Torthorwald, Cruck-framed Cottage

Founded as a burgh of barony in 1473, Torthorwald has all the attributes of a medieval village settlement: a castle, a parish church, water-supply for a mill stead, and good cultivable ground which drains naturally down to the edge of the Lochar Moss. However, except for the castle, all the built elements of the village have been transfonned since the late 18th century. The single-storeyed thatched cottage at NY 032784 dates from this period but, despite its date, it represents a valuable link with building customs of the medieval tenantry in this area.

The cottage is the last complete survivor of a once strong cruck-framing tradition around Dumfries. The straw thatch, which has been renewed from time to time, and the irregular bulges of its boulder-stone footings give an external hint of its construction. One of the advantages of cruck-framing was that the sidewalls, whether of mud, clay, turf or inferior rubble,were merely for Cladding and not for load-bealing; the weight of the roof was borne by the crucks, generally springing from around ground-level. Their strength was detennined by the quality of timber, their design, spacing and jointing. In turn, the resultant span and bay-lengths governed the dimensions and layout of the house itself

In this building there are three oak cruck trusses of almost natural tree-trunk form, each pair joined together by an intennediate collar, and tenoned into the underside of a stout capping block. Longitudinal members (purlins) and closely spaced branch-rafters have been laid over this frame, and turf provides groundwork for the thatch. The interior once had a kitchen ('but') at the western end, and a ('ben') room at the other; in the middle was a small closet. Until recently there was a clay-coated and canopied chimney bracketed from the wall at the kitchen end; it was associated with a thatched cowl in place of a chimney stack.

Until 1948 an almost identical cottage stood a short distance to the south-east, its position now marked by a plaque in the roadside wall. This had been the boyhood home of the Reverend John Paton, missionary to the New Hebrides, whose parents moved here in 1830. When he returned to the village in 1885 he found only five thatched cottages, estimating that sixty or seventy had been removed or rebuilt since his childhood. Most of these, if not all, were probably cruck-framed. He also recorded the signifIcant fact 'that the walls [of his parents' cottage] are quite modem, having all been rebuilt in my father's time [d. 1868], except only the few great foundation boulders piled around the oaken couples'.

Exactly where all the 'oaken couples' came from is not known. The village had been part of the Queensberry estate since 1622, but the tenants of Torthorwald do not appear to have been specially favoured with supplies of building timber from the oak woods with which Nithsdale was so well endowed. They probably had to make do with what they could find themselves. In the late 18th century oak, fir, birch and hazel trees were frequently dug up in the nearby Lochar Moss; according to a contemporary account, 'several of these trees are very large and fresh, and are applied by carpenters to various purposes of their trade'.

Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: Dumfries and Galloway’, (1986).

NY 03275 78480 Single storey cruck frame cottage, largely rebuilt in the first half of the 19th century. It was damaged by fire in 1956 and was restored and re-thatched in 1960. Major restoration work was also carried out in 1991-93, however, by 2003 the thatch had deteriorated quite badly in places and so the top layer of thatch was removed, along with some of the rotten timbers. It was then covered with a new layer of rye straw and the chimney was re-thatched in heather and secured with rope. At this time the ridge was also finished with woven straw. By 2012 several areas on the front of the roof were showing signs of rot and so repairs were carried out in November of that year. The ropes securing the thatch at the front were found to be rotten and were removed. This time, the ridge was repaired using heather turf. It was estimated at the time that these repairs would keep the roof watertight for at least another 4 years (circa.2016), at which time a total re-thatch would be required. Due to the high cost of rope, it was decided that replacement ropes for the front of the roof could not be justified at the time and would be replaced instead during the complete re-thatching. The Cruck Cottage Heritage Association.that has been set up locally carries out the basic year-to-year maintenance and repair to the building. All the restoration work in recent years has been carried out and/or organised by Thatcher Jeremy Cox, based in Castle Douglas. (Information provided by the Cruck Cottage Heritage Association). The cottage is currently used as a museum and although it is well maintained, the building itself is occupied fairly infrequently, especially during the winter season. The entire thatch has been netted, including over the ridge, however, the ridge has grown through the netting and is only partially visible. As described, the ropes have been removed from the front elevation of the roof, however, they are retained on the back elevation and around the chimney. The ropes have been secured to the surface of the thatch with what appears to be hazel. The ropes are fastened to slim timbers that have been fixed to each of the gable ends. The thatch underneath the netting has a large amount of mossy vegetation growth and the surface of the thatch is rather uneven. As stated by the Heritage Association, the cottage is due for a complete re-thatch within the next year or two.

Visited by Zoe Herbert (SPAB) 16 July 2014, survey no.052

The cottage was recorded by the HES Threatened Building Survey during the process of rethatching and restoration after suffering a fire in early 2018.