North Yarrows

ND34SW 148 31053 44262

The farmsteading of North Yarrows has largely been abandoned, although the farmhouse is still in use as a holiday let and one of the buildings is used as a store for farm machinery. The steading has evolved from a mid-19th century croft comprising a single cottage, now incorporated into the farmhouse (YARROWS04 309). The farmhouse, which has a small garden attached to its S side, is now the only building in a good state of repair. It was not possible to inspect the interior of the house, which measures 20.6m from ENE to WSW by 5.5m transversely overall, but from the outside it appears to comprise a cottage with an entrance and flanking windows on the S, fireplaces in both gables, and three windows, including a small central light, on the N. An extension at the W end contains two rooms separated by a partition wall containing a fireplace and chimney; both rooms have a single window in the S wall, and the eastern also has a window facing N. Examination of the walls indicates that the height of the wall-head of this extension was originally 0.3m lower than it is today, and this is reflected in the comparatively low height of the window lintels.

The farmhouse is the only structure depicted here on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Caithness 1877, sheet xxix), at which time the croft was called Cairnreain. The Ordnance Survey Name Book (Caithness No. 13, p. 240) notes Cairnreain as a 'small farm steading occupied by John Gunn, the property of Bently Innes Esq of Thrumster'. At this time it probably incorporated both a dwelling and a byre.

By 1905, when the survey for the 2nd edition of the map was undertaken, a range (YARROWS04 310) had been built. This extends N from the W end of the farmhouse and measures about 17.3m from N to S by 5.3m transversely over stone walls that have been partly demolished but in places still stand to a height of over 2m (1907 sheet xxix). The interior is divided into three compartments, the southernmost of which was a byre and still contains evidence of stalls separated by upright sandstone slabs. There is little evidence for the function of the central compartment, but the northernmost contained a hearth in its SW corner to heat a large metal cauldron. Only the S and the W walls of this compartment now survive, but it is shown broader than the rest of the range on the 2nd edition of the OS map.

The N end of the range (YARROWS04 310) may have been removed to make way for a building (YARROWS04 311) that was built some time after 1905. This measures about 13.2m from E to W by 5.5m overall and has a very wide entrance at its E end. Its roof, which is mainly intact, is high compared with the other buildings in the steading, and it was probably a cart-shed.

At the E end of the farmhouse, from which it separated by a path, there is a small stone building (YARROWS04 312) that appears to be of relatively modern date. Overall it measures 3.8m from ENE to WSW by 3.5m transversely, and there is a wooden door on the WSW. The building seems to have been designed as a kennel, since there is a small opening at ground-level on the NNW side, which leads out into a high-fenced enclosure, but it is now used as a wood store.

Immediately to the W of the steading is a yard surrounded by a low stone wall. The concrete or stone footings and floors of structures that have been set against the inside of the wall are visible on the N and W, and on the W there is also the concrete floor of a structure that has been set against the outside. The W side of the yard also contains a sheep-dip.

(YARROWS04 309-312)

Visited by RCAHMS (JRS) 17 June 2004