The Old Library, Keltneyburn, Near Aberfeldy, Perth, Perthshire, PH15 2LF

Once the cornerstone of the community, the 19th Century former library and reading room and the original estate cottage still offer peaceful escape. Enjoying its third incarnation, The Old Library at Keltneyburn was once, as its name suggests, a public library and reading room. Having started life as an estate cottage, it was converted in the 1880’s at the behest of a local landowner. After serving as the village hall from the 1950’s, by the late 20th Century the building was derelict, but in 1995 it was rescued by Blairish Restoration and today, as well as being an architectural treasure, it is a comfortable home with its own special magic, and sits in its own “fairy dell” above the fast-flowing Keltney Burn - viewable from its own decked platform over the stream. Now category C listed, The reading room, in the Arts and Crafts style, is reputedly by the well-respected architect James MacLaren, a pioneer of the use of the Arts and Crafts style.

The large library/sitting room is worthy of note with its stained glass, open fireplace, original bookcase with decorative leaded glass, wood panelled walls, and the vaulted coombed plastered ceiling with a central hexagonal timber ceiling rose of sunflower design and decorative square ventilators.

To the rear of the cottage an extension has been added to provide a largely glazed sunroom and dining area. A ground floor bedroom was also added which opens onto an extensive viewing deck above a truly beautiful wooded dell. There is also a separate viewing deck, which is used for seating and for entertaining. There is also a shower room at this level, with two further double bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor. The kitchen is semi-open plan to the sunroom doubling as dining or family room. The grounds of over half an acre include a steep wooded bank sloping down to the Keltney Burn where there is a beautiful riverside walk. The house has about 150metres of river frontage with associated trout fishing rights. There is also an exceptional wild garden with steps and a path leading down to a private waterside terrace with its thunderous roar and “swimming” holes.

Another interesting and unusual feature of the property is that whoever buys The Old Library also becomes the owner of the Stewart Memorial which stands beside the present bridge over the Keltney Burn. Known as the “Historian of the Highlands”, David Stewart of Garth joined the 42nd Regiment of the Black Watch in 1789. In 1817 he was commissioned to write a history of the Regiment, published in 1822.

The new owner is purchasing a peaceful, semi-rural idyll but also a large slab of Scottish history.

Please Note the external decking area has recently (March 2016) been upgraded / maintained.