Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Description

1898 for the Highland Railway (relocated from Inverness to Murthly, 1919). 2-storey, rectangular-plan, timber signal box on brick plinth with plank and strip weatherboard cladding and projecting bracketed porch to S. Ornamental barge boards, spear finials and droppers, and eaves edging. Slate roof. Cast-iron ogee-shaped guttering. Projecting porch similarly detailed. Integral store to N of similar construction with single-pitch roof.

4 windows to trackside with 9-pane glazing to sliding timber frames, curving at frame head; returning to 2 further windows at each gable end (boarded, 2013).

INTERIOR: 16 lever Mackenzie and Holland frame.

Statement of Special Interest

Signal boxes are a distinctive and increasingly rare building type that make a significant contribution to Scotland's diverse industrial heritage. Of more than 2000 signal boxes built across Scotland by 1948, around 150 currently survive (2013) with all pre-1948 mechanical boxes still in operation on the public network due to become obsolete by 2021.

The signal box at Murthly (relocated from Inverness in 1919) is a particularly distinctive variation of the standard McKenzie and Holland Type 3 signal box, modified by the Highland Railway to their own designs. The various refinements to the Type 3 include the addition of ornamental barge boarding, ogee guttering and curved window frames, distinguishing it from the more standard Highland boxes. Four boxes to this specification were built for the line running through Inverness in 1898 with the other three (at Rose Street, Welsh's Bridge and Ness Viaduct) now gone.

The porch was formerly accessed by a straight timber forestair to the gable end which has been removed to deter unauthorised access and the windows are boarded (2013).

References

Bibliography

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.