The house and byre are 'A' listed ("buildings of national or international importance, either architectural or historic, or fine little altered examples of some particular period, style or building type") and are the only such property on Skye listed in this way reflecting their importance. The house dates from the 19th century & was occupied until 1981 but was showing signs of serious deterioration when the National Trust for Scotland acquired it in 1996. The previous owners, the MacKinnons (who are now the caretakers) were very keen to see this property being conserved as a traditional Skye croft house and the byre retained for crofting use.

The problem for the NTS was to ensure the protection and integrity of the buildings and their immediate surroundings, whilst also seeking to find a use sympathetic to their conservation.

Conservation and restoration
The buildings were surveyed and investigations undertaken by the Royal Commission for Ancient and Historic monuments in Scotland, archaeologists and historians and the cultural significance of the buildings and site were established.

It was agreed that the preferred use for the property should be to continue its use as a house and agricultural byre. However, discussions with Building Control, Planning and Environmental officers indicated that short-term occupation such as use as a holiday cottage would be considered more favourably.

To comply with the Statement of Cultural Significance, a legal requirement and the NTS Guidelines for Building Conservation, a solution had to be found to upgrade the interior and provide services with minimal intervention to the fabric of the building and which could be reversed if deemed necessary by a future generation.

So a 'building within a building' concept was developed by the Highlands and Islands regional office of the NTS. The idea was to construct a timber frame unit within the existing building. This sits on a geotextile layer and high density insulating material loose laid on the existing floor structure. Upon this, a self supporting and free standing insulated timber frame unit was constructed. This unit can be removed at any time without affecting the fabric of the building.

The project was started in December 1997 and was completed in May 1998, using a contractor sympathetic to working with historic buildings. Re-thatching was carried out by a local thatcher in the traditional style and methods (locally gathered rushes secured by netting weighed down by stones).

The property won the prestigious Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Building Conservation award 2000 for its sensitive restoration of a thatched cottage. The techniques of restoration employed are excellent with a new compatible use found for such a charming building. It now once again plays its full part in a remote and wild part of rural Scotland where the landscape dominates.

It has to date proved to be a very desirable holiday cottage property, which is fully booked throughout the season and the continuing use as a dwelling had contributed to its conservation and long term preservation.

Issues:

• The completed repair and improvement project has attracted wide interest both in the conservation of this outstanding grade A listed building and the method used to provide modern facilities compatible with its use as a holiday cottage.

  The concept of Reversibility is interesting - the building interior can be removed without damaging the exterior and thereby returning the house to its original state. Could this concept be used when renovating other buildings thereby not destroying heritage assets - is this feasible?