Stewart Cottage

Building summary
Name	Stewart Cottage
Address	High Street West (or West Port), Faklland
Postcode	KY15 7BL
Date	Mid-19th century
OS grid ref	NO 25096 07355
Latitude & longitude	56°15′10″N 3°12′38″W

Stewart Cottage is a house in High Street West, Falkland, between Drysdale House and Falkland Old Cemetery.

HES listing details
Reference: LB31289	Date: 01/12/1971	Category: C
Address/Site Name High Street, West Port, House (Stewart) Including Garden Walls
Description Mid 19th century. Single-storey and attic 2-window and centre door snecked rubble; slated alterations and dormer windows at back.
Statement of special interest Re-categorised as C(S) from B for Group (2006).

Extensions

After Robert Stewart bought the house he set about taking out the Earth at the back forming a courtyard and putting in a retaining wall. He put in a back door and picture windows to the south to get a view of the hill and get sun and light into the house. At a later date he moved the dormer windows that faced directly into the windows of Bellsehill (now Carberry), from the front to the back of the house.

The house to the east got really dangerous and had a tree growing out of where the roof should be. The council demolished it.

The house to the west also fell into disrepair and Bill Duncan asked the neighbours to move the stones. They wheelbarrowed the stones to the dam and that was the start of the dam getting filled in. At the top of the garden was a most ornate red brick building backing on to the cemetery wall. It had long diamond shaped leaded windows at either side of the door and an ornate roof. There was also another building after the westerly house and before the cemetery gate. Robert Stewart always said it was the narrowest house he ever did see and that it jutted onto the road. The only evidence of it by the 60s was the stairs.

Former residents

Stewart Cottage was "lot 22" in a number of houses sold off by Mrs Maule Ramsay (Falkland Estate, widow of Lord Ninian Crichton-Stuart in 1922. it was bought by Euphemia Downie, and had previously been tentanted by the Fifeshire traction company.

John (Jake) and Mary Stewart moved from the Castle Shotts into Stewart Cottage in approx 1933. They rented the house from Mary's friend Euphemia Downie (who lived at Wayside Cottage, Pleasance; Later her son Harry lived there until his death in early 1980).

At that time Stewart cottage had a house on either side of it. The house to the east was in a bad state of repair. The ladies who owned it used to come up once a year to walk the right of way and Mary would make them a cup of tea and a pancake. The house to the east backed straight on to earth at the rear and only had windows on the upper floor. The rear windows were at the same level as the ground. Stewart Cottage was similar with most of the windows facing the front. A close separated Stewart Cottage from the house on the west and the close continued round the back of house to stairs giving right of way access to east house.

In 1958 Mary and John swapped houses with Robert Stewart their son. Mary and John moved into Burnside Cottage, Balmblae, and Robert bought Stewart Cottage from Mrs Downie.

Further references

The house to the east is now Drysdale House.

The house to the west was occupied by the Kilbane family and owned by Bill Duncan (Lomond Cottage) and later in the 50s by the Wood family. Both of these families still have descendants living in Falkland.

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