Documents

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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

  SM11262_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600013920)

Summary

Description

The monument consists of the excavated remains of a substantial post-medieval structure identified as a probable teind barn dating from the early 16th century, and perhaps built for Henry Phankouth, archdeacon of Shetland (1501-1529).

The interior and an area around the exterior of the monument was excavated in the 1980s as it was threatened by the construction of an adjacent oil rig supply base at Dales Voe. It was built overlying the remains of earlier medieval, rectangular stone structures, contained within an enclosure wall, probably a chapel and associated enclosure. It is situated within a complex and multi-period landscape, which was bounded by a dyke (the March dyke) to the N, S and E and by the sea to the W. The site is now dominated by the oil rig supply base to the NW.

The barn was a substantial building, erected on foundations up to 1.5m wide, and is aligned E-W with its long axis running parallel with the slope. It had maximum dimensions of 17m by 7.2m, with walls 1m thick, which today stand to a maximum of 1.5m high, and was partitioned into three units of unequal size. The thickness of the walls and the large amounts of rubble present when the building was excavated, suggest that it may have originally stood two storeys high. There was a single entrance through the W gable, immediately outside of which was found an armorial panel that would originally have been situated above the doorway. The arms have not been identified, but the work is sophisticated, shows ecclesiastical influences, and is likely to date from the late 15th/early 16th century, suggesting that it was produced in an ecclesiastical context for an ecclesiastical patron such as Henry Phankouth. It bears the Latin inscription 'sine paulusper'.

A corn-drying kiln was later inserted into the central space of the building, probably during the mid-17th century, after a period of abandonment and ruination. This kiln was remodelled in the late 17th or early 18th century.

The area to be scheduled comprises the building and an area around it where associated archaeological features would be expected to survive. The area is rectangular in shape and has maximum dimensions of 22m E-W and 16m transversely.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance as the remains of what has been identified as a pre-Reformation teind barn. Teind barns are an extremely rare type of building with only two other surviving examples identified in Scotland; Whitekirk (East Lothian) and Foulden (Berwickshire). In both cases the buildings have been significatly altered and Foulden is a post-Reformation example. In a Shetland context, a teind barn would therefore be a unique and significant structure which illuminates a little known aspect of Shetland's past; the ecclesiastical organisation of the Islands and the collection of the archdeaconry teinds and rents. It is the only probable teind barn found in the Northern Islands, and it is one of the very few high status late medieval/early modern structures to survive on the archipelago.

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.