Dovecot, Busta House Hotel, Brae, Shetland North, Shetland Islands

Description

Dated 1714 (probably incorporating earlier work), with additions of later 18th century, 1980, and 1983. Asymmetrical country house (now hotel) comprising 3 storey T plan house (with S jamb to W of centre); original house extended to W in later 18th century, and also to S with 2-storey addition (its NE corner overlapping S jamb's SW corner; further additions by Peter Watts, to N, of circa 1980 and 1983. Harled walls with chamfered polished ashlar margins to windows of early house.

EARLY HOUSE: E elevation; 2-bay gable at right, porch with 2-bay gabled E elevation projecting at ground in bay to right, window in bay at left; regular fenestration at 1st and 2nd floors. 2-bay elevation of

S jamb recessed at left, single window at ground in bay at right, regular fenestration at 1st floor, enlarged windows in each bay at 2nd floor. S elevation; S jamb gable at right, 2-leaf vertically-boarded timber door with decorative iron hinges in round-arched margined opening at ground to right of centre; architraved armorial panel centred above; S wing obscuring ground and 1st floors to left of centre; single window to left of centre at 2nd floor. W jamb recessed at left; lean-to entrance porch at ground in re-entrant; regular fenestration at 1st and 2nd floors.

W WING: 3-bay extension to W jamb of original house; single small window at ground in bay to right; regular fenestration at 1st floor; windows in outer bays at 2nd floor; blank W gable.

S WING: right side only of N gable exposed; door (accessed by external stone stair) in re-entrant angle. 3-bay W elevation comprising door at ground in centre bay with bipartite windows in flanking bays; centre window at 1st floor offset to left. Single window at ground to right in S gable. 3 widely-spaced bays to E elevation; blank at centre, bipartite windows at ground in flanking bays, windows at 1st floor in outer bays; narrow window between centre and right bay at 1st floor.

NE WING: 2-storey gabled wing of 3 widely-spaced bays projecting N from W wing; narrow windows in regularly fenestrated W elevation.

NW WING: 3-storey L-plan wing projecting N from original house; 5-bay

E elevation comprising 3 irregularly fenestrated bays at left, and 2-bay regularly fenestrated gable advanced at right.

Timber sash and case windows; older windows now predominantly later 19th century 4-pane pattern; some 6 and 8-pane timber hoppered and sash and case windows to S and W wings.

Purple-grey slate roofs with exception of modern grey tiles to S wing and stone slabs to E porch. Ashlar skew copes with scrolled skewputts to S and E gables of early house, harled and painted crowsteps to other gables. Harled apex stacks with circular cans, stone copes to S wing, concrete copes to other stacks.

INTERIOR: much altered but with some 18th century panelling surviving at 1st (Gifford Room) and 2nd floors. Early 20th century William Adam revival chimneypiece in S wall of S wing; early 19th century chimneypiece at N end.

GARDEN WALLS, STEPS, GATES AND GATEPIERS: random rubble wall enclosing roughly rectangular terraced garden sloping down to harbour at E; stone steps between terraces and on N side of N garden wall. Polished ashlar gatepiers adjoining W gable of W wing, S jamb of early house, also sited at end of S avenue and at centre of E garden wall. Gates comprise V-jointed rustication to square-shafted gatepiers with corniced caps on pulvinated cushions surmounted by ball finials; 2-leaf wrought-iron gates. Variety of flagged paths and steps flanked by 19th century carved sandstone gargoyles.

BOATHOUSE: traditionally styled 3-bay gabled building of concrete-block construction incorporating rubble garden wall in W elevation. 6-pane timber fixed-lights in each bay of side elevations, 2-leaf vertically- boarded folding timber door in S gable, modern grey tile roof.

HARBOUR AND SLIPWAY: pair of rubble piers with granite and concrete coping stones projecting E into Busta Voe, enclosing harbour to N and S. N pier crescent-shaped with harbour steps set into S face; remains of iron rings and stump of derrick at E end. Harbour steps at E end of N face of S pier; remains of iron rings along edge; rubble wall along

S side. Concrete slip centred between piers to W.

DOOCOT: circular, harl-pointed granite rubble walls, low doorway with timber lintel at N side, flight holes and ledges below wallhead at S side, and small number of slate-floored nesting boxes set into wall within.

Statement of Interest

The Gifford family acquired Busta during the 17th century. They were descended from a Scots minister who came to Northmavine and acquired land. Thomas Gifford became laird in the early 1700s, built up a fortune as a merchant and fish exporter, and held the positions of Steward Depute of Shetland and Chamberlain to the Earldom. His estates were the islands largest. Busta House was built at the time of his marriage to Elizabeth Mitchell, daughter of Sir John Mitchell of Westshore (Tingwall) 1st Baronet, and it is their armorial panel that is above the S entrance door.

Prior to building of the large, but sympathetically-designed 1980s additions, Busta was of modest proportions. The 18th century core was built in a remarkably traditional style for 1714, when classical architecture was becoming well established in Scotland. The panelling in the Gifford Room matches that of Haa of Sand (1753), and Gardie House suggesting it was installed by the same carpenter in the mid- eighteenth century. The gargoyles in the garden were brought to Busta after restoration work on the House of Commons. Although of modern construction, the boathouse is prominently sited within the policies of the house, and also constructed in a sympathetic style.

External Links

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