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.

• Type

  Legal Documents

  Title

  SM5251_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600011154)

Summary

Description

The monument consists of the remains of a small 17th century house which has had two floors and stands on a small piece of level ground on the shoulder of a hill.

MacGibbon and Ross suggest the castle belonged to a Douglas in the 17th century, known as an opponent of the Covenanters. It is sited on a raised mound 1.5m high.

The building is approximately oblong on plan, measuring 22m E-W by 12m N-S. The masonry is random rubble with lime mortar. There are substantial upstanding portions in the east and west ends and the ground plan is easily read. The ground floor was divided into two by a partition wall. The NW angle stands to a height of c.5-6m from exterior ground level. Much of this west end has fallen into the interior. In the north wall are the lower courses of a turnpike stair.

The west portion may have had a vaulted basement and the top of a debris blocked doorway can be seen in the south west wall. The south wall is fragmentary, the main portion surviving in the south east. Here there is a door space and a mural cupboard. There are the remains of a rectangular structure built onto the south east angle which drops to a lower level, measuring c.3.5m square. There are vague footings to the west and south of the castle, although there is insufficient detail to make out individual structures.

The area to be scheduled is square and measures 40m on each side, to include the castle and an area surrounding it containing buried features which may be contemporary with the monument, but excluding the dyke that forms the eastern boundary of the scheduled area, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it preserves evidence of 17th century domestic architecture and has the potential, through excavation, to increase our understanding of the everyday lives of a family of the minor nobility in the 17th and 18th centuries.

References

Bibliography

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.