Burghmuir

Burghmuir is a farm steading complex dating from the late 18th to early 19th century, set in a prominent roadside position on the A803 to Linlithgow surrounded by farmland. The complex comprises multiple buildings arranged around a courtyard, with a later 19th century farmhouse fronting the road to the north.

The farmhouse is a single storey and attic rectangular-plan building with three evenly spaced windows on its principal north elevation. It is built in stugged and snecked sandstone rubble with rusticated quoins and window margins. The roof is timber-bracketed slate with both eaves and gable stone stacks featuring corniced caps. The windows are replacement uPVC. The house is linked at the south to an earlier 19th century stone-built cottage with slate roof, which forms the T-plan of the house. The interior contains a timber boarded box bed enclosure in an attic room and a large stone range surround at the ground floor.

A linear-plan rubble-built west range is attached to the rear of the house and extends southwards in two parts stepping down. It features various openings on the east elevation facing the courtyard and an arrow slit window on the west elevation. The roof is pantile with slate easing course, and the south end has a piended roof.

The east boundary of the site is formed by a second long linear range with a pantile roof and slate easing course. It has a stone stack to the north gable and a slate roof section to the south which is partly roofless. The range has an irregular pattern of small window openings to both sides with evidence of interior partitions and forges.

A split level rubble-built former threshing mill building with piended roof sits on sloping ground to the southwest. The southernmost rectangular section has a decorative entrance arch to its east elevation and is roofless but complete to wall head. Stone walls of a former horsemill are set to the re-entrant angle, with gearing holes in the mill wall leading to the former horsemill area. Some sections of walls from former steadings survive to the southeast.

Burghmuir is first named on William Forrest's map of 1818 and appears in detail on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed and published 1856). The 2nd Edition OS map (surveyed 1895, published 1896) shows the buildings in almost their current form with minor additions appearing on the later map (surveyed 1913, published 1915).

The complex is a good example of a multi-phase farm steading with some early surviving farm buildings including the byre and mill. The long, low byre and stable ranges are typical of farm buildings in the Lothians and remain largely unchanged in their current form. The later 19th century farmhouse, though later than much of the group, retains picturesque detailing of its period including overhanging eaves and tall shafted chimney stacks.

The mill building, which has lost the roof and gearing of its horsemill, is a rare survival within this type of site. The survival of this group of different agricultural buildings in one site is increasingly rare and contributes to the historic character and significance of the site. The buildings demonstrate changes in farming practice over the 18th and 19th centuries, including early mechanisation and improvement technology during a period when small-scale subsistence farming gave way to larger commercial farming practices across Scotland. The site's rural setting, substantially unaltered since the late 19th century, adds to its interest by helping illustrate its agricultural function.