10 and 11 South Street, Aberchirder, Aberchirder, Aberdeenshire

Description

Early 19^th century two-storey, three-bay detached house, located fronting South Street at the southern extent of the village of Aberchirder. It is built in squared and coursed stugged granite with granite dressings.

The principal (south) elevation features a central door flanked by two specular windows at ground floor and three windows at first floor set close to roof eaves.

On the west gable elevation there is a door opening to right at ground floor and a single first floor window at the left. The east gable elevation features a single window to left of ground floor and single first floor window to right of the gable.

On the rear north elevation there is a double height squared extension and a stone staircase leading to a first-floor entrance, likely added around the mid-20^th century.

The house has a slated roof, with solar panels covering the south-eastern pitch, ashlar coped skews, rubble stacks with circular clay cans, thackstanes and uPVC windows.

The interior largely dates to the later 20^th to early 21^st century.

The house is surrounded by rubble boundary walls with rubble coping stones. A low, rendered boundary wall is attached to the west gable of the house at the street elevation.

Historical development

Aberchirder is a planned village founded by Alexander Gordon of Auchintoul in 1764. It was formerly called Foggieloan, the name of a former hamlet on the site. The village was bought by John Morison of Bognie in 1799 and gradually developed during the 19^th century.

Aberchirder was established to encourage trade and industry in this relatively remote area of northeast Scotland. The landowner advertised in local newspapers to attract tradesmen and skilled artisans to take feus within the village as reported by the (Huntly Express, July 1864).

The 18^th century village consisted of a grid layout of streets focused on a central square. The three-street plan included Main Steet (originally named Mid Street), the principal road which crossed a central square which was flanked at the north and south by two parallel roads called respectively Back Street (later North Street) and Front Street (later South Street). These were connected perpendicularly on both sides by narrower and shorter lanes. An historic drawing of the town from 1799 shows that the first houses to be built were those around the Square and facing Main Street (www.foggieloan.co.uk/history/).

South Street was laid out in 1808 following John Morison's instructions, as a new turnpike road between Huntly and Banff. (Buildings of Scotland). 10 South Street appears to have been built following this date in the early 19^th century and is shown on the Ordnance Survey six-inch 1^st edition map (surveyed 1866, published 1871). On this map only the north side of South Street is occupied by housing with the south side retained as open land.

The town was renamed Aberchirder in 1823.The new name appears on Butterworth Map of 1826 which also shows the three parallel lanes pattern of the planned village at that time. The layout of the town appears to have remained virtually unchanged from that shown on the Ordnance Survey six-inch 1st edition map (surveyed 1866, published 1871) and 10 South Street appears largely unaltered from the time of this map.

A small rectangular structure was located north of the house in the back garden plot. This structure disappears from the Ordnance Survey six-inch 2^ndedition map (revised 1902, published 1905). The back garden plot remained undeveloped until the 1960s. As shown on the Ordnance Survey map (Revised 1965, Published 1966) at this time a rear squared extension and a single storey extension on the west elevation of the house were built as well as the semidetached houses located on the other side of the plot.

The interior plan form of the building was altered in the later 20^th century when it was converted into two flats, one accessed from the main door on the front elevation and the second entered from the first floor of the rear elevation.

In the late 20^th century or early 21^st century the four-pane sash and cash windows (visible on 1980s images – Canmore/Buildings of the Scottish Countryside) were replaced with non-traditional glazing.

The single storey extension on the west elevation was removed between 2015 and 2021 and solar panels were added to the south-eastern pitch of the roof around 2022.

Statement of Interest

We have found that the building continues to meet the criteria for listing for the following reasons:

It is a good surviving example of early planned village architecture in the northeast of Scotland which largely retains its external character.

10 South Street retains the early 19^th century fabric and historic details in the principal elevation, which are typical of the planned village architecture.

The building's design reflects the original layout of the planned village and makes an important contribution to the wider setting of Aberchirder, which is itself a good example of a planned village in Scotland.

The building is an early survival of planned village house which retains the original long garden feu of the late 18^th and early 19^th century.

Architectural interest

10 South Street largely retains its early 19^th century character with its rectangular plan form and the simple two-storey, three bay elevation with symmetrical openings which are typical features of houses of the planned village.

The one-and-a-half storey house was the most typical among 18^th and 19^th century buildings in Aberchirder but with the expansion of the village a mix of single and two storey houses started to appear. The houses followed a required layout with roof ridges parallel to the road, fronting directly onto the pavement, in order to avoid the creation of middens in front of the buildings, and had long feu gardens at the back where residents could grow their own food. The buildings were generally built of freestone with slated or tiled roofs.

10 South Street has undergone incremental alterations in the later 20^th and early 21^st century including the rear extension, conversion to flats, the replacement of the glazing and addition of solar panels however these alterations are typical for this building type and the principal elevation largely retains its historic character, form and fabric. The building's roofline is unaltered and there have been few alterations to the openings. The building retains the characteristic design and materials typical of early 19^th century planned village architecture.

10 South Street is prominently located fronting South Street, the main southern thoroughfare of Aberchirder and sited at the south-western corner of the village. The late 18^th century grid plan of the planned village is well retained and the village has not developed southwards meaning the house still has an open outlook to the south, as it would at the time of building. While there have been some later alterations to the street with the neighbouring house at 9 South Street built set back from the street in the later 20^th century, the overall setting is substantially unaltered since the early 19^th century.

The rear garden of 10 South Street survives and is legible as an early 19^th century garden feu. 10 South Street is one of only a handful of dwellings to retain its original long garden feu dating from when Aberchirder village was formalised in its grid-plan layout during the late 18^th and early 19^th century.

Historic interest

The planned villages that were developed in Scotland in the 18^th and 19^th century are an important part of Scotland's social and economic history.

Founded in 1764, Aberchirder is an early example of an inland planned village in the northeast of Scotland. 10 South Street was built during the second phase of development of Aberchirder following the creation of South Street in 1808.

Houses built as part of planned villages in Scotland are not a rare building type however early examples and examples which retain their historic character may be of interest for listing. 10 South Street retains its early 19^th century character and is of historical interest for having been built to an early planned village design which gradually developed during the late 18^th to mid-19^th centuries.

Statutory address changed, category of listing changed from B to C, and listed building record revised in 2024. Previously listed as 10 South Street.

External Links

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