6 High Cottages

A terraced row of six, two-storey, timber-framed and horizontally-clad former estate workers’ cottages dating to the late 19th century. The row is situated above the shore in the coastal village of Strone on the Cowal peninsula, offering views over The Holy Loch towards Dunoon.

The cottages feature overhanging eaves with decorative timber brackets, and sloping porch canopies above their doorways. The exterior timber cladding is mostly overlapping timber board, although one section has been replaced with later tongue-and-groove timber. The doors are grouped closely together at Nos. 2 and 3 and at Nos. 4 and 5; the doors of No. 1 and No. 6 are situated at the outermost bays to the left and right respectively. A continuous, single-storey lean-to projection extends along the rear of the building, covered by an overhanging slate-roofed canopy. No. 2 has a later flat-roofed projection above the lean-to.

Most of the windows, formerly timber sash and case with multi-pane glazing, are later replacements with various frame patterns and were changed prior to the building’s listing in 2006. Some boarded timber doors are located to the rear. The roofs are slated, and polychromatic brick chimney stacks are visible, some of which have been rendered. Each cottage has a narrow, steeply rising garden area to the rear.

During inspections in 2019, the interiors of some of the cottages were viewed. The stairs and hallways are finished with horizontal timber boards to the lower portions of the walls, along with timber doors and cupboard recesses. The internal doors at No. 5 have been stripped back to the wood. The fireplaces are predominantly 20th century, with timber or metal surrounds, and smaller fireplaces are found within some of the bedrooms.

The cottages were built in the 1870s by wealthy sugar refiner, art collector, and philanthropist James Duncan of Greenock (1834–1905), who lived at Benmore House. Duncan owned the estates of Bernice, Benmore, and Kilmun on the North Cowal peninsula from 1870 to 1889. During this period, he oversaw agricultural, industrial, and architectural improvements to the estates including planting over six million trees, breeding cattle and black-faced sheep, and constructing a picture gallery, fernery, and sawmill at Benmore. In around 1877, he began speculative mining for silver, tin, and lead in the hills above Strone. The footprint of the High Cottages is shown on the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey map, revised in 1897, and the rectangular plan-form has not changed since; the steep hillside limits opportunities for rear extensions. Early 20th century photographs held by a current owner confirm the general appearance of the cottages in 2019.