Shore House West section

Shore House West Section

Shore House dates from the late 18th and early 19th century and served as workers' housing for the Bonawe Ironworks. It is a two-storey row of former flatted dwellings arranged in an L-plan. The row is now divided into two sections: one aligned east/west and another aligned north/south, with a late 20th century house (excluded from this listing) occupying the corner plot following a fire that destroyed part of the original row. The building is constructed of rubble masonry with surviving remains of render. The roofs are pitched and covered with grey slates. The row is located on low-lying ground approximately 100 metres north of the furnace at Bonawe.

The section aligned east/west is the earlier part, dating to the mid to late 18th century. It was altered during its occupation and is less complete, as the western end was destroyed by fire in the mid-1960s. Two surviving chimneystacks remain, one on the east gable and one at the wall head on the south elevation. There are remains of two forestairs, one on each of the north and south elevations. Several of the ground floor openings have been enlarged, but the first floor window openings are largely unaltered and are set just below the eaves. The glazing patterns vary, including four-pane timber sash and cases and six-pane timber casement windows.

The section aligned north/south dates to the early 19th century and was planned from the outset as flatted accommodation. The elevations are largely regular, comprising two three-bay sections with centrally placed doorways. At the rear, forestairs originally gave access to the doors serving the upper flats. The end terrace is less regular, as the ground floor accommodated a bakehouse. The rear elevation has one surviving forestair and a rubble-walled projection which is the remains of an oven. Two surviving chimneystacks remain, one on the north gable and one on the ridge. The window and door openings are generally unaltered, with upper windows set close to the eaves. The first floor glazing is predominantly four-pane timber sash and cases, while many ground floor windows have been boarded up. When examined in 2019, the interiors retained 19th-century features including remains of ceilings, partitions, fireplaces with fire surrounds, and internal doors.

The Bonawe Ironworks was operational from 1753 until 1876. It was established by the Newland Company, later known as the Lorn Furnace Company. The two sections of two-storey properties at Shore House were part of the wider provision of residential accommodation for workers and their families. The earliest section (aligned east/west) was constructed sometime in the latter half of the 18th century, after the furnace began operations in 1753 and probably after the construction of Lochandu Cottages, a more modest range of cottages at the south end of the complex. The building appears on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map, published in 1875.