Farmsteading, Easter Gellet Farm, Dunfermline

Easter Gellet Farm, Dunfermline

This is a farmsteading of earlier 18th century origin with multiple phases of alteration and expansion spanning the late 18th century through the late 19th century. The complex comprises a farmhouse and single-storey steading with loft accommodation grouped around a rectangular-plan courtyard. The farmhouse occupies the centre of the south range and was rebuilt in the late 18th or early 19th century, then remodelled in the earlier to mid-19th century with a late 19th century addition to the south.

The farmsteading is constructed of limewashed rubble, partially harled on the south elevation and to the farmhouse, with sandstone ashlar dressings that survive in places. The most distinctive features are the gable ends with gablehead stacks flanking the south elevation either side of the farmhouse. The gable to the right retains its earlier 18th century curved outline, notable for its oculus and scrolled skewputts. The other gable has a coped form with beaked skewputts and vertical margins at the arrises, probably remodelled with the house in the late 18th or early 19th century.

The south elevation presents a three-bay farmhouse at its centre. A late 19th century wing projects to the left of the centre bay, featuring a mullioned tripartite bay window to the ground floor and mullioned bipartite window above. The entrance is positioned to the right of the right return, with windows to left and above. The ground floor window to the right of the main block was enlarged during the earlier to mid-19th century remodelling. To the right of the farmhouse, a coped section of wall adjoins the gable end of the east range of the steading, which retains its curved gable with scrolled skewputts and a blocked oculus with a window below. A gable end of a later addition adjoins further to the outer right. A single-storey lean-to with piended roof and large entrance adjoins the main body of the farmhouse to the left, next to the rebuilt gable end of the west range of the steading.

The north elevation displays the original steading's roof swept forward and supported on three cast-iron columns forming a verandah. A later extension with segmental headed entrance adjoins to the left, whilst a gable end of a later brick and corrugated iron barn adjoins to the right.

The east elevation shows the original steading largely obscured by later additions, though the former external wall of the original steading now forms an internal wall with an entrance, and a gable end projects to form one side of a passageway into the courtyard.

The west elevation has the original steading largely obscured by a later brick and corrugated iron barn to the left. A section of the original steading's wall, partially rebuilt in brick, is visible to the right with an entrance and a blocked dormer with catslide roof to the left.

Within the courtyard, the farmhouse south elevation features a late 19th century semicircular-plan stairtower projecting to the centre, with flanking blocked windows at ground floor level, the right one enlarged as a mullioned bipartite. A later single-storey lean-to adjoins to the right. The west range of the steading is a single storey with hayloft, featuring a rebuilt harled section to the outer left with entrance and window above, steps to the right accessing the hayloft entrance under a catslide roof, and irregularly disposed windows between flanking ground floor entrances. The north range of the steading is mainly single storey with hayloft, featuring an entrance to the right of centre with a gablehead window above and flanking windows to the ground floor. A single-storey section adjoins to the outer right. The east range of the steading is single storey with three irregularly disposed windows, the outer ones formerly serving as entrances, with the roof continuing across the entrance passageway to the outer left.

Roofing comprises grey slate to the farmhouse, rebuilt south section of the west range and east range (the latter slightly swept to the west side), with pantile roofs to the remaining steading sections; the single-storey and hayloft section of the north range has a piended pantile roof. Gablehead stacks with band courses flank the east and west sides of the farmhouse and the south gable of the west range steading. The south gable of the east range has a corniced gablehead stack, whilst the single-storey section of the north range has a coped ridge stack, with a later wallhead stack to the rebuilt section of the west range. Many of the cans to these stacks are missing.

Windows are largely missing throughout the complex. The farmhouse features architraved openings, with those to the original block mostly having splayed reveals probably dating from the earlier to mid-19th century alterations. Similar architraved openings appear on the south gable ends of the steading and to the left return of the western gable end, likely remodelled with the house in the late 18th or early 19th century.

The interior has been only partially inspected, but retains an original fireplace with stone surround in the curved gable end of the steading.