Steading, Guisachan Farm

The steading, likely dating to around 1875 and designed by A & W Reid, is a large, two-storey, eleven-bay hollow square facing west. It is constructed of grey rubble with contrasting tooled red ashlar dressings. A slightly projecting central bay rises as a single-storey square tower above the ridge, featuring blocked eaves, round-headed louvred windows on each face linked by a cill band, and dormers with jerkin-headed roofs. The tower is topped by a small square clock tower with a pyramidal slate roof and a cast-iron weathervane. A tall, round-headed entrance with a hood mould leads to an inner court, featuring a pair of double plank doors with decorative cast-iron hinges. Flanking the entrance are five regular bays on each side, with the outer bays slightly advanced and featuring bipartites on the ground and first floors. All first-floor windows are round-headed, linked by cill bands, and rise through the wallhead under simple gabletted dormers. Various farm offices, stables, segmental-headed cart bays, and byres open onto the inner court, with each clearly labelled with its function inscribed on the lintel or keystone. These include cartsheds 1-7, implement sheds 1-3, van sheds 1-2, a tool house, a meal store, loose boxes 1-6, a pony stable, a farm stable, a hay loft, a harness room, and two further farm stables. A former boiler house/engine house abuts the south elevation. The windows are mostly 4-pane sashes, and the roofs are slate. Notably, the identification of each building’s function is inscribed on the door lintels. Some internal alterations have been made to enlarge dwellings within the range of buildings. The steading is not depicted on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1872. Undated plans relating to the property are held by the present owner.