An eighteenth-century house with an unusually complete projecting shopfront records the transformation of a Bridge Street dwelling into commercial and postal premises.
Quick facts
- Date
- Late eighteenth century; shopfront added in the nineteenth century
- Architect / designer
- Designer and builders not recorded
- Type
- House with classically detailed historic shopfront
- Designation
- Listed building, Category C (LB190)
- OS grid reference
- NT 90261 65909
Architecture and continuing use
Whinstone and sandstone rubble form a two-storey house whose scrolled skewputts suggest a date before 1800. The later shopfront projects across two bays with a recessed central door, large flanking windows, pilastered ends and a continuous bracketed cornice.
Its story
The house began as a three-bay domestic building and was altered in the nineteenth century for a shop, later known as the post office. Despite the inserted frontage, the main house remained substantially intact when designated. The protected name records historic identity rather than proof of a current postal service.
Why it is included
It captures everyday commerce and shows how a purpose-made frontage could adapt an older house without erasing its domestic form.
What to notice
- Scrolled skewputts at the gables.
- The recessed shop doorway between large display windows.
- Pilasters and bracketed cornice unifying the frontage.
Reading the surroundings
Observe from the public pavement without blocking doors. Do not assume the historic name means the premises are currently open or publicly accessible.
Timeline
- Late 18th century The principal rubble house was constructed on Bridge Street.
- 19th century A classical projecting shopfront adapted the ground floor.
- Later 19th–20th centuries The premises acquired their post-office identity.
- 2000 The house and shopfront received Category C listing.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
The current function was not established from a recent authoritative source, and the exact sequence from shop to post office is unclear.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Former Coldingham Post Office and House, LB190 — Current designation status, statutory identity, official mapped point, date, fabric and significance.
- Coldingham community website — Locally maintained context for the village, its facilities and heritage setting; used alongside official designation evidence.
- Trove: Coldingham Post Office — National collection entry corroborating the designation identity, mapped location and related archive material.
- National Library of Scotland: georeferenced historic maps — Historic-map comparison for the building, street pattern and surrounding settlement; map dates and layers should be checked individually.
Location
OS grid reference NT 90261 65909 · Location confidence: High for the current HES designation point; public text separately qualifies component extent, terrain and access. · 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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