Description

A pair of single-storey, former dairy workers' cottages dating from around 1910. They have a shallow U-shaped plan form with crowstep-gabled end bays, red sandstone ashlar walls, flush margins and moulded skewputts. The roofs are pitched and slated with exposed rafter tails and tall ashlar chimneystacks. The main (east) elevation is five-bays but the entrance doors are located to the rear (west). No. 2 has a small flat-roofed addition of red brick added to the rear. The windows are predominantly in a four-pane glazing pattern and are uPVC replacements. The cottages are located next to Crichton Royal Farm (listed category A, ref: LB6693), which formed part of the Crichton Royal Institution asylum complex, on the southern outskirts of Dumfries.

The interiors (seen in 2022) largely contain late-20th century to early 21st century decorative schemes.

Historical development

The exact date of construction for the dairy workers' cottages is unknown but they were built between 1907 and 1913, as an addition to the earlier Crichton Farm complex (listed category A, ref: LB6693). The cottages first appear on a site plan of the Crichton Royal Estate from 1913 (Welcome Collection), shown with a shallow U-shaped plan form. By the Ordnance Survey map of 1929 (published 1931), a small rectangular plan outbuilding has been added to the west. The cottages have remained relatively unchanged since this date, except for a small porch addition to the rear (west) of No.2 and the insertion of uPVC windows and doors.

Crichton Farm was developed as part of the psychiatric treatment facilities of the Crichton Royal Institution, which had been established in the 1830s from the bequest of Dr James Crichton. Farming first began at Crichton Royal Institution in 1867 and farming practices steadily increased until 1890 when building began on the main farm complex. The group provided accommodation for 80 male patients who worked on the farm as part of their treatment. Expansions to the farm included the production of butter in 1898 and the purchase of a milking machine in 1907 (Welcome Collection).

It is likely that the cottages were built around 1910, to accommodate new worker's that were employed as a result of these improvements to the farm. They may have been designed by Sydney Mitchell and Wilson, who were responsible for the expansion of the institution during the late 1890s and early 20^th century. This was the first stage in a project to expand the asylum on modern lines with departments for the different classes of patients. Other buildings they designed during this period included the Crichton Memorial Church (listed category A, ref: LB6695), a new laundry block (Johnston House, listed category B, ref: LB3815) and four villas, including the nearby Annandale (listed category C, ref: LB6697) and Eskdale, listed category C, ref; LB6700).

Statement of Interest

The former Dairy Workers' Cottages, Crichton Royal Farm meet the criteria of special architectural or historic interest for the following reasons:

• They are little altered examples of early 20^th century dairy workers' cottages that retain much of their historic character and plan form.
• The buildings have a high level of design and material quality for their date and type and show features that are common across much of the former Crichton Institution, creating a sense of continuity within the large site.
• The retain their historic setting, forming a good grouping with the nearby Crichton Royal Farm (listed category A, ref: LB6693), contributing to our understanding of the development of the agricultural aspect of the Crichton Institution in the early 20^th century.
• It forms part of an architecturally and historically significant group of asylum-related buildings with the former Crichton Institution, whose plan form and design interest remain legible, informing our understanding of the provision and development of psychiatric care in Scotland from the mid-19^th century.
• They have special social historical interest as they form are a key part of the former Crichton Royal Institution, which was renowned for its advancement of psychiatric treatment of patients in Scotland.

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 red brick extension to the rear.

Architectural interest

Design

A simple, yet well-proportioned example of a pair of dairy workers' cottages that may have been designed by the prominent architects Sydney Mitchell and Wilson. The pair are of traditional construction and were built as part of the Crichton Farm complex, within the former Crichton Royal Hospital.

Although slightly later in date than much of the associated farm complex, the cottages were purposely designed to complement the existing buildings of the farm and the wider hospital. This is evident in their simple Scottish Renaissance style, particularly the crowstepped gables, the use of ashlar red sandstone and the variations across their roofline. They form a cohesive architectural group with the nearby farm buildings (listed category A, ref: LB6693) and the contemporary hospital villas of Annandale and Eskdale to the west.

