Dun A Cluach (former Manse of Longside), 20 Inn Brae, Longside, Longside, Aberdeenshire

Description

Dating from 1825, Dun A Cluach is a substantial two-storey with attic and basement, three-bay, rectangular-plan former manse. It is harled with narrow granite window margins and stone cills. The building is located at the south end of the village of Longside in Aberdeenshire.

The principal (south) elevation has an early-20th century timber, flat-roofed porch over the central entrance. The porch has V-plan 12-pane windows in each side and a triple panelled timber door. Over the entrance door is a rectangular fanlight with a decorative fan glazing pattern. The front elevation has a string course between the basement and ground floor. Steps lead to the entrance porch and stone steps lead down to the basement level at the front of the building and rear of the building. There are plain railings.

The windows are 12-pane, timber sash and case windows in a mixture of sizes. The largest openings are the principal rooms on the ground floor. There is a single window in each gable at ground floor. The rear elevation has windows with a mostly regular 12-pane glazing pattern.

The roof is slated with straight ashlar skews and has end chimneystacks, each with seven clay pots. The south pitch has two dormer windows and one central rooflight. The building has a mixture of metal and plastic rainwater goods.

The interior of the former manse, seen in 2019, retains a number of 19th century features. There is a sweeping spiral staircase with spindle timber balusters rising from the ground floor to the attic level. There is some wall-panelling in the entrance hall. There is plain cornicing in the principal rooms and a picture rail is visible in the ground and first floor rooms. There are six-panelled doors throughout the house. The fireplaces on the ground floor appear to be replacements. The covered fireplaces in the first floor bedrooms may date from the 19th century. There are iron radiators throughout the building. The basement level contains the former service quarters. Some features remain such as the dumb waiter shaft (now in use as a boiler cupboard), a large cast iron stove and timber wainscoting.

There is a tall rubble boundary wall with a rubble cope, adjoining the west and north of the building. The west wall has a doorway between the front and back gardens in and a small outbuilding attached to it. A separate rubble outbuilding sits to the northwest of the house. Against the rear exterior is a granite cheese press.

Historical development

The population of the village of Longside increased in the early years of the 19th century. This is partly attributed to the opening of the first stretch of the turnpike road between Peterhead and Banff in 1807. The Buildings of Scotland notes that one of the landowners, James Ferguson of Pitfour, set aside 40 hectares on the hill-slopes surrounding the 17th century church on Inn Brae and around 1801 engaged the services of the land surveyor William Whyte to create a village (pp.48, 272-77).

The Old Statistical Account, written in 1795, notes that there was no manse for the old parish church (p.290). The new parish church was built in 1835 and opened for worship in 1836. The Buildings of Scotland notes Dun A Cluach was built in 1825 and predates the new church by ten years (p.272). It was likely paid for by local heritors, as was the custom.

Dun A Cluach is first shown on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map as the manse for the parish church (surveyed 1869, published 1892). It appears as a rectangular building with a stepped entrance to the south elevation. The manse is shown within a glebe and is bordered by a wooded boundary with wooded grounds to the north and south. A garden is shown to the south of the manse and a boundary wall extends from the west elevation of the manse around the front garden. A smaller section of boundary wall extends out from the rear (north) elevation of the building. Sections of these walls remain.

The New Statistical Account refers to the outbuildings within the glebe (p.867). A steading (now a separate house) is shown on this map to the north. The manse is in a secluded position surrounded by woodland and appears as a sizeable grouping of buildings at the southern end of Longside.

The 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey map shows Dun A Cluach and its associated buildings as largely the same as the previous map (revised 1899, published 1901). By this time the land surrounding the manse and steading appears to have been divided into smaller parcels of land.

A comparison of Ordnance Survey maps show that the footprint of the outbuildings have been slightly reduced in size. Ordnance Survey Maps from the 1970s show houses on Inverquhomery Road to the far west of the manse. The Ordnance Survey map, surveyed between 1973 and 1991, shows further housing between the manse and Inverquhomery Road but the glebefield remained undeveloped until the 1990s.

Photographs from 1995 (catalogue numbers C60246CN, C60247, C60252) show the manse had a lean-to building with a corrugated iron roof attached to the west gable and a greenhouse with a corrugated plastic roof sat at basement level just below the timber porch. These have since been removed. The steading to the north of the former manse is shown as unconverted at this time (catalogue number C60230).

Statement of Interest

The former manse of Longside (now known as Dun A Cluach) is a substantial rural parish manse dating from 1825. It has a largely unaltered exterior and plan form, retaining its well-proportioned, restrained classical style and some distinguishing stonework and architectural details. These include a distinctive porch and decorative fanlight. Some of its 19th century interior fixtures and fixtures also survive. It is the oldest surviving manse in the village and remains an integral part of the spiritual and social history of Longside.

