Description

Asymmetrical house of 17th century origin, much altered in
19th and 20th centuries, supposedly the site of St Lawrences
Chapel and Well.
Painted/harled rubble building, walls approximately 2ft 8ins
thick; rectangular plan with central, E and W gables.
Original house to centre and W gable, latter has 20th century
canted bay slapped through, E bay is 19th century addition.
17th century house: wide bay to W, chamfered windows to
ground and 1st; 3-bay central block with enlarged 19th
century windows to ground and 1st, central roll-moulded
doorpiece. The door has probably been heightened as the top
jamb and lintel mouldings are of a different, thicker section
moulding. All windows sash and case with small-pane glazing.
The western internal gable wall is unusually thick and
accomodates a large roll-moulded fireplace (now partly
blocked, but having the character of a cooking hearth) at the
NW it gives access to the W apartment and to a large and
carefully worked newel stair which rises to attic level. The
N wall has been so altered in 1930s to allow a full-height
extension as to be unrecognisable. Slate roofs with coped end
and axial stacks, probably reroofed and stacks rebuilt in
19th-century.
Interior: apart from the plan of the 17th century house which
on the ground floor remains relatively intact and the main
chimneypiece, there is a well preserved bipartite moulded
aumbry to the ground floor N wall, with stencilled
decorations to margins. Large and fine red sandstone wheel
stair to N at internal gable rises to full height giving
awkward access to attics.

Statement of Interest

Fairgirth is an extemely interesting house with a complex

building history. The variety of chamfers and roll-mouldings

as well as the aumbry suggest much re-use of earlier

materials. The uneasy junction of the stair and attic floor

suggests the roof level has been considerably lowered at some

time.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17791728

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
• 
  Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)