The site of Redhouse (Canmore ID 298162) is located east of Papleyhouse and Park and overlooks Cusbay in the northwest of Eday (NGR HY 55756 38475).
The farmstead is marked on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1881 as “Reidscastle” and shows three, east-west aligned ranges, which still survive today. By the time of the time of the Second Edition map of 1901, a water-powered threshing mill had been added. The Census data shows that the property was occupied by the Reid family throughout the period from 1841 to 1921.
The site was visited as part of the project launch in February 2024, with subsequent recording undertaken by ORCA and local volunteers in September 2024.
North Range
The north range is a stone rubble, single-storey building, which appears to have three distinct sections. The west section comprises two buildings (1) and (2) with fireplaces and chimneys in the crow-stepped gable ends and the dividing wall.
The survey found that Building 2 was the earlier of the two structures and the later building once had an upper floor. This building was modified to provide access to the new structure, including moving one of the two fireplaces; further traces of these changes are evident in the scars of former rooflines and blocked windows. A three-fan light was placed above the door of Building 2.
Two buildings (3) and (4) are situated to the east of Building 2, apparently built sequentially eastwards from the gable end of the existing house. Building 3 has a door in its south side, a pitched flagstone roof and three storage bays. Building 4 comprises a square corn drying-kiln, accessed by a doorway in the south wall.
A flight of stone steps provided access to the kiln floor, where the grain would be spread out for drying, and the fire hole is located to the east of the steps.
An open, working area, with a flagstone floor set lower than the external ground surface was laid between the door and steps. Part of the flue appears to be preserved below the kiln floor. A doorway accessed Building 3 which acted as a storage area for the kiln.
The east part of the range comprised two structures, Buildings 5 and 6. The west gable of Building 5 butts the east end of Building 4 and is crow-stepped. A fireplace is situated in the east inside wall, while the north and south walls have centrally-placed windows. Much of the interior walls have been covered with mortar render.
This structure was separated from Building 6 to the east by an internal wall, indicated by scarring on both internal and external wall surfaces. The enclosure to the north of the buildings was likely to have been part of the dividing wall between the structures.
Building 6 was originally a domestic structure. It has a flagstone floor throughout and was accessed by a single, large doorway in its south gable. Unlike the other original doorways in the north range, the stone forming the edges of the doorway do not incorporate large quoin stones. The north wall contains a single, small window and the south-facing elevation contains a large window, blocked by a single red sandstone slab. Inside, the walls have been rendered.
An external central doorway in the south-facing wall has been blocked and the current door is located west of this, and it is unclear if this doorway was original or a later addition. Modifications to the building sometime after 1900 involved the removal of the west gable.
Centre Range
These buildings are depicted as a single, undivided structure on the First and Second Edition Ordnance Survey maps.
The east building, Building 7, was a byre, with a flagged floor, an oddle hole at the base of the south wall, a wooden trough, and an animal stall and tethering ring. An oddle is a dialect term for the hole in a byre wall through which the drainage from the gutter runs
The remainder of the range is a single structure divided into three rooms, recorded as Rooms 8, 9 and 10, running east to west. The east gable of Room 8 butts against the west end of Building 7.
The east elevation contains a fireplace and a deep recess located to the south this may, have been a doorway. The south-facing elevation contains a small widow close to the west end and the north-facing elevation contains an external doorway. There is no evidence for either the doorway or the window having a timber frame.
The remains of a forge occupy the space between the door and the west internal wall, with the main hearth structure located in the northwest corner of the room. Room 9 is narrow space with access through an external door in the north wall. Room 10 is at the west end of the range with a single doorway in the north wall and a square aperture to the east.
South Range
The south range consists of a single building, Building 11, with crow-stepped gables and a flagstone roof and, like the east building in the Centre Range, displays all the typical characteristics of a barn: an oddle hole and drain, animal stalls, tethering posts and a flagged floor.
A centrally-placed doorway is in the north wall with a large window to the east and there is a lime mortar wash across some of the internal walls.
The Mill
A threshing mill is situated to the north of the large enclosure. The mill-race and water wheel is situated on its north wall. The timber-built under-shot wheel is central to the elevation. It has a cast iron drive shaft which passes through the mill wall into a bracket on the upper surface of a stone plinth forming the north side of the wheel pit.
An external doorway is located west of the water wheel. Inside the building, part of the mechanism driven by the water wheel remains in-situ, comprising a large, cast-iron wheel with a toothed rim connected to the drive shaft from the water wheel, above which is a smaller cog, whose teeth mesh with the large wheel below. The floor is flagged throughout.
The water for the mill race was supplied from a flooded, former quarry pit to the east. It is partly canalised with flagstone slabs lining the base and sides.
There are several other buildings around the farmstead, including a large enclosure, a former sty and chicken coop.
Sources
- First Edition 25-inch Ordnance Survey map (Orkney LXXX.15 (Eday) 1881)
- Second Edition 25-inch Ordnance Survey map (Orkney LXXX.15 1901)