Two late-eighteenth-century houses were linked to form an inn, leaving a layered frontage that records Auchencairn’s changing accommodation and public-house history.
Quick facts
- Date
- 1770–1800; converted to an inn during the nineteenth century
- Architect / designer
- Architect and builder not recorded
- Type
- Pair of linked houses formerly used as an inn and public house
- Designation
- Listed building, Category C (LB17109)
- OS grid reference
- NX 79907 51465
Architecture and continuing use
Each house presents a two-storey, three-bay face to Main Street, one rendered and the other painted rubble. The ground falls away to expose a third storey behind. Sash windows, granite gable stacks and a central ridge stack survive, while internal links and selected eighteenth- and nineteenth-century fittings record conversion from two houses into one establishment.
Its story
Built between about 1770 and 1800, the pair appears on the first-edition Ordnance Survey map as the Black Lion Inn. It later traded under other names, including the Auchencairn Arms and Old Smugglers Inn, until February 2015. HES revised the record in 2016 and corrected the statutory address again in August 2026.
Why it is included
The building connects domestic fabric, improved travel, village commerce and recent closure within one unusually well-documented Main Street group.
What to notice
- Two related but differently finished house fronts.
- Granite gable stacks and the central stack at the join.
- The rear basement level revealed by falling ground.
Reading the surroundings
Do not treat the former pub name as evidence of public access. Observe from the street and respect private entrances and adjoining property.
Timeline
- 1770–1800 Two houses were constructed on the Main Street bend.
- By 1849–1854 mapping The linked property was identified as the Black Lion Inn.
- February 2015 The inn and public house ceased operating.
- 26 August 2026 HES revised the statutory address while retaining the designation.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
Historic numbering changed during recent record revisions, and the excluded twentieth-century rear extension is not part of the listing. No current commercial or residential use is asserted.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: 9 and 11 Main Street, Former Old Smugglers Inn, Auchencairn, LB17109 — Current designation status, official mapped location, date, fabric and significance.
- Auchencairn History Society — Local historical context and a route to community-held research about Auchencairn and the surrounding parish.
- Trove search: Old Smugglers Inn, Auchencairn — National collection search for site records, surveys, photographs and archive material.
Location
OS grid reference NX 79907 51465 · Location confidence: High for the current national designation point; public text separately states access, component-identity and current-use uncertainty. · 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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