Design

The scale and architectural details of the building indicate it was a house of some status in the parish, such as a manse. Its restrained, well-proportioned classical style is of interest and is particularly evident in its largely unaltered symmetrical front elevation with evenly spaced openings, basement string course and a decorative fanlight. The later porch has distinctive side windows and this adds further interest to the design of the building. The architect of Dun A Cluach is unknown.

The materials used in Dun A Cluach are relatively common for this area, in particular the harled granite construction is characteristic of the northeast of Scotland. Highly decorative stonework would not be expected on an early 19th century manse, because it would be difficult and expensive to achieve this in granite at this time.

Manses were often large, with basements and attics floors, to accommodate the family and staff of the minister. Interior decorative features such as the dumb waiter shaft, cast iron stove and timber wainscoting indicate the division between the service and living areas. Other interior features, such as timber panelling and deep cornicing, are standard for rural manses. However, the survival of these 19th century fixtures and fittings adds to the building's interest.

Dun A Cluach retains its early 19th century footprint and has been little altered externally since that shown on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1869). The plan form is typical for its building type with large reception rooms arranged around a central hallway and stair on the ground floor.

The building is largely unaltered externally and retains many interior fixtures and fittings. For its rural location, Dun A Cluach is a sizeable former manse in a restrained classical style with distinguishing design details.

Setting

The former manse and its associated parish church of Longside are prominently located at the southwestern edge of the village. Whilst these buildings are no longer intervisible with each other their survival aids our understanding of the ecclesiastical history of the village of Longside and contributes to the historic setting of both buildings.

Dun A Cluach is substantial in size and one of the grander buildings in the parish. It is one of a handful of early 19th century buildings in a village dominated by mid to late-19th century buildings that are predominantly two-storey and attic, three-bay houses (McKean, p.94).

The immediate setting of Dun A Cluach has not changed significantly from that shown on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map. The manse sits within its own wooded grounds, set back from the road, and bounded by a high, truncated rubble wall adjoining the west and north of the manse.

The Ordnance Survey Name Book (1865-71) notes the glebe extended to about 11 Scotch acres which was a substantial size for a rural parish. The size of the glebe is also demonstrated by the survival of the various ancillary buildings, which show how the building and is surrounding grounds was used in the 19th century. The associated rubble outbuildings were likely storage areas for produce and materials to support the minister's household. The former steading to the north (now converted to a house and in separate ownership) would have provided stabling for horses and storage for tools to allow the glebe to be farmed.

Historic maps and aerial images show the wider setting surrounding the former manse has changed significantly since the early 19th century with the addition of late 20th and early 21st century housing on the old glebe and a primary school (built 2005 to the east of the manse). However, this is not considered to adversely detract from the special interest of the manse.

Dun A Cluach continues to form a historic group with the parish church (and the remains of the old church) in the centre of Longside. It is a distinctive building in the village because of its scale and its large area of garden ground.

Age and rarity

Manses are not a rare building type as every parish was required to provide a house for its minister. However, they are an integral part of Scotland's ecclesiastical built heritage. As large numbers of manses were built or altered following the Disruption of 1843, manses built before this date and not significantly altered are less common and were often modestly detailed and constructed.

There are just under 40 former manses listed in Aberdeenshire, with four in the Peterhead area. These include the former manse of Crimond, built in 1845 (listed at category C, LB3031), the former manse of St Fergus, dating from 1766 and substantially extended and reworked in 1839 and 1860 (listed at category C, LB16532) and the former free manse of St Fergus, built in 1848-9 (listed at category C, LB16535).

Dun A Cluach dates from 1825. It is the earliest manse in Longside, with the free church manse dating from 1845 and the parsonage of St. Johns dating from 1853. Dun A Cluach is a good example of a large pre-Disruption rural parish manse with a largely unaltered exterior, plan form and retains some of its interior decorative scheme.

Social historical interest

Manses are a common building type in Scotland and all have some social historical interest because they are part of the spiritual history of a place. Dun A Cluach has particular social historical interest as it is the oldest manse in the village of Longside.

The exterior design and internal layout of Dun A Cluach continues to show how the building was lived in and the way the large household was divided in the 19th century, as the public rooms and service areas remain readable. Exterior features such as the cheese press and rubble outbuildings to the rear of the building are of some interest for what they can tell us about how the manse and the surrounding glebe functioned historically.

Statutory address and listed building record revised in 2019. Previously listed as 'Dun-Na-Cluach (Former Manse of Longside)'.

External Links

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