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MHG23980 - Sandwood House

Summary

A farmhouse dating from the latter half of the 19th century, when it superseded the older longhouse-style farmstead 200m to the NNW.

Type and Period (1)

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Full Description

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCE: NMRS LIBRARY
Scotland's Magazine, January 1966 p.42

Feature 1: This building (shown as `Sandwood' on the report map p.18) is situated on an eastward facing slope which has been excavated to create a level strip of land sufficient to accommodate it. It is a farmhouse dating from the latter half of the 19th century, when it superseded the older longhouse-style farmstead 200m to the NNW (described in the Appendix - see MHG12158). Apart the later annex referred to below, the farmhouse is a symmetrically planned stone built structure 10.3m long by 5.2m wide, entered from a central doorway on the east elevation. The building is now roofless and the interior is devoid of all floors and partitions. Window openings 0.9m wide by 1.2m high flank the doorway on both sides. There is a single window opening with the same dimensions on the west elevation opposite the entrance. Externally the corners and jambs have partly dressed quoins and the openings are lintelled with 0.3m deep stone slabs. Internally all the openings are lintelled timber and on both the east and west walls is a built-in timber wallplate with joist socket holes at 0.45m centres which allowed an upper floor 0.6m below the wall head. Both end walls have two fireplaces at upper and lower levels with separated flues within the wall thickness. The lower floor fireplace on the south gable is a large opening 1.25m wide which probably housed a cast iron oven and fire range. The roof would have been pitched at 45O, probably of corrugated iron, and with dormer windows on the east side directly over the ground floor window openings below.

Against the south gable an annex was subsequently built which extended the length of the building by 4.3m, maintaining the 5.2m width. Although the wall heads and the roof ridge lines of the original house were retained, there is no evidence of an upper floor having been inserted. An entrance doorway and single window opening occur in the east elevation, while a small window but larger entrance appear on the west side. The roof, still in place, is corrugated iron supported on timber trusses at 0.9m centres. The walls are built of stone work which has been coated with a cement rendering externally. <1>

NGR adjusted based on 1999-2001 vertical aerial photographs. <2>

Sources/Archives (2)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NC 2204 6412 (15m by 18m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NC26SW
Geographical Area	SUTHERLAND
Civil Parish	EDDRACHILLIS

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