New Kelso is a Grade A listed building in the Highland local planning authority area, Scotland. First listed on 25 March 1971.

New Kelso

WRENN ID
fading-hammer-wagtail
Grade
A
Local Planning Authority
Highland
Constituency
Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire MP: Mr Angus MacDonald (LD)
Country
Scotland
Date first listed
25 March 1971
OS grid reference
NG 939 428
Coordinates
57.42914, -5.43342
Source
Historic Environment Scotland listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

New Kelso is a large house, built circa 1755 and altered in the late 19th century. It is a 17-bay range, originally of varying dates, with an attic and two storeys, all harled in appearance. The central five bays are paired, each featuring a central entrance door, three piended dormers, and end and ridge stacks. The west block has late 19th-century projecting bay windows flanking the centre door, with a linking roof forming a porch. A late 19th-century, two-storey, three-bay service wing is present at the west gable, with three piended dormers rising through the wallhead; projecting stairwells are located at the rear of all three portions of the building.

At the east gable is a low, two-storey, irregular four-bay block that appears to incorporate an 18th-century three-bay house. This earlier section has small windows and a former central door, now incorporated as a window. A first-floor doorway, with heavily checked jambs, is located in the east gable, and is accessed by a forestair; it has a piended roof. The windows are mainly 12-pane sash windows, with ridge and end stacks, and slate roofs.

The interior of the right section features raised and fielded panelling to the dado, along with doors and shutters. A basket arched chimney piece is also present.

New Kelso was one of three linen factories established by the Board of Trustees of forfeited estates in the Highlands, alongside Glenmoriston and Lochbroom. The venture was not commercially successful and was converted to domestic use later in the 18th century. A visitor's account from 1810 described the house as "exceedingly comfortable". Historically, the house was once the site of an annual cattle fair held on the first Monday in June, although this tradition had ceased by the mid-19th century. It is listed Grade A for its historical importance.

Local climate

New Kelso sits in one of the wettest parts of the UK, with an average of 1,980 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 99% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 97% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 61 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 98% of listed buildings. Of these, 45 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.2°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • No related consent applications matched
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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Nearby listed buildings

  1. Steading, New Kelso Grade B 67 m
  2. 3 Kelso Lodge Cottages, New Kelso Grade C 307 m
  3. 1 Kelso Lodge Cottages, New Kelso Grade C 331 m
  4. Steading, Tullich Grade B 2.1 km
  5. Coulags Bridge Grade C 2.8 km
  6. Lochcarron Parish Church, Kirkton Grade B 2.9 km
  7. Lochcarron Hotel Grade C 4.0 km
  8. Attadale House Grade C 4.0 km
  9. Police Station, Lochcarron Grade C 5.1 km
  10. Old School And Schoolhouse, Balnacra Grade C 5.1 km