Carstairs Mains

Carstairs Mains is a farm steading and farmhouse built in 1825, designed by the architect William Burn. Originally comprising four ranges of buildings arranged around a square courtyard, with the farmhouse situated to the south, the westernmost steading range has been demolished, but the remaining structure is largely unaltered externally.

The steading is constructed of stugged ashlar with droved and broached dressings, and has piended slate roofs. The north range is a two-storey, near-symmetrical courtyard elevation, ten bays wide, featuring a central pediment containing a clock face within its tympanum, and a birdcage bellcote at the apex. Stabling occupies the outer bays, with four cart arches centrally. The stables feature cast-iron columns to the stalls. A loft above incorporates regular, rectangular windows preserving the original three-pane glazing arrangement within sash windows, and has a timber sliding ventilator grille at its lower part.

The east range is two storeys high and seven bays wide, with wide opposing doors to the north end, potentially serving as a threshing barn. Most internal divisions were removed in 1989, and openings remain largely unaltered. The south range is single-storey and eight bays wide, including a stack to the west. It likely contained a dairy, calf-houses, and feed stores. A widening has been made to an opening on the east side, and the east half of the roof has been replaced with corrugated sheet metal.

The farmhouse, adjoining the south range by a passage, is an L-plan, two-storey gabled building, with a narrow, lean-to porch to the southwest re-entrant corner, supported by a single Doric column. Gabled ends feature canted bay windows on the ground floor, while other windows are single-light with a hood moulding to the ground. The farmhouse now has modern plate glass glazing, and includes a flat-roofed dormer over the porch. End coped skews remain with skew blocks, and tall diamond stacks are present only on the north side. The roofs are slated.

Despite the demolition of the western range, the steading remains largely unaltered externally. The farmhouse has been affected by the removal of stacks and the replacement of windows, but it remains an important element of the overall composition. Historic Environment Scotland records include William Burn's plans for the steading in the National Monuments Record of Scotland.