Garden Pavilion, Lochletter Farm

This garden pavilion, likely built in the 18th century for Patrick Grant of Sheuglie, is now a roofless shell, undergoing partial restoration. Although no contemporary records exist, it was reportedly constructed alongside Lochletter House (now demolished, but its 1761 datestone, inscribed with Patrick Grant’s initials, remains). The Grant family’s main residence, Sheuglie, was destroyed following the Battle of Culloden in 1746, but they subsequently regained their fortune.

The pavilion occupies the top of a prominent, steep-sided, artificially shaped circular knoll, which itself may be an archaeological site marked by scattered stonework. The site is surrounded by mature trees and lies within an expanded 19th-century walled garden that was originally created in the 18th century. It was deliberately sited to provide views over Loch Meiklie and the surrounding mountains, and to be visually connected to Lochletter House.

The pavilion is constructed of rubble, with traces of original harl plaster and some remaining colour on the west wall. It has a square plan, with a tall, flat-lintelled opening on each face, the eastern opening serving as a doorway and facing the approach from Lochletter House. Faint traces suggest that the openings were originally framed by timber architraves. The interior walls were originally smooth-plastered, and some small holes (dooks) suggest that more elaborate interior features, such as panelling, may have been present. The pavilion has two levels; the upper level is shallow and contains a single south-facing opening. Several unusual wall recesses, roughly the size of a dovecot, are found inside, though their original purpose remains unclear. A single ground-floor wall recess was likely a simple cupboard.

The original roof form is not documented, but fragments of red freestone “tiles” and slates found on the site indicate that the roof covering was likely changed over time. This suggests a possible sequence of roofing materials, and hints at whether an original pyramidal, bell-shaped, or flat roof was initially in place.