Bleachfield House and Cottage, Deskford, Buckie, Aberdeenshire Offers in excess of £395,000

The picture postcard properties are linked by a white wall and have a gravel drive connecting the two with ample parking. The properties lend themselves easily to rental accommodation or could be used for a variety of purposes including a restaurant, subject to the necessary planning consents. Both properties are traditionally lime harled and have slate roofs with crow steps on the gable ends. The external paint work on the windows and doors is a beautiful heritage moorland green.

Bleachfield House
Dating from 1748, Bleachfield House was lovingly restored 5 years ago and now comprises a wonderful 4 bedroom property with numerous original features including beamed ceilings throughout.

There is an entrance porch at the front of the property which opens to a welcoming hall with a wide staircase leading to the first floor. A side door leads into the hugely atmospheric kitchen. The bright, 3 aspect kitchen has cream units with a wooden worktop and integrated appliances. A staircase leads from the kitchen to bedroom 2 and a door leads from the kitchen to the study which has an opening to the sitting room. The sitting room has an open fire and a large built in shelved dresser.

Bedrooms 3 and 4 on the ground floor have a connecting door and a door leads from bedroom 4 to the bathroom.

The first floor has a wonderful drawing room with dual aspect and an open fire. The master bedroom with a walk in cupboard and a separate bathroom complete the first floor accommodation.

Bleachfield Cottage
This charming cottage dates from 1800 and is presented in excellent order. A side door leads to the 3 aspect dining kitchen. There are cream units with wooden worktops, a Belling electric cooker and a ceramic sink. An opening leads to sitting room which has a door to the garden, a wood burning stove as the focal point and a shelved alcove. The bedroom and bathroom are both generously proportioned. There was previously a door in the bathroom connecting the attached workroom and this could easily be reinstated to provide another bedroom.

Gardens
The sellers have established a beautiful cottage garden around the house. There are areas of lawn with colourful flower and shrub borders. There are several mature trees including sycamore, hawthorn, ash and elder.    A gravel driveway offers ample parking.

Outbuildings
Potting shed (4.1m x 1.9m) harled under a tiled roof.

Two boiler houses and oil tank sheds.

Store


History
In 1724 complaints had been lodged against Scottish linen manufacturers about the use of lime and pigeon dung in the bleaching process so that when the cloth arrived in London to be printed it tended to disintegrate and the drapers could not be persuaded to buy it at any price.   In response to this Lord Deskford – a renowned benefactor and innovator – anxious to create new industry to alleviate poverty in the surrounding district, commissioned one John Christie to lay out a new bleach field at Deskford. Christie, an Irish Quaker, had invented the drying house to deal with the cloth on wet days – at once a valuable asset in Scotland. His plans, which materialised in 1752, included four and a half acres for bleaching grounds, canals and houses, and a five and a half acre drying field. The canals carried water for washing the cloth to remove the alkalis and acids used in the bleaching process, while the buildings contained a rubbing mill, boilers, bucking and sour basins. If the water failed in a drought to turn the mill wheel, then the machinery could be powered by horse.
At the height of the business at Bleachfield, there were whitened each year nearly 1500 pieces of cloth and 1700 spindles, a spindle holding 14 yards of thread.
The linen industry brought much money into the district “and there was not a house in Deskford without its spinning wheel, not a woman who did not learn to spin”.
When the industry declined early in the 19th Century the big flat field where the cloth was laid returned to “farmland and waving corn”; Bleachfield House and Cottage then became occupied by farm workers.
The area around Bleachfield is steeped in ancient history. Within a stone’s throw of the property to the north was found the famous Deskford Carnyx – a Pictish battle horn now exhibited at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh; and across the field to the south lie the ruins of Inaltry Castle, dating at least to the 12th Century.
The house and cottage were occupied by estate workers until the late 1950s but were abandoned as modern housing became more readily available. The property quickly became covered in trees and was virtually hidden from view for many years. Fortunately the foliage offered considerable protection to the buildings, which were in relatively good condition, with many of the original features still intact. The property, in its idyllic rural setting, has now been lovingly restored and remains one of the finest examples of mid-18th century domestic architecture in the area.

The Situation
Bleachfield House and Cottage are situated in a peaceful, rural setting 2 miles from Cullen. Cullen is a picturesque coastal village and is a popular tourist destination. Cullen offers local shops and amenities, hotels, restaurants and a primary school.

Keith has primary and secondary schools, a supermarket, a range of shops including a new Tesco supermarket, hotels, health centre and golf course. The A96 allows swift road access to Aberdeen and Inverness (both 50 miles) and there are rail links to Aberdeen and Inverness.

Aberdeen, the ‘Oil Capital of Europe’ provides all the shopping, entertainment and cultural facilities one would expect from a cosmopolitan city. Private education is available, and the city also boasts two universities.

The international airport offers an excellent range of domestic and European flights from companies such as BA, Easy Jet and KLM.