Badden Cottage

This cruck framed cottage is situated on a natural SE facing terrace overlooking broken ground strewn with boulders. A trackway running from NE to SW passes in front of the building leaving a stand of pines to its ENE. This makes its way towards the township situated on the rising ground beyond the unnamed burn (NH80NW 44) and then the farmstead of Leault (NH 82372 05772).

The cottage measures 11.3m from NE to SW by 4.9m transversely over roughly coursed rubble walls 0.75m thick rising to a height of 1.8m at wallhead. However, the building is now falling to ruin following the recent collapse of the NE gable due to wind gusting under the roof’s protective corrugated iron sheeting. This has now been removed from the whole of the SE side and also from sections adjacent to both the NE and SW gables on the NW - so further exposing to the elements the groundwork of turf divots and heather thatch, as well as the underlying timber framework. In addition, the gabled porch that once extended from the lime-washed facade has been destroyed. This wash evidently post-dates that noted on the rear of the cottage by RCAHMS in 1985 which is still extant, but a shade less bright (INR/32). The internal features described on that occasion are largely intact, but the fireplace and the mural cupboard at the NE end of the kitchen are now obscured by rubble from the collapsed gable.

The cottage is shown roofed with an outshot to the NE on the 1st and 2nd editions of the OS 6-inch map (Inverness-shire 1873, sheet lxxxviii; 1903 sheet lxxxviii). However, the 2nd edition also shows a small roofed structure a few meters to the NE and a well to the SW.

Visited by RCAHMS (ATW, IP), 10 April 2013