Cottage, Haa Of Sand

Haa Of Sand

A 1754 classical laird's house of three storeys arranged over five bays, with rectangular plan and symmetrically-disposed monopitch single-storey wings flanking the gables. The walls are harled and harl-pointed Hildasay granite with sandstone ashlar dressings. Windows feature margined frames with horizontally channelled margins to the wings.

The principal east elevation is symmetrical, with a six-panel timber door having glazed upper panels at ground floor in the centre bay, framed by a lugged architrave and cornice supporting an armorial panel above. Regular fenestration occupies the flanking bays and the first and second floors, with the second-floor windows notably smaller. The east wing comprises a two-bay regularly fenestrated elevation with its inner corner ball-finalléd and slightly advanced to the right, now extended northwards as a garage.

The south gable features a symmetrical two-bay lean-to wing at ground floor with a wide two-leaf vertically-boarded timber door and regularly fenestrated upper floors. The west (rear) elevation is asymmetrical across four bays, with a modern door inserted at ground floor right of centre and a small window to the left; regular fenestration occurs in the outer bays and throughout the upper floors. The north gable is near-symmetrical, comprising a two-bay lean-to wing extended north and west as a garage, with a single first-floor window to the left and regular second-floor fenestration.

Throughout the house, sash and case windows predominate: twelve-pane to ground and first floors, eight-pane to the second floor. The principal roof is purple-grey slate with cast-iron gutters and downpipes; the wing roofs are felted. Harled and coped apex stacks with circular cans terminate each gable, with ashlar skew copes and scrolled skewputts.

To the east stands a walled garden of formal arrangement, bounded by random rubble walls with a terrace wall fronting the principal elevation. Square gatepiers mark the centre, with steps descending to a central open area from which architraved doorways lead to a kitchen garden to the north and a formal flower garden to the south.

Integral outbuildings occupy the east and west corners of the kitchen garden. The west building is L-plan, whitewashed rubble with purple slate roof and chimney gables to east and west, featuring a vertically-boarded timber door with two-pane fanlight in the south elevation; a monopitch extension obscures part of the western elevation.

A classical entrance gate aligned to the north gable comprises gatepiers with V-jointed rustication and panelled shafts rising to pulvinated cushion capitals supporting corniced caps and ball finials.

A T-plan cottage of single storey and three bays stands west of the house, with harled and whitewashed walls. A gabled entrance porch projects from the west elevation, containing a vertically-boarded timber door in its south side, with timber windows to the porch west side and flanking bays of the principal wall; a single window appears in the north gable. The roof is shallow-pitched and felted with harled skew copes and apex stacks bearing circular cans.

Random rubble boundary walls flank the entrance gate, extending southwest and returning east to the cottage. Further random rubble walls bound the avenue connecting the walled gardens to a pier and bod at the east, with the vista terminated by a wall featuring square rubble gatepiers at its centre.