Stein Inn, Macleod Terrace, Stein, Skye

The Stein Inn, located on Macleod Terrace in Stein, Skye, dates to the late 18th century and was likely constructed as an inn as part of the planned fishing village of Lochbay. This village was initiated in 1796 by the British Fisheries Society. The building is a two-storey row of three sections, originally arranged with two, three, and two bays respectively. It is constructed of whitewashed, smooth-rendered rubble, with most windows being sashes or dummy sashes featuring a four-pane glazing pattern. The roof is slate-covered.

The two-bay ranges have a higher upper floor level, and dormers break through the eaves. The range on the left (west) is taller and has a more steeply pitched gable, possibly indicating a different date of construction or a later heightening. The central three-bay range features a central doorway and one first-floor window raised through the eaves, mirroring the dormer design. The remaining two first-floor windows on the front wall are distinguished by a lack of projecting cills. There are end stacks, and a massive skew is present at the right-hand (east) gable, which is a remnant of a previously adjoining building where a portion of its chimney breast survives. Modern additions are present at the rear of the building.

A plan for an inn at Stein, created by Thomas Telford, depicts a long, single-storey building with a tripartite division created by two cross-walls – a feature shared with the existing inn. Telford’s plan also included a second door in the right-hand range. However, the executed design differs from the plan, although the building may still retain some influence from Telford’s original concept.