Whim Cottage joins a taller cottage to a lower former warehouse or workshop, preserving Kippford’s domestic and waterside working history in one altered building.
Quick facts
- Date
- Early nineteenth-century origin, with later alterations
- Architect / designer
- Builder unknown
- Type
- Cottage joined to a former warehouse or workshop
- Designation
- Listed building, Category C (LB3716)
- OS grid reference
- NX 83741 55066
Architecture and continuing use
Both parts rise to two storeys in painted rubble, but the southern former working range is lower. A forestair reaches its upper doorway, while changed openings and modern glazing record conversion. The northern cottage retains end stacks with projecting thackstanes and a tiled roof; the southern range is slated.
Its story
The building originated in the early nineteenth century as a cottage beside a warehouse or workshop, reflecting the mixed domestic and productive life of the estuary settlement. Later alterations converted the connected range into a single dwelling. It was listed in 1990.
Why it is included
It is Kippford’s clearest designated example of a waterside working building absorbed into a home without losing the contrast between its two original parts.
What to notice
- The height difference between cottage and former warehouse.
- The external forestair leading to an upper doorway.
- Different roof materials separating the two linked ranges.
Reading the surroundings
This is a private dwelling on a constrained waterfront route. View without entering the property, obstructing the lane or treating the external stair as public access.
Timeline
- Early nineteenth century A cottage and adjoining warehouse or workshop were established by the estuary.
- Later nineteenth or twentieth century New openings and internal changes adapted the working range.
- 23 April 1990 Whim Cottage entered the statutory list at Category C.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
The original trade carried on in the warehouse or workshop is not identified. HES records conversion to one dwelling, but present occupancy and interior survival have not been independently checked.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Whim Cottage, Kippford, LB3716 — Current designation status, official mapped location, date, fabric and significance.
- Colvend and Southwick Local Place Plan — Recent community and local-authority context for Kippford, tourism, sailing, housing, facilities and coastal pressures.
- Trove search: Whim Cottage, Kippford — National collection search for site records, surveys, photographs and archive material.
Location
OS grid reference NX 83741 55066 · 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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