Building record MHG1473 - Kippering House Kiln and Fish-House, Shore Street, Thruso

Mid 19th century kippering-house comprising fish-house (or splittering shed), kiln, yard, store and shop. Mainly
rubble with tooled rubble dressings.
KILN: Tall rubble kiln with upper portion of long elevations, weatherboard end louvred: long louvred ridge vent.
FISH HOUSE: abuts kiln; 3 bays with 6-pane sashes and roof lights in slate roof: gable loft entrance.
YARD: High harled rubble wall encloses yard; simple gatepiers flank entrance.
STORE: 2-storey rectangular rubble store at right angles to fish house. Modern narrow 3-bay shop inserted in ground
floor flanked by original 8-pane windows in outer bays, ground and 1st floor. Central 1st floor gable loft door with
hoist projecting above. <1>

The fish house is to be demolished. The interior and exterior was recorded through a building survey carried out in August 2010.

RCAHMS recorded most of the features as intact, at the time of listing in 1988. Unfortunately, subsequent to this, the buildings have fallen into disrepair. The structural integrity of the kiln has possibly been weakened by the demolition of no. 7 Wilson’s Lane against which it had originally been built, and the east gable of the kiln, effectively free-standing, can be seen to be inclining outwards. The internal woodwork was mostly removed in the Summer of 2009.

The fish house consists of the kiln, 6.65m E-W by 5.25m N-S, consists of 3 storeys. The splittering shed, to the S, is not rectangular, measuring 7.33m on its W side, and the E side is 8.1m. The E-W measurement is 6.77m. Both buildings are described in detail in the accompanying report.

The yard to the N, and the extant wall of no 7, Wilson's Lane, were also recorded during the building survey. <2>

Isabel Fry of RCAHMS advises that this building has now been demolished. <3>