Gate And Gatepiers, Invercharron House

The property comprises a house, its gates, and gate piers, originating in the 18th century and significantly altered over time. The original house was a rectangular dwelling with gable ends and chimneys, built in the early 18th century and possessing a cellar beneath part; this forms the western wing. An early eastward extension, initially used as byres, was converted in the mid-18th century to create a five-bay south-facing front. A later south entrance tower was partially removed in 1935 and entirely in 1962, when a concrete balcony with plain iron railings was added to the middle of the south facade.

An east wing, of two storeys with an attic over part, was added circa 1800, featuring an east-facing bow to provide larger rooms, evidenced by the differing heights of the first-floor windows. A matching bowed wing was likely added in the late 1860s, or possibly as late as 1882, by the architect Alexander Ross of Inverness, alongside rear additions.

The south facade has irregular window placement. A first-floor window rises through the wallhead beneath a heavily crow-stepped gablet added in 1935, intended to balance the two first-floor windows on either side; earlier, more ornate gablets, dating from 1882 or before, were simplified in that year. A re-used double-leaf panelled door is located in the south entrance. The north entrance front is equally irregular, with two entrances visible. The building has corniced end and ridge stacks, crowsteps, and a slate roof.

The gates and gate piers date to the later 19th century. They consist of a pair of circular ashlar gate piers with conical caps, and a pair of decorative cast-iron carriage gates, flanked by low, coped retaining walls with matching cast-iron railings. A marriage stone dated 1732 is reused in a south front lintel. Invercharron was described as “a gentleman's house” in 1840, when it was occupied by a sheep farmer and was the home of the Ross’s of Invercharron. It was acquired in the late 1860s by Mr W Littlejohn, and subsequently by Mr E Willis-Fleming, who undertook internal alterations, as have subsequent owners.