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

  SM5884_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600011781)

Summary

Description

The monument consists of the stone bases into which were set gallows used in 1815 for the last public executions, for highway robbery, in Scotland.

The stone bases, each 1m square, are set beside each other in the N- bound carriageway of Braid Road, outside 66 Braid Road. Until recently, one of the bases was covered by road material. Each base has a central socket, into which the wooden upright of the gallows was set. These sockets are now each filled with two stone paving setts, and each base is surrounded by an ornamental border of a single line of red granite setts.

The distance from the W kerb of the road to the W edge of the stones themselves is 2.85m, and the stones are set 0.6m apart, aligned N-S. These stones supported the gallows erected for the specific purpose of the hanging, on 25 January 1815, of Thomas Kelly and Henry O'Neill, the last persons to be publicly executed in Scotland for highway robbery.

The area to be scheduled consists of a rectangular area 3.3m E-W by 4.9m N-S, to include the bases and their surrounding borders and a small area around them, as shown in red on the accompanying plan. Rights of vehicular passage over the monument are not to be affected by this scheduling.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance for its historical associations and social significance. Although placename evidence for gallows is widespread, surviving elements of actual apparatus, in situ, are rare. This monument is of importance as indicating the perceived value of capital punishment in the early nineteenth century, for the decision to carry out the sentence on the site of the crime indicates a deterrent as much as, or more than, a punitive intention.

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.