Pear Tree Cottage, Low Causeway, Culross

Pear Tree Cottage is a two-storey, five-bay house dated 1676, and likely remodelled in the 18th century. It is situated on Low Causeway, Culross. The front of the house is faced with cream-coloured harling, with terracotta-coloured harling to the front and cream-coloured harling to the rear, and painted ashlar margins. There is an eaves course.

The principal (north) elevation features a ground floor window to the far left and a first floor window above it to the right. Two doors are positioned near the centre, with a window to the right of the doors and a first floor window centred above. A door is located to the far right, with a first floor window to its left. A small window is set above the second door, with an exposed stone surround. Above the right-hand door is a monogrammed plaque dated 1676, bearing the initials M, G, C, and either I or J.

The east elevation is attached to Beechwood House, and the west elevation is attached to Sandhaven House (Laing). The south elevation has a ground floor window to the left and two first floor windows above it at the eaves. To the right is a pitched porch with a window in its left return and a ground floor window to the left. Two first floor windows are positioned to the left and the right. A later pitched stone extension is located to the far right, onto which a late 20th century piended stone and glazed conservatory has been added. A single-storey piended wash-house is attached to the far left, and its right return displays exposed stone rubble walls, with a door and three windows.

The windows are 12-pane timber sash and case windows. Those to the rear have two casement upper lights and eight fixed lower lights. Four rooflights are present to the rear of the main house, and four to the rear wash-house. The entrance is via a two-leaf timber panelled door, with a timber boarded door leading to a passage. The roof is pitched slate, with slate roofs to the rear outshots, except for the glazed conservatory roof. Corniced gable end stacks are topped with polygonal cans, and a corniced central ridge stack is also present.

Inside, the second door opens directly onto a staircase. A doorway to the left leads down into a lower room, which was formerly a separate building. A large, plain fireplace is found on the east gable wall. A hoist crane is attached to the former outer wall of this room, to the south. A kitchen is located to the west and contains an Edwardian range with decorative tiles. The passage to the far west is flagstoned, and a blocked door within the passage previously provided communication to the adjacent house (Laing). The wash-house has a red brick floor and a copper boiler in the southeast corner.

A horizontal dial sundial stands on an ashlar baluster pedestal in the garden. Initials ‘RM ?AL’ remain visible on the horizontal stone and a later gnomon, with sundials on central sections to each face and the gnomons missing.

A sandstone rubble wall encloses the rear garden.