Elphinstone, Main Street, Carlops

This is a pair of two-storey terraced houses dating from the early to mid-19th century. They are situated on Main Street in Carlops, and adjoin the north end of a row of six former weaver’s cottages, which are listed separately. The houses are constructed of sandstone rubble with smooth ashlar dressings. A prominent feature is the round-arched window openings on the first floor of the north gable, with views towards the Pentlands.

The windows are predominantly timber sash and case with four panes of glass. The roof is covered in grey slate, and the broad gable and ridge stacks have tall clay cans. The houses have cast iron rainwater goods.

Internally, there are some early to mid-19th century details including moulded timber doorframes and a niche recess on the ground floor. A late 18th century stone fireplace, featuring round-corbelled fragments, exists in one ground floor room at Elphinstone. These corbelled details were originally found in all the kitchens of the adjoining weaver’s cottages, but this is the only survivor.

These houses form part of a group of listed buildings including a row of six cottages, a row of three cottages, Carlops Church, Pentland and Elphinstone, the Allan Ramsay Hotel, and a row of four cottages. The pair of terraced houses are prominently located and terminate the street to the south with Carlops Church. It is believed that Thomas Elphinstone may have added an additional storey to two pre-existing single-storey weaver’s cottages around 1812.

The village itself was established in 1784 by Robert Brown of Newhall and comprises linear rows of cottages along the main Edinburgh to Biggar road. Following the decline of the textile industry, Carlops became a health resort for visitors from Edinburgh, and remains a centre for visitors and walkers exploring Pentland Hill.

The listing was updated in 2010, with a change from a B to a C(S) group listing. Historic maps from 1856-9 and 1896, alongside records from The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and “The Buildings of Scotland - Borders,” provide further documentation.