Cruck-frame Cottage, Fingask Drive, Kirkhill

Single storey rubble construction cottage with cruck-frame. Steeply pitched corrugated iron roof, originally a thatched roof. Abutted by single storey timber and corrugated iron roof building - advised by Highland Council as a bedroom added in the 20th century.

Reported to have been occupied until 1948 when the resident moved into one of the newly constructed council houses sitting adjacent. The cottage appears to have been one of a number of similar buildings collectively referred to as Groam Cottages, being described in the Ordnance Survey Name Book (1876-78) as "all one storey high, thatched and in ordinary repair. John Fraser Esq Achnagairn proprieter".

24 July 2015: Nominated by local planners for the Register. Desk-based assessment carried out using photographs and information supplied by Highland Council.

The tin roof remains intact but is rusting in a number of places. The interior is damp and much decayed. Some internal walls have deteriorated, revealing the wattle in places and decayed daub in others. Semi-mature trees grow in particularly close proximity to the SW elevation and generally the cottage's footings appear damp externally - query whether the outside ground level is higher than originally intended? The SW elevation of the timber outbuilding has buckled and a number of the planks are now missing. Comparison photographs from 1989, held within RCAHMS archives, illustrate the building has been remarkably resilient and whilst deterioration is now advanced, it has been slow-paced.

6 September 2016: The property has been Listed at category A in recognition as being an outstanding and rare example of a traditional dwelling.

19 February 2024: Visits to the building were organised during the Highland Archaeology Festival in 2022. Desk-based assessments suggests the building remains disused.