Description

Possibly late 18th to early 19th century. Picturesque, cottage orné style single storey and attic, 3-bay cottage with flanking piended single storey wings. Originally part of Bonskeid Estate, with thatched roof and rounded eyelid dormerheads converted to timber gablets over roundheaded windows when altered to slate roof. Decoratively astragalled windows, rustic poles to small open porch. Roughly squared and coursed granite and sandstone rubble with roughly squared granite quoins and margins.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION: symmetrical entrance elevation to SE comprising part-glazed timber door to centre, square-headed windows in flanking bays and 3 roundheaded windows above breaking eaves into timber-pedimented dormerheads. Lower flanking wings with later square-headed window to right and roundheaded window to returns at NE and SW.

Horizontal 8-pane glazing pattern in timber sash and case windows, mostly with horns, roundheaded windows with decorative simple Y-traceried astragals. Grey Scottish slates, except to (slated) lower part of rear roof. Coped ashlar gablehead stacks with polygonal cans. Plain bargeboarding.

INTERIOR: modernised. Some moulded cornices, cast iron horseshoe fireplaces with plain granite and timber surrounds, and 4-panelled timber doors.

Statement of Interest

Possibly dating from the late 18th to early 19th century, Coille Bhrochain Cottage is sited on raised ground now surrounded by mature trees. It would originally have commanded fine views over the River Garry. Appearing on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map as Killyvrochan Cottage, it is a good example of estate architecture. Despite the loss of its thatched roof during the latter part of the 20th century it retains much of its picturesque charm. The distinctive glazing pattern is of particular note. The cottage is well-proportioned with good sized rooms and is thought to have been built as accommodation for visitors to Bonskeid House.

Alexander Stewart, heir of the Bonskeid Estate, retained a room at nearby Old Coillebhrochain, now ruinous, as Bonskeid House had been destroyed by fire earlier in the 18th century. Alexander worked as a doctor at Dunkeld and in 1796 leased the lands of Bonskeid to Lady Bath and her husband Sir James Pulteney. Around that time building began on stables and a coach house on the site of Bonskeid and Lady Bath is reported to have lived 'in a tent near Coillebhrochain till she unexpectedly died'. It is perhaps a reasonable assumption that the 'tent' may have been the thatched cottage orné, but no proof of this has been found during current (2007) research. The current Bonskeid House, designed by Andrew Heiton, dates from 1881.

The name Coillebhrochain translates from the Gaelic as 'wood of the brose', indicative of the legend that Robert the Bruce was given refuge here in 1306 after his defeat at the battle of Methven when he is said to have eaten Athol Brose.

List description revised June 2007.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q56616023

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
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  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability