Mallory Cottage, 3 The Square excluding later 20th century single storey additions to the side (south gable) and the rear, Tomintoul, Speyside Glenlivet, Moray

Description

Mallory Cottage, 3 The Square is a two-storey, three-bay house, built circa 1775-1800 to a rectangular plan form. Built of coursed rubble, it has a slate roof with a small central roof light, and chimney stacks at the gable ends. The gables have flat stone skews with run-off skewputs. The front elevation is symmetrical, with a central doorway. Both the door and window openings to the ground floor have large stone lintels. The windows on the front elevation are four-pane timber sash and case.

In accordance with Section 1 (4A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 the following are excluded from the listing: the later 20th century single storey additions to side (south gable) and the rear.

Statement of Interest

Built in the late 18th century, Mallory Cottage was amongst the first buildings to be built in the planned village of Tomintoul following the surveying of the area in 1775. Substantially unaltered to its front elevation, it remains one of the few early buildings in the village to retain its late 18th century character. Centrally located in The Square, it makes an important contribution to the wider setting of Tomintoul, which is itself a good example of a planned village in Scotland due to the survival of its late 18th century street plan and lotted lands.

Age and Rarity

Mallory Cottage, 3 The Square was built in the late 18th century, during the early years of the laying out of the new planned village of Tomintoul.

In the mid-18th century Tomintoul was a small hamlet, shown on Roy's Military Survey map as a cluster of structures (1747-52). In 1775 a new planned village was founded by Alexander, 4th Duke of Gordon. The land was surveyed in 1775 by Thomas Milne and the first houses were completed by 1780. The village was laid out as a single straight main street with a central square, (still known as The Square (2018

. Lotted lands were laid out behind the houses on the main street, which followed the line of the military road built between Fort George and Corgarff in 1754.

The founding of planned villages was a reaction to the social and economic changes of the 18th century and the spirit of 'improvement', which saw a revolution in industry and agriculture and dramatic changes in rural settlement. For landowners, new planned villages provided opportunities to diversify income from their estates whilst offering land markets and employment to a rural population displaced by agricultural improvement.

Around 490 planned villages were founded in Scotland between 1720 and 1850. The majority of these were founded by individual landowners who planned regular streets, building plots and adjacent lotted lands or fields on their estates. The 4th Duke of Gordon laid out five new planned villages in Moray, Aberdeenshire and Highland in the later 18th century; Tomintoul, Fochabers, Kingussie, Portgordon and Huntly.

Tomintoul, like many other planned villages across Scotland, was founded with the intention of establishing small scale manufacturing industry, in this case the production of flax and linen. Tomintoul, however, never established industry around the linen trade. As a result the village developed slowly and on a small scale in the late 18th century, with most inhabitants dependent on cultivating their lotted lands. In 1792, there were only 37 families living in Tomintoul.

Most planned villages in Scotland grew beyond their original planned layouts during the 19th century. The village of Tomintoul largely retains its late 18th century layout with only some later expansion on parallel streets behind Main Street forming a grid pattern. The street layout of Tomintoul is therefore one of the best preserved of all planned villages in Scotland and Tomintoul is the only planned village in Scotland that retains its associated lotted lands (Lockhart 2001: 40).

The Square was the first section of the village to be built following the 1775 plan for Tomintoul (Walker and Woodworth 2015: 749). Mallory Cottage at 3 The Square appears to be of late 18th century date and is therefore amongst the earliest houses to be built in the village. Mallory Cottage is shown on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1869, published 1872) at the southern end of a rectangular row of houses on the northeast side of The Square. The house appears in the same rectangular plan form on the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1900, published 1901).

While houses built as part of planned villages in Scotland are not a rare building type, many have been altered and their historic character is less apparent. Additions to roofs such as box dormers and alterations to openings such as the enlargement of window openings are typical changes that can be seen in this building type. What sets this building apart in terms of rarity is the lack of alterations to the street elevation; the roofline and window openings remain largely unaltered. For buildings deliberately constructed to be functional and without any overt architectural pretention, the survival of these types of features is taken into account in determining merit for listing.

Within Tomintoul only a few of the 18th century cottages in the village remain substantially unaltered, most having been altered or rebuilt in the later 19th century. The ground floor windows and door openings of Mallory Cottage may have been enlarged during this period with the large stone lintels added. Mallory Cottage retains its roofline and symmetrical window openings and is the only house on The Square dating to the 18th century that has not been altered through insertion of dormers or the substantial rearrangement of window openings.

The planned villages that were developed in Scotland in the 18th and 19th century are an important part of Scotland's social and economic history. The well-preserved street layout of Tomintoul is a good example of late 18th century rural village planning and Mallory Cottage is an early example of a planned village building which retains its streetscape character.

There is a single storey extension to the rear of the house, and a conservatory to the side (south gable) of the house. These appear to date from the late 20th century and are excluded from the listing.

Architectural or Historic Interest

Interior

The interior was not seen as part of this assessment.

Plan form

Mallory Cottage has a rectangular plan form, which is typical of houses of this type and date. The plan form is evident on both the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1869, published 1872), and the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1900, published 1901). The plan form has been altered by additions to the rear and to the side (south gable), which are not included in this listing. The plan form of the building, which is standard, and which has been altered, is not a feature of special interest in listing terms.

Technological excellence or innovation, material or design quality

The design and materials of this building are typical of late 18th century village architecture.

Setting

The historic setting of Mallory Cottage is the main square of a late 18th century planned village that largely retains its original street plan and lotted lands. Tomintoul is among the best-preserved planned villages in Scotland in this regard, and the survival of this wider historic setting adds to the interest of the building in listing terms.

Mallory Cottage also makes an important contribution to this wider setting. With its symmetrical front elevation, Mallory Cottage has prominence due to its little altered, late 18th century character. The Square was the first section of the planned village to be built from 1775, and it is likely that Mallory Cottage was amongst the earliest houses to be built in the town (Walker and Woodworth 2015: 749). Therefore, this building is a reminder of the early development of Tomintoul.

Regional variations

There are no known regional variations.

Close Historical Associations

There are no known associations with a person or event of national importance at present (2018).

Statutory address, category of listing changed from B to C and listed building record revised in 2018. Previously listed as 'Tomintoul, 2 The Square'.

External Links

Historic Environment Scotland Listing
Wikidata IDs Q17827285 Q56617474

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