Culross, 7 Mid Causeway, Bishop Leighton's House

Photographs of buildings in Culross, Fife by the Ministry of Works c1938.

NS 98660 85915 A historic building survey was undertaken 2–3 August 2012 in advance of re-harling work at the Category A listed Bishop Leighton’s House (7 Mid Causeway), Culross. The survey included a full drawn record of the S gable of the building (following removal of cement harling) and a basic survey of the harled E and W frontages. A brief assessment was also undertaken of the visible early features in the building, including the roof space.

The masonry of the S gable had been constructed largely in one phase, with subsequent minor modification. The numerous modifications to the stonework visible at the current openings in the E and W elevations shows they are structurally complex. A notable feature was the skew-put to the street frontage at the SW angle, upon which a previously unrecorded date and initials – 1565. DP – are apparent. This is the earliest recorded date upon a building in Culross. A timber stair, which rises from the first floor to the former attic rooms, now redundant, was recorded in the roof space.

The assessment of building concluded there were a number of major construction phases; the original 16th-century construction, a remodelling perhaps in the later 17th century, and a possible further episode of refurbishment, represented by a series of detailed panelled interiors, fireplaces, etc. Later occupation saw the subdivision and decline of the property before a further refurbishment under Ian G Lindsay for the NTS in 1953 and 1970–1. Much historic fabric is now obscured by later finishes and linings associated with these later works.

Archive: RCAHMS

Funder: The National Trust for Scotland

Kenneth Macfadyen, Addyman Archaeology

Tom Addyman,

2012

OASIS ID - addymana1-132217