Starling Cottage, Ichrachan

Starling Cottage is a traditional Dalriadic-type cottage, likely built in the late 18th or early 19th century, and forming part of a group of cottages that represent the original crofting settlement. The north-facing cottage is arranged in an L-plan at the southeastern end of the group. Originally thatched, the roof was replaced with corrugated iron and then, around 1990, with modern profile sheeting. The walls are whitewashed rubble, with end stacks. The stack on the west gable is a square-section brick flue built against the outer gable wall, suggesting the room at that end may have originally had a non-domestic purpose, as an internal flue wasn’t present. The gable-head at the east end has been rebuilt in brick, with a curved northeast corner, likely to facilitate passage to the neighboring cottage. A corrugated-iron lean-to is also present.

The interior has been completely modernised, but sawn-off cruck-ends remain. The cottage is part of a group value with the other listed cottages of Ichrachan.