Windhouse, Yell

1707, remodelled circa 1885. Former laird's house, original L-plan house at centre comprising symmetrical dormered single storey and attic 3-bay principal block with projecting crenellated porch, single storey 2-bay wing to rear (forming L-plan), square-plan single storey single bay crenellated wings flanking principal block, lean-to additions in-filling re-entrant angles flanking rear wing. Harled walls with droved sandstone ashlar and concrete dressings and details.

S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: symmetrical, single storey rendered brick porch projecting at centre with 4-panel flush-beaded timber entrance door and armorial panel centred in crenellated wallhead above; bipartite windows at ground and 1st floor in outer bays, latter breaking eaves in substantial dormers with crowstepped concrete dormerheads. Margined round-arched doorways and crenellated wallheads to wings.

W ELEVATION: asymmetrical, square window centred in crenellated W wing advanced at right with small single storey mono-pitch outbuilding adjoining to W; 2 closely-spaced windows and corner wallhead stack to substantial lean-to addition in-filling re-entrant angle with rear wing to left.

N (REAR) ELEVATION: crowstepped gable of rear wing advanced to right of centre; substantial lean-to addition in-filling re-entrant angle with W wing to right; small single storey lean-to addition in re-entrant angle to left, with narrow window immediately to left in rear wall of E wing.

E ELEVATION: window off-set to right in crenellated E wall of E wing, rear wing recessed at right with single storey lean-to addition in re-entrant angle.

Purple-grey slate roof with surviving to principal block and porch; cast-iron gutters and downpipes; piend-roofed timber dormer centring S pitch. Concrete crowstepped skews to principal gables, harled gablehead stacks with stone copes and octagonal cans.

INTERIOR: mostly ruinous (1997), late 19th century vertically-boarded timber lining to hall, with timber staircase to rear, and stop-chamfered chimneypiece in W wall.

TERRACE WALLS: formal arrangement centred on S elevation of house comprising roughly square raised terrace accessed by stone and concrete steps (formerly flanked by obelisks) rising to remains of gate-house (formerly with crowstepped gable), raised path leading to entrance, terrace bounded to S by droved ashlar slab cope (formerly with gothic cast-iron railing), L-plan walls to left and right enclosing E and W ends.

GARDEN WALLS: random rubble walls forming roughly square enclosure adjoining house to W, and enclosing house to N and E.

HA-HA: random rubble retaining wall curving with hillside to S of house.