Blinkie Knowe, Main Street, Carlops

This is a row of six single-storey, three-bay weavers' cottages dating to circa 1785. The cottages, originally whitewashed, are constructed of harled rubble with freestone dressings. Three cottages have gabled timber porches. A canted bay addition is present to the far left (Birkenbush). Later additions and dormers, predominantly from the late 20th century, are visible to the rear and incorporate a variety of rendered brick, stone, and timber. The cottages retain a variety of 19th-century traditional glazing patterns in their timber sash and case windows. The roofs are covered in grey slate, with ridge stacks topped by clay cans, and the building has cast-iron rainwater goods.

Internally, the cottages generally retain their original ground floor layout, consisting of a kitchen and a former workroom flanking a through-passage leading directly from the front door. The ground floor rooms originally contained box beds and wide lintelled sandstone fireplaces with rounded corbel projections in the kitchens, although these features no longer survive. Some partition walls are constructed from solid timber frames with rubble infill.

The cottages were built in 1784 by Robert Brown, the laird of Newhall, as part of a planned village on either side of the main road between Edinburgh and Biggar to house cotton weavers. As the textile industry declined, the village became a health resort for visitors from Edinburgh and continues to serve as a destination for day visitors and walkers. The village retains a strong traditional character largely due to the linear arrangement of the buildings, reflecting the surrounding geography.

The cottages are part of a larger group value context that includes Row of 6 Cottages (Ferndale, Houlet, Amulree, Finlaggan, Blinkieknowe, Birkenbush), Row of 3 Cottages (Ashley, The Biggin, Weavers), Carlops Church, Pentland and Elphinstone, Allan Ramsay Hotel, and Row of 4 Cottages (Springbank, Carberry, Langskaill, Jess).