Archaeology Notes

Event ID 710829

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/710829

NT07SE 10.00 05264 71334 Houston House

NT07SE 10.01 05262 71309 Garden; Sundial; Walled Garden

NT07SE 10.02 05234 71359 Stables; Coach house

NT07SE 10.03 05182 71180 Workers' Cottages

NT07SE 10.04 05241 71342 Woman House

NT07SE 10.05 05541 71570 Gate House

NT07SE 3.00 05315 71348 Dovecot

(NT 0525 7132) Houstoun House (NR)

OS 6" map (1913)

Houston House, as it appears today, is a fine example of a 17th century laird's house, four storeys and an attic high. The building dates mainly from two periods, part of the S and E sides representing the original L-planned mansion, begun in 1600 by Sir John Shairp, King's Advocate. This was extended to W and N later in the same century, making the plan almost square. The small stair-tower projecting from the N gable of the original E wing is still later, dating from 1737. The porches are more modern still. The walls are of harled rubble. The main house forms the S side of a courtyard, the N side being a range of 2-storeyed domestic buildings with a vaulted ground floor. These were built c.1600.

Houston passed out of the hands of the Shairp family in 1945. A Houston of that ilk gave a charter in 1556, but the present house dates from later than this period.

RCAHMS 1929, visited 1926; SDD List 1964; D MacGibbon and T Ross 1887; N Tranter 1962

The house is as described, and is now a hotel with several extensions. No further information.

Visited by OS (DWR) 5 March 1974.