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

  SM5872_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600011769)

Summary

Description

The monument consists of the remains of Unish House, a domestic residence of early seventeenth century date, and the surrounding ancillary buildings, steading and field enclosures.

Unish is situated near the tip of the Waternish peninsula. The rectangular-plan, two-storey house measures 12.5m E-W by 6.7m N-S over walls 0.6m thick. It is constructed in rubble bonded with lime mortar. Stone put-logs beneath the wall head would have been used for securing thatch. The house originally had a five bay front with the central bay being masked by a slightly projecting chimney stack

through which the main entrance was cut.

The hall would have been on the first floor and the dimly-lit basement would have held the kitchen and cellar. Two segmental headed fireplaces sit in the bases of the gables. Unish has undergone remodelling, probably by Norman Macleod about 1745. New windows were inserted to convert it to the standard three bay form, and a circular stair turret was added to the S wall.

The house is surrounded by the remains of small crofts and steadings. Historical evidence and stylistic influences indicate that it was probably built by one of the Fife Adventurers (a group of lowlanders who were encouraged by King James VI in 1598 to colonize parts of the NW coast of Scotland).

The area to be scheduled is irregular, measuring a maximum of 190m E-W by 165m N-S, to include the laird's house, steading buildings and enclosures, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance as it is historically attested to be the earliest purely domestic, non-defensive, laird's residence in Skye. For its early 17th-century date and remote location, Unish is an ambitious and substantial dwelling which draws on more than vernacular tradition and reflects architectural types found on the continent and examples identified in Fife.

These influences suggest the builder was likely to have been a well-travelled, incomer landowner. The monument's importance is increased by its potential to provide material evidence for the study of Scottish history, the evolution of domestic plan-forms, land-tenure, the crofting system, rural economy and pre-Clearance settlement during the period of its construction and use.

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.