the cottage were original build. No evidence of an earlier structure was noted. The cruck-framed pine roof trusses are probably original, with original pegged joins. The hanging lum may not be original as it does not correspond with the width of the hearth below.

Period Notes
Listed 10/02/2005. Built in the late 18th or early 19th century.

Author unknown, , PRESS & JOURNAL, 21/06/88 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1416.

CAIRNGORM NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY, 2004, DRAFT CONDITION SURVEY OF AUCHTAVAN CRUCK-FRAMED COTTAGE, GLEN FEARDAR, DEESIDE (Bibliographic reference). SAB5235.

KIRKDALE ARCHAEOLOGY, 2007, AUCHTAVAN - STANDING BUILDING RECORDING, SBS (Bibliographic reference). SAB1014.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2009, DISCOVERY & EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND, VOL 9, 2008, p.18 (Bibliographic reference). SAB3496.

GRAY, R, 2022, AUCHTAVAN COTTAGE: AN APPRAISAL OF A TIMBER-FRAMED BUILDING. (Bibliographic reference). SAB4261.

GRAY, R, 2024, AUCHTAVAN: A STUDY OF A DEESIDE CRUCK-FRAMED BYRE HOUSE (Bibliographic reference). SAB4312.

Dec 17 2004 , DSCN0679 - 0690, DSCN0679 - 0690 (Ground Photograph). SAB34880.

Jul 16 2008 , AAS-GR-08-07-001 - 019, AAS-GR-08-07-001 - 019 (Ground Photograph). SAB35863.

HISTORIC SCOTLAND, n.d., A SELECTION OF THE CAIRNGORMS NATIONAL PARK'S ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE, p.18 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4449.

Record last edited

Nov 13 2024 11:30AM