Cottage north of 6 Ellishadder (formerly Elishader Folk Museum), Isle of Skye

This is a single-storey, three-bay traditional Skye-type cottage, built before 1878 and reconstructed and refurbished in around 1976. It stands to the north of 6 Ellishadder, set back from a linear east-to-west road north of Loch Mealt, in the north of Skye, within the historic crofting township of Ellishadder.

The cottage is rubble-built with slightly battered (inward-leaning) walls, curved corners, and a central entrance opening in the front (south) elevation, with a window to either side. The rear (north) elevation has a single central window opening. The piended (hipped) roof is covered in corrugated iron, having previously been thatched, and retains its traditional rounded roof shape. Three cast iron rooflights are set into the rear (north) roof pitch. The end chimneystacks are stone-built and date from the late 20th century.

The interior has not been inspected directly (as of 2023), though a photograph taken in 2022 shows the underside of the roof, confirming the timber roof structure dates from the later 20th century. The original listing record from 1982 recorded that the interior comprised a roughly paved entrance lobby with two flanking rooms — a plan form typical of the traditional Skye-type cottage, with two end rooms and a central chamber accessed via the central door. Historic photographs taken between 1980 and 1982 show earthen floors to the end rooms and central chamber, whitewashed rubble walls, hessian sacking lining the internal roof structure, and various agricultural implements and domestic fittings.

The cottage was built before 1878 and is shown on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map of that year. The Ordnance Survey Name Book of 1876–78 describes Ellishadder as a district of around 12 croft houses, the property of Captain (later Major) William Fraser, owner of Kilmuir Estate in the mid to late 19th century. The cottage fell into disuse after the last full-time occupant died in 1919. By the 1970s the building was roofless and some walls had partially collapsed.

The reconstruction and refurbishment of around 1976 was grant-aided by the Highlands and Islands Development Board. At that time, some sections of wall were rebuilt, a replacement timber roof structure was added, and the roof was covered in thatching material. The openings in the front elevation were also added at this time to replicate a traditional appearance, along with the stone-built end chimneystacks and three traditional cast iron rooflights in the rear roof pitch. The thatched roof has since been replaced with corrugated iron, and photographs from 2022 confirm no thatching material survives. At the time of listing in 1982 the cottage was known as Elishader Folk Museum. It is no longer used as a museum and now appears to serve as an outbuilding as part of croft 6, Ellishadder.

Despite the reconstruction and the addition of later fabric, the cottage retains a significant proportion of its historic wall fabric, its original footprint, vernacular form and character, and its traditional plan form. The thick, battered rubble walls with curved corners and the proportions of the principal elevation are particularly notable. The battered walls appear to contain a significant amount of original material and are representative of the building type.

The 1st and 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey maps of 1878 and 1901 show Ellishadder as a roughly linear settlement of around 12 crofts in close proximity to the northern shoreline of Loch Mealt, served by a school at the eastern end of the settlement, now the Staffin Dinosaur Museum. The immediate setting of the cottage has changed over time: a building that formerly ran parallel to the immediate southwest was removed sometime between 1901 and 1964; a detached single-storey house with an attic was built on the opposite side of the road in the mid to late 20th century; and outbuildings to the rear of the cottage were added around the later 20th century. The road connecting Ellishadder to the A855 was added in the mid 20th century, replacing an earlier footpath or track that ran largely to the north but extended south to wrap around the south of the cottage. These incremental changes have partially altered the setting, though the cottage retains much of its rural landscape character and 19th century design features.

Vernacular buildings of this type, once common across the Highlands and Islands, are now extremely rare. Across the Highland Council area there are around 40 thatched or formerly thatched buildings retaining much of their vernacular character, of which around 15 survive on the Isle of Skye. The cottage north of 6 Ellishadder is a good surviving example within its historic crofting township and serves as a tangible reminder of Skye's crofting history and vernacular building traditions. The listing record and statutory address were revised in 2023; the building was previously listed as Elishader Folk Museum.