Wester Middleton

Wester Middleton Farm (formerly known as Easter Middleton and historically as Middleton Inn) is a 17th century farmhouse with later additions and alterations. It is a two-storey, four-bay dwelling of T-plan form, harled and cement rendered with a lined finish.

The south-west elevation is asymmetrical, featuring a lean-to porch addition at ground level to the penultimate bay on the left, with a harled base and timber-framed windows and a glazed door. This is flanked by single windows, with regular fenestration across three bays at first-floor level. The bay to the right has a replacement window at ground level and a blank first floor. An outbuilding stands at right angles to the house at the outer right, constructed of random rubble with tooled long and short quoins, a brick gable to the south-west, and a piended slate roof. A 20th century concrete-walled dog pen stands to the right of this outbuilding.

The south-east elevation is obscured by the outbuilding.

The north-east elevation is asymmetrical across four bays, with the penultimate bay to the right and the central bay advanced. Blind windows appear on each bay at ground level, with a blind window to the right of the first floor and a window to the left. The left return has two windows to the ground and two blind windows to the first floor. The right return has a window to the ground with a window above and a blind window to the right of the first floor. A harled lean-to porch occupies the re-entrant angle to the right, with a single window to the north-east and a boarded timber door on the right return. The slate roof is present throughout. Regular fenestration appears at ground and first-floor levels of the harled bay to the outer right, with a window to the first floor of the penultimate bay to the left. The left bay has replacement windows at ground and first-floor levels.

The north-west elevation is asymmetrical and harled, with a single window to the right of the ground floor.

The building is predominantly fitted with 12-pane replacement timber sash and case windows. A grey slate roof with lead ridge and stone skews covers the structure, with coped gablehead stacks topped with octagonal cans.

The interior was not inspected at the time of assessment in 1997.

A random rubble boundary wall with rubble coping encloses the property, accompanied by tooled, coped stone gatepiers with pyramidal caps.

Historical Context

According to the first edition Ordnance Survey Map, Wester Middleton was originally named Easter Middleton; subsequent editions refer to it as Wester Middleton. Easter and Wester Middleton farms were the principal farms on the Middleton estate. The building was formerly one of the principal inns in Borthwick parish, known as Middleton Inn. The New Statistical Account of Scotland (1845) described such establishments as "well kept" with "no perceptible bad effects upon the morals of the people". Located on the old road from Edinburgh to Galashiels, Middleton Inn served as an important coach stage and was possibly an occasional meeting place for Lord Cockburn and Sir Walter Scott.

The farmhouse has been substantially altered since its original construction. Historical photographs held by the National Monuments Record of Scotland show that it originally featured an impressive ingleneuk (large fireplace) on the south-west elevation, no longer visible.