Building record MAB6254 - THE COTTAGE, 31 HIGH STREET, ARCHIESTOWN
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Summary
House built between 1790-1793.
Protected Status/Designation
- Listed Building (B) 8483
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NJ 2319 4421 (33m by 63m) Centred at - Polygon: Known Site Extent |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NJ24SW |
| Authority | Moray |
| Civil Parish | Knockando |
Type and Period (6)
- DWELLING COTTAGE (Built 1790 - 1793 AD, 18th Century to 20th Century - 1790 AD to 1985 AD?)
- GATE PIER (18th Century - 1790 AD to 1793 AD)
- RETAINING WALL (18th Century - 1790 AD to 1793 AD)
- OUTBUILDING (19th Century - 1800 AD to 1899 AD)
- GARDEN (18th Century - 1790 AD to 1793 AD)
- RAILINGS (18th Century - 1790 AD to 1793 AD)
Full Description
House built between 1790-1793. It was built on site of 3 feus, and granted by Sir Archibald Grant of Monimusk to Robert Cruikshank, 'Gardener......lately returned from London'. Between 1841 and circa 1860, it was also the home of the parents of Donald Alexander Smith, Lord Strathcona, and Mount Royal of Canadian Pacific Railway fame.
The construction is an unusual miniature version of a formal 18th Century Laird's house. There is an attractive use of chequered, local granite, which is hard and intractable for tooling. It is a symmetrical single storey, wide 3-bay cottage, with small, square, single-storey, single-bay, advanced pavilion wings forming a south-facing, shallow U-plan. It is constructed from mixed squared and tooled pink and yellow local granite, with a harl pointed granite rubble rear. Later lean-to rubble additions project from the east and west gables, infilling re-entrant angles formed by pavilions. There is a small fanlight at the centre door, which has double-leaf panelled doors and flanking windows. There are single windows in front of each pavilion, and the entrances have glazed upper lights in the inner faces. 12-pane glazing is used, with modern glazing to the centre rear and the modern rear window in the east lean-to. There are coped end wall head stacks to the centre block and pavilions and piended local slate roofs.
The house had been due for demolition, but it was instead restored, with work beginning in 1973. The restoration work from the 1970s and early 1980s has retained the main elements of the internal lay-out. There are new chimneypieces and a restored corniced ceiling in the main public room incorporating original scroll brackets. The height of ceilings varies from room to room. Each is half the length of the floor diagonal.
There is a pair of tall, square, tooled granite gate piers, with plain square caps. There is a low coped flanking front retaining wall, with spearhead railings that are stiffened at intervals with thicker bars capped with urn finials, and rubble rear and side walls.
A Levallois-like core (flint tool) was found in the garden of 31 High Street, Archiestown (MAB65924) and given to Elgin Museum in 2000.
Author unknown, n.d., THE NORTHERN SCOT, 01/08/86 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1270.
Other Statuses/References
- Authority: MOR;
- NMR Card Number: NJ24SW 39.00;
- NRHE Numlink: 192698;
- Old Historic Environment Record Ref: NJ24SW0013;
External Links (2)
- https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB8483 (Historic Environment Scotland Portal Link)
- https://www.trove.scot/place/192698 (Archiestown, 31 High Street, The Cottage - trove.scot link)
Sources/Archives (1)
- --- SAB1270 Bibliographic reference: Author unknown. n.d.. THE NORTHERN SCOT. 01/08/86.
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (1)
Related Events/Activities (0)
Record last edited
Oct 2 2026 3:50PM
