Stables, Grange Hall

Circa 1805, the stables and steading form a courtyard enclosed by a mix of two-storey and single-storey ranges, with later additions and alterations dated 1926. The buildings are constructed of pinned rubble with dressed ashlar stonework. The central entrance to the courtyard is flanked by gatepiers, possibly re-used from an earlier 18th-century structure, constructed of square ashlar with a pulvinated stringcourse, deep moulded cornice, and ball finials atop attenuated bases. To the west of the gatepiers is a two-storey, three-bay south-facing dwelling linked to the gatepier by a single-storey, single-bay section. A later gabled timber porch obscures the central door. A corresponding wing to the east of the gatepiers features five segmental-headed carriage houses and three first-floor windows, some of which are blind. A further single-storey and attic, three-bay house, built in the late 19th century, projects at right angles. Various farm and stable offices surround the inner face of the courtyard, incorporating segmental-headed cart bays, some now blocked but pierced with either a window or a door, and a forestair leading to a loft. Windows are fitted with four- and 12-pane glazing, some of which are blind. The roofs are piended and slate-covered, with coped ridge stacks.

Grange Hall itself dates to 1805, but occupies a site with earlier use, and the 18th-century gatepiers, flanking the steading entrance, may be remnants of this previous structure. A later, late 19th-century dwelling is noted on the 1895 Ordnance Survey map but not on the circa 1870 map. A reference appears in W Lesli’s General Review of the Agriculture of the Counties of Nairn and Moray (1813), page 53.