Description

David and Thomas Stevenson, circa 1862 with later additions and alterations.

LIGHTKEEPER'S COTTAGE: single storey, 4-bay, M-gabled cottage with lower, single bay wing to side. Whitewashed brick; painted dressings. Base course; eaves course; projecting cills. NE (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: 2-leaf boarded timber door off-set to right of centre; 3-pane fanlight. Single window in bay to left; single windows in bays to outer left and right. Lower wing slightly recessed to right with boarded timber door off-set to left of centre. SW (REAR) ELEVATION: 3-bay principal block with small window to outer right; single windows to left. Lower wing recessed to outer left. Modern garage block to front. Modern 4-pane timber windows. Grey slate roof; stone-coped skews. Coped sandstone ridge and apex stacks. INTERIOR: not seen 1999.

RETREAT HOUSE AND KEEPER'S HOLD: 2-storey, 4-bay subdivided house with single storey, lean-to additions to sides. Whitewashed brick; painted dressings. Base course; eaves course; projecting cills. NW (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: 2-storey projection off-set to left of centre with bipartite windows centred at both floors; coped wall adjoined to right obscuring exterior stair accessing 2-leaf, boarded timber door at 1st floor in bay recessed to right; single windows at both floors in bays to outer left and right. Single storey, 2-bay, lean-to additions recessed to left and right with single windows in both bays to left; boarded timber door and single window to right. SW (SIDE) ELEVATION: M-gabled principal block with near full-width, lean-to projection to front. SE (REAR) ELEVATION: regularly fenestrated 3-bay principal block at centre. Single windows in lean-to additions to outer left and right. NE (SIDE) ELEVATION: M-gabled principal block with lean-to projection off-set to left of centre; 2-storey addition recessed to outer right. Predominantly 12-pane, horizontal-pane glazing in timber sash and case windows; some modern windows. Grey slate roof; stone-coped skews. Coped sandstone apex stacks. INTERIOR: not seen 1999.

BOUNDARY WALLS AND GATEPIERS: coped, whitewashed walls partially enclosing site. Whitewashed rubble, square-plan gatepiers flanking entrance; corniced, pyramidal caps; single gate.

Statement of Interest

B Group comprises 'St Abb's Head, Lighthouse' and 'St Abb's Head, Lightkeeper's Cottage, Lighthouse Retreat & Keeper's Hold' - see separate list entry. Although now in separate ownership, both the lighthouse and the cottages once associated with it form a significant group, prominently set on St Abb's Head (a nature reserve). Commissioned by the Northern Lighthouse Board, the lighthouse was opened on 24th February 1862 and is still in use. The cottages are now leased for holiday accommodation (1999).

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q77776164

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

• 
  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide