IT lay at the mercy of time and weather for decades. Now a derelict croft house last inhabited in 1930 has been renovated after it was revealed as a building of “national importance”.

Downie’s Cottage was set to be razed for the building of a new family home until the significance of its untouched interior was recognised.

Built in the mid-1850s, it had become obscured by trees. It was left vacant after its last tenant, James Downie, died.

Sited at Tomintoul Farm near Braemar, it was purchased by Jackie and Calum Innes, who planned to create a modern residence on their three acres of land, but instead decided to restore the existing house.

Now photographs reveal what domestic life would have looked like for Scots living there almost 100 years ago, as well as the scale of repair work.

The cottage was left with box beds with their straw mattresses still in place, and retained its large “hanging lum” chimney – a typical feature of homes of the period.

A calendar from 1912 remained in the loft, with vintage greetings cards from the late 1890s also found there, as well as clothing, pieces of ribbon and other personal items.

Colourful pages from newspapers and magazines had been used to line the walls and a horse-drawn sledge for use in snowy conditions had been left behind. Heritage body Historic Environment Scotland (HES) granted the building Grade A listed status after learning of the find.

It will now be used as a holiday home. HES called it an “’exceptionally rare” example of its type of rural building.

Jackie Innes, from Blairgowrie, said the refurbishment had been a “labour of love”.

Describing the costly and difficult project, which was advised by HES, she went on: “It hasn’t made any sense in terms of effort or money but we feel that we have done the right thing.”