4 Gunn's Close, Kirkwall

This is an 18th-century row of four small, rectangular houses, with later alterations and additions, running along a close. The buildings, numbered 2 to 8, are situated on Victoria Street in Kirkwall.

The row presents a varied architectural appearance. Number 2 has a two-bay gable facing Victoria Street, and an irregular four-bay elevation facing the close to the north. Number 4, adjoining Number 2 to the east, has a near-symmetrical three-bay facade with a flat-roofed dormer breaking the eaves. Number 6, also adjoining, is roofless and irregular, with three bays to the front (and five at ground floor level). Number 8, at the western end, is near-symmetrical and crowstepped-gabled with three bays, featuring pitched-roofed dormers and a ball-finialled west gable. The buildings are harled, with an eaves course on Number 8. Numbers 4 and 6 have boarded openings.

The east-facing elevation (Victoria Street) features a window in each bay at ground floor level, with an attic window offset to the right and a gablehead stack. The north-facing elevation (Gunn’s Close) shows varying details for each house. Number 2 has a deep-set door at ground floor in the centre bay, with a window to the right, and further windows on the upper floors. Number 4 has a doorway at ground floor in the centre bay, a window above, and a dormer. Number 6 displays a doorway at ground floor in the centre bay, windows at each floor in the bays to the left, and a pair of closely-set windows at ground floor in the bays to the right, with a single window above. Number 8 has a modern part-glazed door at ground floor in the centre bay, a small first-floor window, and closely-set windows at ground floor in the bay to the left, with a dormer above.

The west-facing gable of Number 8 shows a modern part-glazed door at ground floor in the left bay and a window in the right bay.

The windows are a mix of timber-framed styles, including top-hung upper lights, fixed frames, and four-pane sash and case windows. The roofs are also varied: Number 2 has grey slate; Number 4 has traditional graded stone tiles; and Number 8 has modern grey concrete tiles. Stacks are harled, with detailing such as a coped gablehead stack on the east-facing gable and corniced ridge stacks. Rainwater goods are uPVC on Numbers 2 and 8, and cast iron on Number 4.

The interiors were not inspected in 1998.