Erchless Church Of Scotland Manse, Struy

The Erchless Church of Scotland Manse, built circa 1880 in the style of Alexander Ross of Inverness, is an asymmetrical, two-storey house of three bays. Constructed of tooled and coursed pink rubble with contrasting polished sandstone ashlar dressings, the house faces south. A prominent gable-ended bay projecting to the east features an entrance centrally positioned within a re-entrant angle, masked by a square portico with columns featuring stiff leaf capitals, a stepped parapet, and a central blank shield. The entrance is flanked by tripartite windows with shallow pointed heads and shafted jambs, while bipartites are found in the outer bays of the first floor, extending through the wallhead beneath a decorative gablet. First-floor windows are similarly detailed with shafted jambs, nail-head detailing to lintels under pointed-headed hoodmoulds. A canted bay window is present at the western gable, topped with a crenellated parapet, and featuring a first-floor window treated identically to the south elevation. A two-storey, two-bay wing projects to the rear, extending northeast, with a further single-storey, single-bay wing – possibly later – situated in the re-entrant angle. The windows are fitted with 2-pane glazing, and the roof is clad in slate, with decorative skewputts to the flat skews, apex finials, and end and wallhead stacks.

Internally, most original features remain. A plain black marble chimneypiece is found in the dining room (west), paired with a similar white marble chimneypiece in the east front room. Pine shutters dress the windows, alongside panelled pine doors and moulded doorpieces. A semi-circular stairwell to the rear is distinguished by a decorative cast-iron balustrade.

The manse was constructed in 1880 for the Church of Scotland at Struy, an area geographically distant from the parish churches of Kiltarlity and Kilmorack. The area was initially served by visiting Ministers until James Fraser became the first Minister in 1881 and the parish was formally erected in 1884. The church itself has since been gutted.