The Mount (North House) Rackwick, Hoy

The Mount (North House) is a single storey, three-bay, rectangular-plan stone rubble cottage of early 19th century construction, located on the hillside northwest of Rackwick Bay on Hoy. The roof is covered with turf laid over flagstone and supported on a timber frame.

The front (east) elevation has a deep-set boarded timber door in the central bay, with flanking windows. The south gable contains a small window offset to the right. The north and west walls have no openings. The roof incorporates three roof lights inset into the rear pitch. Both gables are topped with corniced rubble chimney stacks. The windows are timber sash and case frames with four-pane glazing.

A small timber lean-to addition is attached to the north gable.

The interior follows a traditional two-room (but and ben) plan with a small hallway opposite the front door. The cottage was restored in the early 1960s. Each room contains an enclosed, inset timber box-bed on the inner wall and a fireplace with timber surround on the outer (gable) wall. The larger southern room features a raised stone fireplace for cooking with a recessed grate and an adjoining metal hanging bar. A recess with a protruding stone shelf sits to the left of the door. The ceilings are enclosed and lined with dark-stained timber. The floor is laid with irregularly shaped local flagstone. Both rooms have timber doors with wooden latches.

Three associated outbuildings located to the rear (west and northwest) of the cottage are excluded from the listing. These roofless structures are shown on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1880. They include a former barn or byre to the immediate west with flagstone rubble walls, a larger rectangular structure to the north (probably a former threshing barn with a low-set winnowing door), and a smaller rectangular agricultural building running parallel to the north (possibly a former net store or bothy). Upstanding remains of a walled enclosure adjoin these buildings. These ancillary structures are typical of 18th and 19th century small farms and crofts but do not meet listing criteria due to the extent of loss of fabric within their common building type.