5 Castle Road, Grantown-On-Spey

A late 18th century, two-storey, three-bay, symmetrical terraced house. The principal (southeast) elevation has a central doorway with a two-leaf timber entrance door and small single windows to each bay. The house is built in semi-coursed stone rubble blocks with large boulder stone foundations. The rear elevation is rendered with widened window openings and a small single-storey, later 20th century glazed addition.

The roof is slated with two small cast iron rooflights, a zinc ridge, stone chimney stacks and a stone skew.

Photographs of the interior from 2020 show the decorative scheme largely dates to the later 20th century.

Historical Background

Grantown on Spey is a planned village founded by Sir James Grant of Grant (1738-1811) in 1765 (Buildings of Scotland). The village was developed with the intention of establishing small scale manufacturing industry, in this case linen production, as well as being the centre for all local fairs and markets. The village had a brewery and was a prosperous centre for craftsmen and shopkeepers in the late 18th century. A detailed plan of the village from 1768 by Alexander Taylor shows the village was centred around the large market square with the High Street extending to the southwest and Castle Road to the northeast (Conservation Area Appraisal. p10.) The town had a significant later expansion (1865-1914) which included the Victorian expansion as a result of tourism following Queen Victoria's stay in the town in 1868.

Castle Road was amongst the first streets laid out for feuing in the mid-to late 18th century and the appearance of number 5, with it's simple low, 2-storey façade reflects the design regulations of the early planned village houses. The construction details including large field boulder foundation stones and window margins also evidence that the building dates from around the late 18th century.

The building first appears on the first edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1868, published 1872) with a range extending from the northwest corner of the house at a right-angle, a detached range to the west forming a courtyard and a gap to its south allowing access to all buildings to the rear. The Ordnance Survey map of 1903 shows further additions to the rear of the house and an additional dwelling (number 7 Castle Road) added to the south gable of the house which filled the gap on the street line.

The 19th century additions and the rear courtyard have been demolished although part of the northern range appears to survive at the rear to form a north garden wall.