Two of Loanhead’s oldest inhabited houses preserve a direct domestic connection between the town and the Mavisbank estate.
Quick facts
- Date
- Earlier eighteenth century
- Architect / designer
- Designer not recorded
- Type
- Pair of early rubble-built High Street dwellings
- Designation
- Listed building, Category B (LB47740)
- OS grid reference
- NT 28541 65536
Architecture and continuing use
The pair combines a single-bay rubble sandstone house with a two-bay harled dwelling. A timpany gable, bullseye window, lugged surrounds and tall stacks give individuality to the compact frontage. Altered windows and a blocked opening show continuing domestic change.
Its story
The houses were built as a jointure property for Mavisbank, intended to support a widow after her husband’s death. Janet Inglis, dowager Lady Clerk, lived here from 1755. A later tradition associates the property with a nineteenth-century infant school before purpose-built school provision.
Why it is included
The pair brings eighteenth-century domestic and gendered estate history into Loanhead’s High Street and explains a less visible connection with Mavisbank.
What to notice
- The surviving bullseye window on the principal front.
- A small timpany gable rising above the roofline.
- Differences between the single-bay and two-bay houses.
Reading the surroundings
These are private dwellings. Remain on the public street and avoid intrusive photography or obstruction of entrances.
Timeline
- Earlier 18th century The houses were built as a jointure property connected with Mavisbank.
- 1755 Janet Inglis, dowager Lady Clerk, became the first resident recorded by HES.
- 19th century Local tradition associates the property with use as an infant school.
- 22 March 2001 Numbers 79 and 81 High Street received Category B listing.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
The suggested infant-school use is presented as a tradition rather than a proved fact, and HES did not inspect the interiors in 2000.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: 79 and 81 High Street, Former Mavisbank Jointure House, LB47740 — Current designation status, official mapped location, date, fabric and significance.
- Midlothian Council: Mavisbank conservation-area appraisal — Current planning appraisal identifying the Loanhead-edge character area and the listed jointure house, gate lodge, Linden Lodge and Hillwood.
- Midlothian Council: Loanhead Heritage Trail — Local-authority heritage map locating the historic centre, Memorial Park, Fountain Place and the Mavisbank edge.
Location
OS grid reference NT 28541 65536 · Location confidence: High for the current HES designation point; Place assignment and access are separately qualified. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
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