Leith Hall, East Garden

The E shed shows signs of having been considerably restructured. The N wall is of mortared rubble stone, as is the outer face of the N end of the W wall. The remaining walls are of brick, although with some indication of a stone basal course or foundation. The bricks of the E wall are red fired and generally appear to be 19th /early 20th century hand made bricks, rather than later factory made bricks. In contrast, the S wall is mainly constructed with greyish late 20th century bricks. The upper part of the S and E walls are of timber with windows to the S and a door and small window in the E wall. Internally there is a brick plinth on the longitudinal axis, supporting a cast iron column which in turn supports the roof ridge. The pillar itself appears to be of 19th or early 20th century manufacture but it is unclear if this is its original position or if it has been re-used from elsewhere ( possibly from part of the original greenhouse). In line with the column there are two visible stone or concrete settings in the earth floor and a further setting protruding from the base of the E wall – these may have held earlier roof supports but are so close together that it is more probable that they relate to an internal fitting such as a retaining wall for a planting area. A stone or concrete block is set at right angles to these, towards the W end of the building. There is a corrugated iron roof with a skylight.

The W building, now a toilet, is a brick built lean-to against the stone W wall of the main shed. Slate roof. No original internal features survive.

These two buildings can probably be identified with those shown on the 2nd edition OS map of 1900 (1899). They do not appear on the 1st edition map and may therefore be dated to between c 1866 and 1899, although they have been considerably altered since.

(LEI06 147)

Information from NTS (SCS) November 2013