Higher Birks

Higher Birks is a house built in the second half of the 17th century, constructed from hammer-dressed stone with a stone slate roof. It has two storeys and a three-room plan with a rear baffle entry. The south front features three uneven bays. The central bay has double chamfered mullioned windows, including a two-light fire-window and a four-light window, although most of the mullions have been removed. Above these is a three-light chamfered mullioned window. The outer bay has a double chamfered mullioned window of four lights with a two-light chamfered window above it, also with most mullions removed. The left-hand return wall is blind.

At the rear, there is a partly rebuilt wall made of watershot masonry, which contains the only entry: a doorway with a square lintel and composite jambs, featuring a chamfered surround and a simple stop. Above the doorway is a small light with a chamfered surround. To the right of the doorway is a chamfered mullioned window of two lights, which is missing its mullion. On the first floor, there is another similar window and a double chamfered mullioned window of two lights, also lacking a mullion.

Inside, a bressumer remains in the housebody, supporting two spine beams. In the smoke bay, there is an early 18th-century fireplace with a square lintel and jambs that have a cornice. A stone heck is still present. The partition wall between the housebody and the parlour is made of large thin dressed stones, splayed to support ceiling joists similar to those found at Hippins, Blackshawhead. An attached barn on the right-hand return wall has been altered to form a dwelling and is not included in the listing.