Description

Mid 19th and early 20th century, incorporating earlier fabric. 2-storey, 8-bay house and post office comprising 3-bay house to E with L-plan wing projecting to rear, 5-bay post office to W, wall adjoining W gable, curving N to long range of single storey outbuildings oriented N-S; walled gardens to N and S of principal building; well to E in N garden. Whitewashed, harled and cement-rendered and lined walls, with stugged and droved sandstone dressings to older part.

SW (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: 5-bay asymmetrical elevation of post office to left; doors in bays to left of centre and to outer right, gabled dormers breaking eaves in bay at centre, bay to outer left, and penultimate bay to right; various window sizes at ground. 3-bay symmetrical house at right comprising vertically-boarded timber door with plate glass fanlight at ground in centre bay; windows in flanking bays, gabled dormers breaking eaves in each bay.

E GABLE: single window at 1st floor to left.

N (REAR) ELEVATION: 3-bay elevation of house to left; gabled dormer breaking eaves at 1st floor in bay to outer left, piend-roofed wing advanced in centre bay with lean-to additions to E (stone, timber and corrugated iron) and in re-entrant to W. 3 widely-spaced bays to post office at right; blank at ground, regularly fenestrated at 1st floor.

Variety of glazing; mainly 4-pane timber sash and case windows. Purple grey slate roof with concrete skew copes. Stugged sandstone apex stacks with ashlar copes and circular cans to house, cement-rendered and lined stacks to post office.

OUTBUILDINGS: 2 buildings adjoining to N and S as long range; whitewashed harl-pointed rubble walls.

E ELEVATION: pair of vertically-boarded timber doors to outer left; 3-bay elevation of N building at right; door and window in bay to outer right, vertically-boarded timber doors in bay at centre and left.

W ELEVATION: single vertically-boarded timber doors centring elevation of S building, and to right of centre in N building.

Purple-grey slate roofs with cast-iron gutters and downpipes, and concrete skew copes. Coped apex stack with circular can to N gable, weathercock on iron bracket to S gable.

WELL: square plan well-house with harled concrete wall, vertically- boarded timber door, purple-grey slate pyramidal roof, and steps inside to water.

GARDEN AND RETAINING WALLS, GATES AND GATEPIERS: random rubble wall enclosing N garden and bounding road at N, semicircular-plan wall to W, adjoining N gable of outbuildings, terminated to S by rubble gatepier with corresponding wall and gatepier to W. E drive bounded by S and N walls of N and S gardens respectively. Large whitewashed stugged sandstone gatepiers with concrete steps to S in N wall of S garden (centred opposite door to house); watercourse with rubble walls oriented E-W, bisecting garden, with Chinese bridge of 1993 at centre and concrete steps to S. Random rubble retaining wall to E with steps at W. 2-leaf vertically-boarded timber gate adjoining W elevation of principal building; concrete pier with pyramidal cap.

Statement of Interest

Tresta House appears to have been a mid 19th century enlargement of a thatched but-and-ben with an outbuilding to the W. A drawing of 1886 shows the present 3-bay dormered house to the right, with a single storey merchant?s premises to the left. The outbuildings contained a barn, stables, wool store, and wash house. It is thought that the garden was first laid out during the mid 19th century enlargement, and improved by successive generations. It is perhaps unique in Shetland, as the south garden is effectively an arboretum laid out by an incomer to the islands, with some of the specimen tree still surviving.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata IDs Q77772761 Q77772764 Q77772767 Q77772776 Q77772781

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.

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