North Queensferry, Main Street, Ivy Cottage

On Main Street, a number of eighteenth-century dwellings survive. Ivy Cottage is possibly a structure pre-dating the redevelopment of the village. Probably built in the earlier part of the century, it stands gable-end to the road and is a two-storeyed, harled and pantiled dwelling. Originally, Ivy Cottage fronted onto King's Way. The sunken setting of the house, in relation to Main Street, is clear evidence of the gradual raising of the road level over the years. Round the corner, at 10-16 Main Street, running at right angles to Main Street are harled and slated eighteenth-century cottages, with an outside staircase on the north side. Davidson's Buildings, as they became named, stood on a close that ran from King's Way. The close has been known as both Sylvester's Close and Charlie Black's Close, after well-known local men.

Information from ‘Historic North Queensferry and the Peninsula: The Archaeological Implications of Development’ (1999).