Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

1 OLD EDINBURGH ROAD AT GORDON TERRACE, VIEWHILL (FORMER INVERNESS YOUTH HOSTEL), INCLUDING GATEWAYS, GATEPIERS AND BOUNDARY WALLSLB47604

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
B
Date Added
16/02/2001
Local Authority
Highland
Planning Authority
Highland
Burgh
Inverness
NGR
NH 66715 44891
Coordinates
266715, 844891

Description

Joseph Mitchell, circa 1835. 2-storey and basement, 5-bay villa with Jacobean detailing. Painted harled with painted margins. Raised basement; base course; chamfered reveals; strip quoins; stone finials to apex of gables to W.

S (OLD EDINBURGH ROAD) ELEVATION: asymmetrical; gabled bay advanced to left, 2 windows to principal floor; flat-roofed porch to re-entrant angle to right, gableted doorway to left, tripartite openings to right infilled with vertical timber weather boarding; gableted bay to centre of 1st floor behind, window to right return; gabled bay set back to right.

W (GORDON TERRACE) ELEVATION: asymmetrical; flat-roofed 20th century addition to basement floor; bipartite window to principal floor of centre bay, gableted window breaking eaves to 1st floor above; narrow bay flanking to left, single window with geometric tracery to principal floor, gabled window breaking eaves above; advanced gabled bay flanking to right, 5-light canted window to principal floor rising to rectangular-plan 5-light window at 1st floor, plaque set in gablehead; recessed bay to outer right, bipartite windows to basement and principal floors, gableted window breaking eaves to 1st floor; gabled bay to outer left, shallow rectangular-plan tripartite window with cusped tracery and leaded diamond-pane glazing to principal floor, single window to 1st floor above.

N AND E ELEVATIONS: not seen 2000. Flat roofed 20th century addition in re-entrant angle. Metal fire escape stair.

Predominantly 2-pane timber sash and case windows to first floor; Mixture of modern windows elsewhere.. West Highland slate roof with lead/zinc ridges. Coped skews with moulded skewputts; corbelled gablehead stacks and ridge stacks with circular and octagonal cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: not seen 2000.

GATEWAYS, GATEPIERS AND BOUNDARY WALLS: harled and coped terrace walls to S; high ashlar coped rubble walls to remainder; gabled Tudor-arched sandstone ashlar gateway to E, with hoodmould and decorative label stops, shield set in gablehead; Tudor-arched pedestrian gateway to centre of S wall with ashlar dressings; square-plan gatepiers to SW with steps leading to terrace; decorative shouldered pedestrian gateway to W wall with chamfered reveals and stone step.

Statement of Special Interest

The former Inverness Youth Hostel was originally built by Joseph Mitchell (1803-1883) for himself. Mitchell was a civil engineer involved in many important projects in Inverness and throughout the Highlands. He worked on Thomas Telford's transport improvements in the Highlands, he was also involved in the Caledonian Canal and was Chief Inspector and Superintendent of Highland Roads and Bridges from 1824, following the death of his farther (who held the post before him). Mitchell made a significant contribution to Inverness itself, he planned much of the first sewerage system, paved many of the streets with Caithness flags, and was also involved in the extraction of the first water supply from the River Ness. Viewhill, which was Mitchell's home after he married, is an important survival. Of particular note are the corbelled gablehead stacks, stone finials and gateways set in the boundary walls. The interior is said to include a fine ceiling bearing coats of arms.

References

Bibliography

H Barron, THE THIRD STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SCOTLAND: THE COUNTY OF LANARK, (1985), p118 and 129; J Gifford, THE BUILDINGS OF SCOTLAND: HIGHLAND AND ISLANDS, (1992), p208; INVERNESS COURIER, 4 August 2000, p8.

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.

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Printed: 29/03/2024 10:49