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MHG15672 - Late C19 house - Drummond Hill, Stratherrick Road, Inverness

Summary

A large late C19 house at Drummond Hill, Stratherrick Road, Inverness.

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

A large late C19 house at Drummond Hill, Stratherrick Road, Inverness. Most latterly used as the offices of the Scottish Rural College.

Architect: Alexander Ross <1>

The house was listed at Category B in 1981. The lodge to the south was listed separately also at Category B the same year (see MHG15673).

A desk based assessent and photgraphic survey of the house and associated buildings was carried out by J Wordsworth in 2004. It was built for the solicitor William Burns and his wife Janet, whose initals are carved above the entrance. It remained in the possession of the Burns family until 1920, though William Burns himself had died by the time of the 1915/16 valuation. From 1920 the house was owned by Frank Sime a timber merchant who died by 1951. The house passed to Frank Sime Limited until it was purchased by the Northern Agricultural College, based at 411/2 Union Street Aberdeen. They were in possession by 1957, but had probably acquired it in 1955 on the basis of the tree plaques in the garden. <2>

A programme of archaeological work was carried out by Headland Archaeology in 2017 at a proposed development site located at Drummondhill, Stratherrick Road, Inverness and comprised historic building recording and a trial trench evaluation. The HBR element involved a Level 2 HBR survey of the two listed properties on site, the late 19th century villa and lodge, with a photographic and written record of the five remaining upstanding buildings. The survey revealed that the external facades of the villa and lodge had not been altered significantly from their original design, having been constructed circa 1886. In contrast to this, the internal elements of both buildings had been altered and modernised throughout. A number of original features were still present in the villa including a mosaic door in the vestibule, two ornate fireplace surrounds and a number of less decorative fireplace surrounds, plus many of the decorated timber panel window surrounds. Three phases of construction were observed for the villa with two single storey extensions added one after the other to the east side of the building. Both these extensions had taken place before the turn of the 20th century. In conjunction with the HBR survey, two areas to the south of the villa were targeted for a trial trench evaluation. A total of 7 trenches amounting to 350m² were excavated down to the geological subsoil. A cobble-filled soak-away pit and a rough stone path were encountered, both of which were likely to relate to the development of the villa and lodge circa 1886. No features or artefacts relating to earlier occupation of the site were identified. <3>

A conservation statement intended to support a planning application for the renovation and conversion of the house and lodge and new development in the surrounding grounds was produced by Bracewell Stirling Consulting in 2017. <4>

Sources/Archives (4)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NH 6613 4316 (41m by 20m)
Map sheet	NH64SE
Civil Parish	INVERNESS AND BONA
Geographical Area	INVERNESS

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Investigations/Events (3)

External Links (3)