Description

Dating from around 1800, Miller's Cottage is a single-storey, three-bay cottage with a single-storey and attic former byre abutting the cottage's northwest gable at right angles. The cottage is constructed in random whinstone rubble with red sandstone dressings. The principal (southwest) elevation has a central doorway flanked by square (possibly enlarged) window openings. There is a small, round-arched foot-scraper recess to the left of the door.

The rear (northeast) elevation of the cottage has one visible square window opening in the left-hand bay with 12-pane glazing in a timber sash and case frame. A later concrete external stair leads up to a raised deck. A timber-clad kitchen extension was added on to the rear of the property around 2012 (this is excluded from the listing). The southeast gable is blank.

The cottage has replacement timber sash and case window frames with a 16-pane glazing pattern to the principal elevation. The roof is covered in red pantiles and has straight skews and end chimneystacks.

The former byre is now a house and is part of the neighbouring property, Byre House at no.4 Mill Wynd. It is constructed in random whinstone rubble and has a hayloft opening breaking the roof eaves. Some later openings have been added (or unblocked) to the northwest and northeast elevations. The roof is covered in red pantiles with two later rooflights in the southeast roof pitch. There is a later end chimneystack (dating from around 2012) with crow-steps below to the northeast gable. The byre is slightly lower in height to the rest of Byre House (which is excluded from the listing).

The interior decorative schemes of the cottage and byre largely date from the early-21^st century. The byre interior has steel-beam support bracing.

Historical development

A building survey and desk-based assessment compiled by CFA Archaeology in 2010 prior to the byre's conversion to a dwelling indicates that the byre was probably the original building at the site and 3 and 4 Mill Wynd were built onto it in around 1800 (Trove.scot).

Miller's Cottage and byre are first shown in detail on the 1^st Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1853. The footprint of these and the wider range of buildings on the site have not changed significantly since that shown on the 1^st Edition map. A kitchen extension was added onto the rear of Miller's Cottage around 2011-12.

The byre was converted to a dwelling around the same time and is now part of Byre House at 4 Mill Wynd. Historically, the hayloft opening would have been accessed by an external stair (as shown on the Ordnance Survey map of 1906). Internally, the hayloft floor was removed at some point prior to its conversion to a dwelling in 2011-12 (John Gray Centre).

Statement of Interest

Miller's Cottage and byre meets the criteria for listing for the following reasons:

• Miller's Cottage dates to around 1800 and the byre is likely earlier in date. They are good surviving examples of a traditional vernacular cottage and former byre constructed in good quality materials.
• While there has been substantial renovation of the byre and cottage, both of these buildings retain enough of their historic fabric (particularly to their front elevations), style and overall form, to convey their historic and vernacular character.
• The cottage and byre retain their historic setting and, located in a conservation area alongside other buildings of a similar date and type, they make a positive contribution to the local streetscape.

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 kitchen extension to the cottage and the rest of Byre House at 4 Mill Wynd.

Architectural or historic interest:

Architectural interest

The design and character of Miller's Cottage indicates it was constructed around 1800. It was probably built as a mill worker's cottage with an adjacent byre that may be slightly earlier in date. Both buildings are of traditional whinstone construction with red sandstone dressings which visually complement their neighbouring properties along Mill Wynd. They are of special architectural and historic interest for their early date and their relative lack of later alteration to the external form and the preservation of the buildings' historic character seen in their rooflines, fabric and openings.

There has been substantial renovation of both buildings, including the addition of a replacement roof structure and the reinstatement (and introduction) of some window and door openings to the rear and side elevations of the former byre, as well as replacement windows and a timber-clad kitchen extension to the cottage. Overall, however, these changes are well-integrated and, as such, they do not visually detract from the principal elevations of these buildings which retain much of their early 19^th century form and character.

The cottage and byre are located along Mill Wynd within the wider East Linton Conservation Area (CA1), and they form part of a group of contemporary cottages and houses of similar construction and date, including 5 Mill Wynd (LB26681, listed at category C), 6 Mill Wynd (LB26682, listed at category B). Together, Miller's Cottage and the byre contribute to the historic setting of East Linton which is further enhanced by a mixture of listed and unlisted historic buildings along Bridge Street, The Square and Bridge End.

Historic interest

Traditional cottages of the single-storey, three-bay type, dating from the late-18^th/early-19^th century can be found across Scotland and they are not a rare building type. Examples which survive and retain their original character are increasingly rare. Those that survive largely in their original form may be of interest for listing. Miller's Cottage and the byre are of interest because they form a good grouping of vernacular buildings along Mill Wynd which are likely to have been historically associated with the milling heritage of the area.

While both buildings are now modernised (and in the case of the byre converted to a house), the retention of much of their late-18^th/early-19^th century design, plan form, setting and overall character, particularly to their front elevations, is of interest.

Statutory address, category of listing changed from B to C and listed building record revised in 2025. Previously listed as '3 MILL WYND'.

Recommended Books

• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds: Cotswolds Pt. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014