Scottish architects George Wilson and Arthur George Sydney Mitchell went into partnership around 1897. Sydney Mitchell secured a number of important commissions from the 'Board of Lunacy' in Scotland in 1898, including extensive work at the Crichton Royal Institution. The Institute's superintendent Dr Rutherford commissioned the practice to design a number of buildings in the 1890s including Crichton Memorial Church (listed category A, ref: LB6695) and several new patient and staff villas. Some other villas, built later, were adaptations of Sydney Mitchell designs (Crichton Conservation Area Appraisal, 2020, p. 12). It's likely that the practice was responsible for the development of a number of farm buildings at the Crichton Royal Institution between the years 1890 and 1908, including the dairy worker's cottages (Dictionary of Scottish Architects). The practice was prolific in Scotland, designing both public and private work. Their later architectural style represented vernacular and Arts and Crafts elements, some of which can be seen at the Crichton.

The material quality and level of architectural detailing is unusual for worker's cottages of this period and reflects the fact that they were built as part of an institutional estate. As a good representative example of institutional ancillaries that retain much of their early 20th century character and setting, their design is of special interest in listing terms.

Setting

The cottages are located directly opposite the steading of Crichton Farm (listed at category A, ref: LB6693), and are situated to the south side of the large former asylum/hospital complex, which is itself set within a rural location around 4 km to the south of Dumfries. The area is designated as a conservation area and contains a large number buildings and other structures related to the asylum, many of which are listed in their own right.

The setting is characteristic of district asylums and other purpose-built hospitals of the 19^th century, in which country air, exercise and views beyond the institution's perimeter were all considered beneficial for good health and formed a key part of the recovery process. As at the Chrichton, these institutions were typically set within rural environments, with grounds laid out in the manner of a modest country estate, together with areas set aside for recreation and other outdoor pursuits. The cottages are set within the agricultural part of the Crichton site. This was first introduced in the later 19^th century and it remains an important feature of the institution's landscape character.

The steady expansion of the built elements to both the Crichton Farm and the wider hospital site, as well as changes to their associated landscape, mean that the earlier setting of the cottages has been partially altered. Despite these changes, the overall rural character of their setting, together with the institutional elements of the landscaped grounds, remain legible and contribute to the special interest of the buildings.

The cottages are built in a similar style to their neighbouring buildings and contribute to the historic setting of the Crichton Farm, and that of the wider hospital complex. Together the site is an important example of a former asylum complex, the survival of which contributes to our understanding of how it would have functioned, and how it developed with changes in patient care and treatment.

Historic interest

Age and rarity

The cottages date from the early 20^th century and form part of the Crichton Royal Institution which is a nationally important former mental health facility founded in 1834-39. The Crichton Royal Institution was the last of Scotland's seven 'Royal' Asylum's to have been built and was the last mental health hospital of this form in the UK (Dumfries and Galloway Council, 2020, p. 72). The main building, Chrichton Hall (listed category A, ref: LB3839) is one of only a few of the early purpose-built asylum buildings to survive in Scotland.

Although not a rare building type, the cottages are good representative examples of dairy workers' accommodation that was purpose-built as part of the agricultural expansion of the hospital. The cottages retain a significant amount of their historic character and fabric, and the level of design quality is unusual for an agricultural/institutional ancillary building. The materials and architectural style reflect that of the associated farm buildings and those within the wider hospital complex, contributing to the special interest of the Crichton site as a whole.

Social historical interest

Social historical interest is the way a building contributes to our understanding of how people lived in the past, and how our social and economic history is shown in a building and/or in its setting.

From its inception the Crichton set standards in asylum design and was at the forefront of the most advanced thinking on the treatment of patients with mental illness. The buildings added at the turn of the 20th century by Sydney Mitchell and Wilson were particularly influential, marking important changes in mental health care away from institutionalism towards more home-like, detached accommodation.

The dairy worker's cottages form part of the expansion of the agricultural aspect of the hospital during the late 19^th and early 20^th century and reflect the advancements that were being undertaken at the farm. These included several experiments involving milk, cattle feeding, breeding and potato culture, the installation of a milking machine in 1907 and a silo for silage in 1925, when neither of these features were common in Scotland.

Their survival adds to the special interest and understanding of the former Crichton Institution site. Collectively the site is one of a small number of asylum complexes in Scotland whose design and layout remain evident, illustrating the important first phase of asylum construction, and its subsequent development throughout the 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

Association with people or events of national importance

There is no association with a person or event of national importance.

Recommended Books

• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
• 
  Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
• 
  Old House Handbook 2 Books Bundle Collection (Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair,Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability)