Inshes Gate Lodge, Culloden Road, Inverness South, Highland

Description

A group of estate buildings comprising an early 19th century single-storey, rectangular plan gate lodge, single-storey, square-plan early 19th century outbuilding and mid-19th century entrance archway. The buildings are located by Culloden Road, northwest of the former Inshes estate, in a suburban area to the west of Inverness city centre.

The gate lodge is rectangular plan, single-storey, three bay and is designed in a simple, classical style. It is built of rubble with painted stone margins. The principal (northwest) elevation is symmetrical with a central door opening with window openings either side. There is a single-storey, two-bay corrugated iron lean-to attached to the lodge at its southwest elevation (see exclusions below). This addition has a flat roof and single openings on the southeast and northeast elevations. All of the openings have been boarded up. It has a piended, overhanging roof with a central stack and single chimney pot.

The description of the interior of the gate lodge is based on photographs provided by the owner in 2020. There appears to be a cast iron fireplace in the room at the north of the lodge. Both the principal rooms feature later floor-to-ceiling later timber panelling.

The square-plan, single storey, single-bay outbuilding neighbouring the lodge to the southwest has a piended roof topped with an obelisk finial. It is built of rubble. It has a door opening on its southeast elevation and a small window opening on its southwest elevation. It has a slated roof.

The entrance archway is designed in the Scots Baronial style with a crowstepped arch over a segmental arched entrance and arrow and gun loops either side. The archway has stepped, curved wings with ashlar cope stones which link to the estate boundary wall. There is a framed armorial panel in centre of the gateway above the arched entrance. It is built of coursed rubble sandstone with ashlar margins and details.

In accordance with Section 1 (4A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 the following are excluded from the listing: later corrugated iron addition at the southwest of the gate lodge.

This later corrugated iron addition dates from around the mid-20th century. Images of the lodge from 1983 show this as a timber addition (HES Archives). It appears to have been clad in corrugated iron in the later 20th or early 21st century. It has a flat roof and single openings on the southeast and northeast elevations. All the openings have been boarded up.

Historical development

The Inshes estate dates back to the 14^th century when land was divided to form the Inshes estate and neighbouring Castlehill estate to the northeast (Ordnance Survey Name Book 1876-1878, p.15). The oldest surviving structure on the Inshes estate is the tower house (listed category A - LB8050) in the grounds of the house which dates to around 1600 but may incorporate fabric from a former castle. Inshes House (listed category B - LB8049) largely dates to 1767, when it was rebuilt after the previous house was burnt down following the Battle of Culloden (Inventory Historic Battlefield - BTL6). The house was rebuilt, at the expense of the Government, for the Robertsons of Inshes.

The gate lodge and entrance archway are first depicted on the 1^st edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1866, published 1888). The lodge is shown as a rectangular plan building, with a small, square plan outbuilding to the west. The entrance arch is indicated by a line with curved wings which join the estate boundary walls. To the southeast of the entrance archway an avenue sounded by woodland leads to Inshes House indicating that this was the principal entrance to the estate.

A porter's lodge of Inshes Estate is noted in an account of 1834 (Guide to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, p.103). The lodge is described as the property of A.J. Roberston, Esq and located on the Highland Road from Cawdor to Inverness by Culloden Moor behind the house of Castlehill. The gate lodge therefore pre-dates this account and is likely to have been built in the early 19^th century. This date is reflected in the simple, symmetrical style of the lodge. The small, square-plan outbuilding, which is built in similar materials as the lodge, is considered to have been built around the same time.

The entrance archway is designed in different style to the lodge and appears to have been built later, around the mid-19^th century. The baronial style of the gateway is stylistically typical of the mid-19^th century and reflects this dating.

The footprint of the lodge, outbuilding and entrance archway appear largely as they are shown on the 1^st edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1866, published 1888). The only change is the addition of a small rectangular extension to the southwest of the lodge which is shown on the 1964 Ordnance Survey map (1:2,500).

The gate lodge and entrance archway formed part of the Inshes estate until the later 20^th century. Inshes gate lodge was listed for sale separately from Inshes House in 1977 (Aberdeen Press and Journal, 13 January 1977). During this time in the later 20^th century the A9 road was also built through the Inshes estate, separating Inshes House from the gate lodge and entrance archway to the northwest on Culloden Road.

Images of the lodge on Google Streetview from 2011 show the lodge openings with two-pane timber sash and case windows. The openings have since been boarded up and the gate lodge is not currently occupied (2020).

Statement of Interest

The former Inshes estate gate lodge, out building and entrance archway meet the criteria of special architectural or historic interest for the following reasons:

The gate lodge, outbuilding and entrance archway are a good surviving example of a group of early to mid-19^th century structures associated with the entrance and management of a large estate.

The gate lodge and outbuilding retain their early 19^th century form and character and the mid-19^th century entrance archway is substantially unaltered.

The entrance archway features distinctive Scots Baronial motifs which reflects the improving ambitions of the estate during the mid-19^th century.

The structures are a prominent feature on Culloden Road and their immediate setting is well retained.

