Cousland Smithy Cottage, Midlothian East, Midlothian

Description

Late 18th century. Single storey, 4-bay rectangular smiddy with circa 1940 brick lean-to extension to E. Early 19th century 3-bay rectangular blacksmith's cottage with rear gabled extension adjoining to W. Random rubble smiddy with some rubble quoins, timber lintels and flat ashlar skews. Random rubble cottage, ashlar long and short quoins, sills and steps, timber lintel to rear door; harled to front with painted margins.

SMIDDY: S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: pair of timber boarded doors within full height door way with corrugated metal canopy breaking through eaves; large fixed light window to right with smaller window adjacent, low fixed light window to left of doorway with cast-iron trough and pal stone below.

W ELEVATION: adjoining front of cottage gable.

N (REAR) ELEVATION: small window to right, large window off centre left; lower extension with catslide roof to far left, blind end with window to right return.

E ELEVATION: blind gable with stack adjoining brick lean-to extension: 2 widely spaced irregular windows, full height pair of sliding corrugated metal doors to left return, blind wall to right return.

Smiddy: 3 fixed windows of varying size with mullions holding small square panes of joiner's glazing, timber lintels, no sills or astragals; 2-pane and single pane fixed windows to rear elevation with large window matching those on front elevation. Piended pan-tiled roof with open eaves, exposed beams and rafters. Corrugated Perspex roof light to rear. Corrugated door porch to front with single gutter draining directly onto roof, no rainwater goods to rest of structure. Brick stack to each gablehead, stone neck copes and replacement cans.

INTERIOR: large room with exposed whitewashed stone walls, whitewashed brick fireplace and wide hearth to E, various wooden workbenches and shelving, metal anvils and tools, all extant. Exposed rafters and beams, timber and cobble flooring.

COTTAGE: S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: central door: boarded door with 2-pane fanlight above;

W ELEVATION: gable end with stone skews and short brick stack, later rubble and brick lean-to with corrugated metal roof conjoining cottage to remains of wheelwrights house to ground floor right.

N (REAR) ELEVATION: almost T-plan due to lower projecting gable ended scullery and porch. Small window in gable end, blind to left return, entrance door and small window to right return; larger window to flanks on main cottage, low rubble garden wall with shaped copes adjoining to right.

E ELEVATION: gable end with gablehead stack, adjoining lower smiddy to left and centre.

12-lying pane timber sash and case windows to front with internal shuttering, 9-pane and single fixed pane window to rear. Piended pantiled roof with brick skews to rear gable end, stone skews to main cottage. Brick stacks with projecting stone neck copes and plain cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: centrally placed, half-panelled hall with principal room leading off each, small bedroom to rear. Scullery along central passage almost intact with Belfast sink, wash tank. Late 19th century cast-iron fires (1 with tiled surround), early 20th century tiled surround to living room. Original timber shuttering and floors.

Statement of Interest

The smithy is earlier than the adjacent house. It has low eaves, the high, wide entrance to admit horses if necessary, and large fixed front windows through which light can enter. This smithy is unusual in that it is still in working order and used at the present time as a wrought-iron workshop. It has a good range of older tools both in the smithy and the later workshop. The smithy has a cottage next to it built in earlier 19th century, it housed the blacksmith. The cottage is well preserved with original fittings still in existence and an almost untouched scullery to the rear. Adjacent to it is the remnants of the wheelwright's house. The latter structure formerly housed a family in each of its two rooms. It shares a central open chimney, on which cooking was also done. It is now roofless, but the original fenestration and doorways can still be seen. Behind all three properties lies garden ground that was stocked with fruit and vegetables for the people who lived and worked there. Outside the entrance to the smithy building can still be seen a large circular stone upon which the wheelwright used to shoe his wheels. There is also a relocated cast-iron trough, from Dalkeith Foundry in 1845. In the past the smithy serviced most of the farms in the area and tools of its trade can be found inside. Even the later brick extension houses colliery workshop machine

tools and a lawn mower blade sharpener - themselves good survivors of an almost bygone industrial era.

External Links

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