Description

Late 18th century or early 19^th century, pair of single-storey thatched cottages (converted to a single dwelling). Roughly rectangular plan with outshot to the north (rear) elevation that has been altered with later openings. Painted, rubble stone walls with tooled stonework to the openings and angled corners. Reed thatched roof with concrete ridge. Stone chimney stacks on end gables.

Statement of Interest

Weavers Cottage is part of a group of thatched buildings in the west end of Rait. As one of the few remaining examples of a fermtoun (a grouping of various farm buildings which pre-dated the agricultural revolution of the 18th and early 19th centuries) the settlement pattern which survives at Rait is highly significant.

Weavers Cottage does not appear to be shown on the Threipland Estate map of 1784. The tooled stonework dressings to the window openings and angled corners indicate that it was built after other nearby cottages in Rait, including Old Burnside Cottages (see LB11631) and Fernbank (see LB11660). Weavers Cottage is a vernacular building that was once common across Scotland, but are now extremely rare and they are important in helping us understand traditional skills and an earlier way of life. Notable features of the building include the thick, rubble walls, irregular linear plan form and a reed thatched roof with a cedar roof ridge.

It is among a relatively small number of traditional buildings with a surviving thatched roof found across Scotland. A Survey of Thatched Buildings in Scotland, published in 2016 by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), found there were only around 200 buildings of this type remaining, most of which are found in small rural communities. The industrial and agricultural revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries transformed areas of the central, southern and eastern regions in a very short period of time. As a result relatively few thatch buildings survive here, with approximately 30 remaining within Perth and Kinross (SPAB, p.293-354).

Re-categorised as C from B for Group in 2006 when the B for Group category was phased out. Statutory address and listed building record revised in 2021. Previously listed as 'West End Cottage, Rait'.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q56618608

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

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  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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