Scheduled Monument

Soutra Aisle, burial aisle and part of site of medieval hospitalSM3067

Status: Designated

Documents

Where documents include maps, the use of this data is subject to terms and conditions (https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/termsandconditions).

The legal document available for download below constitutes the formal designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The additional details provided on this page are provided for information purposes only and do not form part of the designation. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within this additional information.

Summary

Date Added
21/10/1971
Last Date Amended
03/06/1999
Type
Ecclesiastical: burial avile/vault; hospital/hospice
Local Authority
Scottish Borders
Parish
Fala And Soutra
NGR
NT 45314 58436
Coordinates
345314, 658436

Description

The monument comprises most of the remains of a medieval hospital including a rebuilt portion of the associated church. The latter is already scheduled, but the scheduled area is to be expanded to include the remains of the hospital.

Soutra Hospital is said to have been founded by Malcolm IV in 1164, but it is possible that the foundation predates Malcolm. By 1236 the house was observing the Augustinian Rule and it was described as a house or hospital of the Holy Trinity. References to the continued use of the hospital can be found as late as 1584. The only building above ground is a section of the Order's church, rebuilt in 1686 as a barrel vaulted burial aisle for the Pringle family (a date stone over the door has the initials DP and AP). It is built with stone from the church and incorporates several fragments of moulded stone, including a small window in the west gable. It measures 7.7m N-S by 7.2m externally.

A resistivity survey of the top of Soutra Hill in 1986, supported by trial excavation in the following year, identified the likely boundaries of the hospital area. There are at least 2 contiguous, large, rectangular, walled enclosures. These are on the top of the level area around the aisle and to the east of the Roman Road, Dere Street, which continued as the main N-S road throughout the Middle Ages). The southern court encloses the church and some domestic and hospital buildings. The hospital may have had an outer vallum or boundary within which are likely to be the remains of ancillary buildings, hospital gardens and middens. Beyond this outer boundary are likely to be the remains of burials, and occasional finds indicate these may be concentrated in the south. Recent excavations have provided interesting palaeobotanical information from one hospital building close to the site of the church.

The area now to be scheduled is marked in red on the map. It measures a maximum of 200m E-W by 360m N-S. The area contains remains of the medieval hospital, its church, buildings and associated remains, some of which have been identified by trial excavation and resistivity survey. It incorporates the earlier scheduled area. The area to be scheduled excludes the modern road to a depth of 0.5m (but includes the underlying land) and also excludes all fences. This scheduling is accompanied by a second scheduling which deals with the portion of the hospital remains lying within Midlothian.

References

Bibliography

No Bibliography entries for this designation

About Scheduled Monuments

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Scheduling is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for monuments and archaeological sites of national importance as set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.

We schedule sites and monuments that are found to be of national importance using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Scheduled monument records provide an indication of the national importance of the scheduled monument which has been identified by the description and map. The description and map (see ‘legal documents’ above) showing the scheduled area is the designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The statement of national importance and additional information provided are supplementary and provided for general information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within the statement of national importance or additional information. These records are not definitive historical or archaeological accounts or a complete description of the monument(s).

The format of scheduled monument records has changed over time. Earlier records will usually be brief. Some information will not have been recorded and the map will not be to current standards. Even if what is described and what is mapped has changed, the monument is still scheduled.

Scheduled monument consent is required to carry out certain work, including repairs, to scheduled monuments. Applications for scheduled monument consent are made to us. We are happy to discuss your proposals with you before you apply and we do not charge for advice or consent. More information about consent and how to apply for it can be found on our website at www.historicenvironment.scot.

Find out more about scheduling and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

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Printed: 29/03/2024 09:18