Ball-finialled gatepiers and iron gates form a formal threshold between Evanton’s roads and the designed landscape of Novar.
Quick facts
- Date
- Late eighteenth-century design; replacement or facsimile work recorded in 1950
- Architect / designer
- Not identified in the checked sources
- Type
- Ashlar gatepiers with carriage and pedestrian gates
- Designation
- Listed building, Category B (LB341)
- OS grid reference
- NH 61816 67304
Architecture and continuing use
A pair of channelled ashlar piers carries moulded caps and stone balls. Short retaining walls and smaller pedestrian passages flank the central carriage gates, producing a carefully graduated entrance rather than a single opening. Ironwork repeats the rhythm across vehicle and foot gates.
Its story
The entrance follows a late eighteenth-century estate design associated with the remodelling of Novar. Recent heritage assessment notes that facsimile piers were constructed in 1950 after damage to the originals. The gateway continues to mark one of the working estate’s principal approaches.
Why it is included
It shows how landscape design begins at the road, using masonry and ironwork to announce ownership, route and hierarchy.
What to notice
- Horizontal channels cut across the ashlar piers.
- Ball finials repeated over carriage and pedestrian openings.
- The narrowing sequence from central drive to side gates.
Reading the surroundings
View from a safe public position without obstructing traffic. Do not enter the private drive or treat the gates as visitor access.
Timeline
- Late 18th century A formal gated approach was created during estate improvement.
- 1950 Heritage assessment records facsimile replacement after damage.
- 1983 The entrance gates received Category B listing.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
The listing describes late eighteenth-century gates; the 1950 facsimile account comes from later assessment. The extent of surviving original material is not fully stated.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Novar House East Entrance Gates, LB341 — Current designation status, statutory identity, official mapped point, date, fabric and significance.
- Trove: Novar House East Entrance Gates — National collection entry corroborating designation identity, mapped position and related archive material.
- Highland Historic Environment Record: Novar Estate heritage baseline — Recent public assessment collating Novar House, gates, stables and estate-history evidence.
- Novar Estate: history and present-day landscape — Estate account of its long history, present custodianship and working landscape around Evanton.
Location
OS grid reference NH 61816 67304 · Location confidence: High for the current HES designation point; public text separately qualifies the extent of multi-part sites, access and any present-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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