History of the Cottage

Springbank Cottage is one of the oldest buildings in St. Abbs with the bottom level of the house having been built in 1827. The oldest dwelling in the village was erected on the site of the present Rock House which is located near the harbour's edge in front of Springbank Cottage. This building was constructed around 1750 but was later destroyed in a storm. The ground floor level of the present Rock House was built on this site in 1832 with the second storey being added at a later date. Around the period 1790 to 1800 a row of seven cottages was built along what is now the harbour car park and these were occupied well into the twentieth century but eventually fell into disrepair and were demolished in the early 1950s.

A sailing Fifie being punted out of the Harbour.

The original Springbank Cottage was built in conjunction with Beach Cottage with which it shared a gable end on the north side. Both houses were converted to double storey buildings during the period 1850 to 1860 but Beach Cottage was demolished in 1939 after being gutted by fire.

The other houses located around the harbour were erected during the period between 1830 and 1865 and the first dwellings built in the upper village above the harbour was the row of fisherman's cottages in what is now known as Seaview Terrace which overlooks the shore to the south of the harbour.