Milnholm

Milnholm is a farmhouse and steading complex, likely designed by William Keir around 1870. It was built as a farm, and includes contemporary and later steading ranges.

The farmhouse has a south-facing elevation of two storeys and three bays, with a lower, single-bay wing recessed to the left. The farmhouse is rendered with ashlar, incorporating ashlar margins and dressings. The central doorway is round-headed with a keystone, and features a panelled door with a fanlight above it. There are four-pane sash windows throughout, and an eaves/lintel band runs along the facade. The ends of the farmhouse have corniced stacks, and the roof is covered with graded slates. The left wing extends northwards. A small, rectangular-plan shed with a piended roof is linked to the north-east angle of the farmhouse.

The steading ranges are primarily rubble-built with ashlar dressings and are arranged in an essentially two-L-plan blocks around a rectangular courtyard. A single-storey block nearest to the south-east has slated roof ventilators. The main range is mostly single-storey with lofts contained below the eaves. The north wing, which includes a barn, steps down the slope towards the east, with a conical-roofed horsemill built against the north wall. The west range, incorporating a haybarn, has a series of wide, rectangular openings facing east and west at upper level, and a forestair at the north gable. A detached haybarn sits to the north, and a workshop is located to the west. All roofs are slated.

Milnholm was the home of William Keir, who was appointed by the Duke of Buccleuch to superintend estate improvements. Historical records, including the Old Statistical Account for Canonbie parish and documents in the Scottish Record Office (GD 224), provide further information about him. The building was upgraded from a Grade B to a Grade A listed building on 12th July 1988.