Although no longer functioning as the entrance to Inshes House, the structures are important ancillary components of the former estate which inform our understanding of its function in the 19^th century.

Architectural interest

The architectural interest of a building may include its design, designer, interior, plan form, materials, regional traditions, and setting and the extent to which these characteristics survive. These factors are grouped under two headings:

Design

The gate lodge and square-plan outbuilding are designed in a simple, classical style. This style is shown in the symmetrical principal (northwest) elevation of the gate lodge with the ashlar margins to the openings and the decorative obelisk finial on the outbuilding. This simple style with minimal decoration is typical of gate lodges of the later 18^th to early 19^th century. The exterior form of the gate lodge with its low, overhanging roof is also a common feature of earlier 19th century gate lodges.

The gate lodge has a rectangular footprint which is standard in early 19^th century gate lodges. It is common for gate lodges of this date to be altered over time with extensions or additional storeys to increase living accommodation. The footprint of the former Inshes gate lodge has been altered with the addition of the corrugated iron extension at the southwest in the mid-20^th century. While the lodge has been extended, this is a small addition which is clearly discernible from the early 19^th century fabric and the distinctive form of the lodge is still evident.

The interior of the gate lodge has not been seen however images provided by the owner in 2020 show two principal rooms on either side of a small entrance space. There is a cast iron fireplace in the northern room that may date to the 19^th century and later timber panelling on the walls. While the early 19^th century interior is likely to have been simply decorated, few features of this decorative scheme remain.

The entrance arch is designed in the Scots Baronial style. The Scots Baronial style became popular in the 19^th century and is a revival of the architecture of the Scottish Renaissance period incorporating elements of the fortified house or castle. Distinctive features of the entrance arch include the crowstepped arch and the arrow and gun loops. The use of the Scots Baronial style in this structure reflects the security function of the entrance arch and is an indication of the owner's increasing prosperity during the mid-19^th century and their interest in up to date architectural trends.

The gate lodge, outbuilding and entrance archway are built of coursed rubble sandstone with ashlar margins and the lodge and outbuilding have slate roofs. These materials are typical of estate buildings in the 19^th century.

Although simple in design, the gate lodge is a good representative example of an early 19^th century gate lodge that retains distinctive form and features. The entrance archway is notable for the retention of a number of characteristic features of the Scots Baronial style. Together the gate lodge, outbuilding and entrance archway form a functional group that retains its historic earlier to mid-19^th century character.

Setting

The former Inshes gate lodge, entrance archway and outbuilding are prominently sited adjacent to Culloden Road, southwest of Inverness city centre. This stretch of Culloden Road was known in the earlier 19^th century as the great Highland road. The three structures form part of a group that marks the former principal entrance to Inshes estate. The entrance archway fronts a wooded drive which leads south to Inshes House.

The immediate setting of the gate lodge and archway retains features related to their mid-19^th century function. This includes the low estate boundary wall, which links to the wings of the entrance arch, and the avenue of trees that surround the drive. This setting and the close grouping of the three structures of the lodge, archway and outbuilding helps us to understand their function as the principal entrance and porter's accommodation for a large estate.

The wider setting has been altered in the later 20^th with the construction of the A9 through Inshes estate which truncated the entrance drive and separated the archway and lodge at the northeast from Inshes House to the southwest. In the later 20^th to early 21st century, large areas of the former Inshes estate has also been developed as a suburb with housing surrounding the estate and opposite the gate lodge and entrance archway on Culloden Road.

Although the wider setting of the gate lodge, entrance arch and outbuilding has been altered, and they no longer function as the entrance to Inshes House, they retain a historical association with the estate which has a number of related listed buildings (see 2.3 Historical development) . The survival of the group of three associated structures, as well as elements of their immediate mid-19^th century setting, allows us to understand their former function and link to Inshes estate.

Historic interest

Historic interest is in such things as a building's age, rarity, social historical interest and associations with people or events that have had a significant impact on Scotland's cultural heritage. Historic interest is assessed under three headings:

Age and rarity

Gate lodges are typical features of large estates and functioned as security and accommodation for a porter or other estate worker. As they are found at many large estates of the 18^th and 19^th centuries they are not a rare building type.

Dating to the early 19^th century, the former Inshes gate lodge is a representative example of gate lodge during this period. Although simple in design it has not been substantially altered and retains its historic character. It is also distinguished amongst its building type by the retention of its associated outbuilding and mid-19^th century entrance archway.

Early to mid-19^th century gate lodges were often built with associated gate piers and sometimes with a neighbouring or adjoining entrance archway. Entrance archways had a security function and were also a decorative feature which emphasised the status of the estate owner. The former Inshes estate entrance archway is a good example an archway, built after the principal estate buildings, as part of improvements. The Scots Baronial style of the archway reflected the aspirations of the landowner during the mid-19^th century and the structure adds to the interest of the entrance group of the lodge and outbuilding.

Social historical interest

As important ancillary components of the former Inshes estate the gate lodge and entrance archway have social historical interest as they tell us about how the estate functioned in the 19^th and early 20^th century.

Association with people or events of national importance

There is no association with a person or event of national importance.

External Links

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