Wee House, Viewfield, 33 Chapel Brae, Braemar

This is a later 19th century single-storey and attic cottage, situated at Viewfield, 33 Chapel Brae, Braemar, alongside a timber “wee house” to the southeast. The cottage is constructed of pink granite rubble with tooled dressings and presents a symmetrical south (principal) elevation featuring a central four-panelled door with glazed upper panels and a dentilled cornice, topped with a simple plate glass fanlight. A pair of piended and canted dormers light the attic space. Timber sash and case windows with four panes are found throughout. The roof is covered in purple slate, with bracketed eaves and a cat-slide roof extending as a lean-to to the north elevation, complemented by gable stacks.

The interior has been modernised, but the original room layout is still discernible: two rooms over two, with a central staircase rising along the length of the building, and a kitchen located within the rear lean-to. Original service bells remain in the kitchen.

The associated timber “wee house” is a single-storey, five-bay structure clad in weatherboard. It is asymmetrical, with a pair of boarded timber doors to the right and a single boarded door flanked by four-pane timber sash and case windows to the left. The roof is slate-covered. Access to the interior was not possible during the resurvey, and the structure was noted to be in poor condition.

Viewfield is one of a group of listed cottages in Braemar characterized by a traditional style of simple single-storey and attic cottages with accompanying timber “wee houses”. The cottages are notable for their traditional appearance, construction methods, and materials: stone, timber, and slate. The dentilled front door is a distinctive architectural feature present in several of these properties. The cottage retains much of its original character and has not been extended or significantly modified, with the exception of some internal modernization.

The “wee house” represents an unusual survival and provides insight into the historical development of the village, particularly reflecting the boom in tourism during the 19th century when Deeside was increasingly promoted as a health resort. The landscape's appeal, comparable to Switzerland, was further enhanced by the ‘Alpine’ style of some buildings. The influx of tourists, spurred by Royal Family visits from the 1840s and the arrival of the railway to Ballater in the 1850s, led residents to construct “wee houses” in their gardens to occupy during the summer months, allowing them to rent out their cottages to visitors.