Barn, Dochgarroch Lock, Caledonian Canal

Lock Keeper's Cottage and Barn, Dochgarroch Lock, Caledonian Canal

This lock keeper's cottage dates to approximately 1850 and stands on the north bank of Dochgarroch regulating lock, the first lock encountered after Loch Dochfour on the Caledonian Canal. It is a two-storey building with upper breaking eaves, arranged in a symmetrical three-bay plan overlooking the locks themselves.

The cottage is constructed in coursed rubble with tooled and painted ashlar margins. The gables and rear elevation are rendered. A gabled timber porch occupies the centre bay and features a three-pane rectangular fanlight. A lean-to extension extends from the east gable. The windows are predominantly six over two pane glazing in timber sash and case windows, with piended dormers to the first floor. Ashlar end stacks support a pitched slate roof.

Attached to the west gable of the cottage is a rectangular-plan barn set at right angles. The barn is constructed in rendered rubble with slit vents running along its long elevations. It has a pitched slate roof and a small loft window in its south gable.

The cottage's setting remains largely unaltered, retaining both its associated barn and front garden. This functional grouping and its proximity to Dochgarroch locks adds considerably to the interest of the buildings.

The cottage was constructed in the aftermath of a severe storm in January 1849 that caused flooding and breached the canal bank at Dochgarroch. Repairs, including raising of the canal bank, were completed by July 1850. The house may have been built to accommodate additional lock keepers to assist with maintenance of these locks. An earlier record from 1986 suggested the building might have been raised from an early 19th-century single-storey dwelling, but no documentary evidence or physical evidence in the building fabric currently supports this claim.

Lock keeper's cottages such as this were an integral part of the Caledonian Canal's operations. The primary role of lock keepers was to maintain and operate the locks, and cottages were built adjacent to them for convenience. These dwellings were typically set within gardens where keepers could grow vegetables and keep poultry and animals.

The Caledonian Canal, designed by engineer Thomas Telford following his 1802 report to Government commissioners, connects Inverness in the north to Corpach near Fort William in the west, linking four lochs—Loch Dochfour, Loch Ness, Loch Oich and Loch Lochy—over a total length of 60 miles, of which only 22 miles are man-made. Built to accommodate sea-going ships including Royal Navy frigates, the canal was designed on a much larger scale than other British canals and featured the largest locks ever constructed at that time. Work began in 1804 under Telford as principal engineer and William Jessop as consulting engineer. Rising costs and the scale of the undertaking resulted in slow progress, with the first complete journey achieved on 23 to 24 October 1822.

Although constructed for commercial use, the canal never achieved commercial success and was plagued by problems requiring closures for repairs and improvements during the 1840s. It subsequently became popular with passenger steamers and tourism increased following a visit by Queen Victoria on 16 September 1873.

The Caledonian Canal was part of a wider Highland infrastructure initiative designed to facilitate trade, encourage industrial growth and, significantly for the Government, address emigration resulting from the Highland Clearances by providing employment. It remains one of five surviving canals in Scotland and is unique among them as the only one entirely funded by public money. The whole of the Caledonian Canal is designated as a Scheduled Monument, identifying it as a structure of national importance to Scotland.