Monboddo House

Monboddo House is a dated 1635, rectangular-plan house with a stair projection at the rear. The house was altered in 1867 by James Matthews, and reconstructed in 1978-79 by Christopher Davey. The main north frontage is harled with margins and features three windows and two Victorian gablet dormers centred above the outer windows. The corners have corbelled turrets with conical roofs. A lower, slightly later two-storey east wing exhibits a masonry dormerhead dating to 1867. The west gable is windowless and features a 1635 armorial panel. The south elevation has been substantially reconstructed. The building has a slated roof, with new chimney stacks built following the removal of earlier Matthew’s skews and shafted chimneys. Interior detail was lost due to vandalism in the mid-1970s; this included a fine first-floor panelled room. The house is associated with Lord Monboddo and Dr Johnson, who visited in 1773. References include NSA XI 88 and Boswell's Tour in The Hebrides.