5 High Street, Lochaline, Fort William and Ardnamurchan, Highland

Description

1-5 High Street, Lochaline is a 2-storey terrace of five houses constructed in around 1899 by Ardtornish Estate. It uses a shuttered 'no fines' mass concrete construction method, pioneered and used extensively at Ardtornish and Lochaline from 1871 to 1906. The design is attributed to Ardtornish Clerk of Works, Samuel Barham.

Each house has a door and single window to the ground floor, and two windows to the first floor. There are pedestrian pends between nos. 2/3 and nos. 4/5 accessing rear outbuildings, also of mass concrete construction. The roofline of the terrace is relieved by a repeating pattern of broad roll-moulded chimney stacks. The roof has a grey slate covering and deeply overhanging bracketed eaves. The exterior concrete render, now mainly painted white, has incised lines to replicate ashlar masonry blockwork.

Windows are predominantly timber sash and case units. No. 1 retains the traditional 12-pane glazing pattern seen in early 20^th century photographs of the building. No. 5 has plate glass in the lower sashes. The windows at No. 3 were replaced with non-traditional metal units prior to listing in 1988.

Iron railings, gates and gateposts (circa 1899) to small gardens fronting the terrace. A detached run of concrete outbuildings, with retaining walls and integrated steps accessing rear drying greens, extend the length of the rear of the terrace.

Statement of Interest

1-5 High Street meets the criteria for listing for the following reasons:

As a representative of the later period of mass concrete construction at Ardtornish Estates, associated with its pioneering Clerk of Works, Samuel Barham.

For the retention of its setting and estate style with broad roll-moulded chimney stacks, bracketed over-hanging eaves, and incised ashlar effect render.

As a rare and early example of 'no fines' mass concrete terraced housing in Scotland.

As part of a nationally significant group of 19^th century concrete buildings.

Historical background

The 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1866) shows several detached buildings at this location to the north side of Lochaline High Street. The 2^nd Edition map (revised 1898) shows a reconfigured arrangement of buildings occupying the same footprint.

Philip Gaskell's record of developments at the Ardtornish / Lochaline estates note that the terraced housing at 1-5 High Street 1-5 High Street was designed and constructed by Samuel Barham in around 1899, during his employment as Clerk of Works for the Estates between 1871 and 1906 (Morvern Transformed, 1968). It is likely the building was initially occupied by estate employees.

1-5 High Street was transferred into private ownership during the later 20^th century. All five properties currently remain in separate private ownership (2023).

Architectural Interest

1-5 High Street, Lochaline is constructed of 'no fines' mass concrete, using beach stones and hydraulic lime as the core aggregate, with little or no fine sand or shingle filling the voids between the stones. The concrete mix was poured into timber moulds or shuttering that moved vertically up a supporting frame, as each level of concrete set. The walls were then covered with a fine concrete or cement render and the exterior incised with lines to mimic ashlar stonework. This effort to disguise the use of mass concrete construction is a feature of 19^th century concrete work of a domestic nature.

The use of mass concrete for domestic building remained relatively uncommon during the later decades of the 19^th century, partly because concrete was slow to be accepted by an architectural establishment accustomed to using more expensive materials and traditional methods of construction.

The terraced housing at 1-5 High Street is a good representative example of the later period of mass concrete construction by Ardtornish Estates. It retains design elements that are consistent with the Ardtornish estate style, associated with Samuel Barham. Although more economical in its detailing than earlier buildings on the estate, common features include over-hanging eaves with exposed timber brackets and broad chimney stacks with roll-moulded cornicing. 1-5 High Street has been described as 'a sturdy terrace whose traditional format of two-storey, two-bay houses, articulated in a rhythm of corniced chimney stacks and pends, belies its mass concrete construction' (Miers, 2008).

Nos 1-5 High Street Lochaline is prominently sited on high ground, on the north bank of the Sound of Mull, with extensive views towards the Isle of Mull to the south. It largely retains its late 19^th-century plan form with a complete run of detached concrete outbuildings to the rear adding to the plan form interest.

Samuel Barham (1836-1910) was the Clerk of Works at Ardtornish from 1871 until 1906. A pioneer in early shuttered mass concrete construction, his works across the Ardtornish estates use a recognisable estate style. While not all surviving architectural drawings associated with the Ardtornish estates during the 19^th century are named and dated, the concrete buildings constructed during the 1890s have been attributed to Barham (Gaskell, p.103; Meirs, p.86).

The interest of the terraced row, however, goes beyond the designer. It has special architectural interest as an example of mass concrete estate architecture that largely retains its character and setting and which is recognisable by its estate style with broad roll-moulded chimney stacks, bracketed over-hanging eaves, and incised ashlar effect render.

Historic interest

Concrete became a ubiquitous building material during the 20^th century. Designed and built before the widespread use of concrete in building construction, the terraced housing at 1-5 High Street forms part of a significant group of early concrete buildings in Scotland.

The Ardtornish and Lochaline Estates were owned by the Octavius Smith family of London distillers from 1856. Valentine Smith owned the estate from 1871 and was responsible for commissioning the phase of concrete construction across the estate until the end of the 19^th century. There is no known earlier, larger, or more cohesive group of mass concrete estate buildings in Scotland.

Other examples of mass concrete estate buildings in the Ardtornish and Lochaline area include the Manager's House and Estate Office at Achranich including the 1871 Coach House and 1890 Cattle Court - (LB13949); Kinlochaline Castle Cottages of 1873 - (LB13955); Ferry House of 1874 - (LB13954); 1-6 Larachbeg of 1875 - (LB13961); Claggan School and Schoolhouse of 1877 - (LB13956); Bay Cottage, Inninbeg of 1879, attributed to Samuel Barham - (LB13953); Ardtornish House (1884-1890 by Alexander Ross), Acharn Farmhouse (1892, attributed to Samuel Barham) - (LB13948) and Lochaline Post Office (1896-9, attributed to Samuel Barham).

1-5 High Street Lochaline is an early example of shuttered mass concrete terraced housing in Scotland. It also has special interest within the context of the development of mass concrete buildings on the Ardtornish and Lochaline estates during the 19^th century.

External Links

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