The structure is marked on OS maps from the first-edition (surveyed in 1859) onwards. At that time, a track led here from Strathleven House (see
Link for the house) turning at this point before looping back towards the house. It is not clear from the maps just what was located here.
The ruin itself consists of thick walls formed from blocks of red sandstone; there are no surviving indications of windows. It is on a slope leading down to the River Leven, which is just a few feet from it; as of mid-2019, the ruin is greatly overgrown, and is best seen from the side facing the river, where the wall stands higher than on the other sides. From the top of the slope, the ruin is barely evident.
Despite the poor state of the walls, there are suggestions of an entrance at the northern corner, that is, the back-left corner when the ruin is viewed from the side facing the river.
An 1824 plan —
Link — of the River Leven shows a "Washing House" near here; however, if the position marked on that plan is correct, the wash-house was upstream of this ruin, and was closer to the site of a walled garden that was then present (see
Link for the former site of the walled garden).
NS3977 : Beside the River Leven shows the approximate position for the wash-house according to the 1824 plan. It is worth bearing in mind the possibility that the plan shows the wash-house in the wrong place (the difference in position is not great), but the ruin may well be that of a quite different structure.
See other images of Small ruin beside the River Leven