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

  SM1488_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600004234)

Summary

Description

The monument is the remains of a traditional Orkney farmstead, occupied probably from the 18th century to the 1940s. The farmstead comprises two roofless buildings orientated roughly NE-SW and surviving to wall-head height, together with their fixtures and fittings, and associated yards to the N and S. The monument is situated on gradually sloping, improved agricultural land at about 15m above OD, 1km N of the Loch of Harray.

The NE range is a stone-built longhouse, measuring approximately 28m SW-NE by a maximum of 6m transversely. It was originally divided into three main units, comprising a byre at the E end, a kitchen or 'fire-house' in the middle (with remnants of a box-bed in an alcove projecting to the N) and a chamber or 'sellar' at the W end. Other surviving internal features include shelves and ironwork associated with a substantial fireplace. A byre and store-room were added to the W end during the second half of the 19th century, initially as a separate unit and then adjoined to the main building by 1923. The SW range measures approximately 32m NE-SW by 5.5m transversely and is subdivided from E to W into a cart shed, a byre with flagstone stalls on the N elevation, a stall or store, and a horse mill with horse gin to the S. Ordnance Survey maps suggest that the mill and stall are roughly contemporary with the earlier elements of the NE range. The byre and cart shed appear to be later additions. Both ranges are positioned along the SE side of a rectangular field or yard, some 0.3 hectares in area, enclosed by drystone walls; and there is evidence of a smaller yard immediately to the S of the NE range. A small detached concrete military structure immediately S of the longhouse dates probably from World War 2. The monument was first scheduled in 1955, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present amendment rectifies this.

The scheduled area is irregular on plan to include the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling specifically excludes the above-ground elements of all post-and-wire fences to allow for their maintenance.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it has an inherent potential to make a significant addition to our understanding of the origins, form, construction, development and use of rural vernacular buildings and the changes in land-use and agricultural practices that took place in Orkney during the early modern period. The NE range at Nether Benzieclett is a particularly well-preserved example of its type, displaying the characteristic layout of a traditional vernacular Orkney longhouse, with easily traceable later alterations and additions. The form of the buildings is comparable with that of Norse longhouses and farmsteads known in the Northern Isles and across the North Atlantic area. The farmstead retains many of its key characteristics to a marked degree, including its overall layout and many of its internal fixtures and fittings, such as the box-bed alcove. Previous research and survey of Nether Benzieclett has established its origins and development. The likely survival of artefacts and environmental evidence within and around the farm buildings and yards has considerable potential to add to our understanding of the agricultural basis of the farmstead and the lives of its inhabitants. The loss of the monument would diminish our ability to understand the development of agricultural settlement and farming practices, and the form and function of rural vernacular architecture in Orkney and further afield from the Norse period to the 20th century.

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.