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

  SM6640_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600012521)

Summary

Description

The monument consists of several elements of Muirkirk's industrial past concentrated in one area. These can be divided into three groups, all dating from the late 18th century. The first of these includes the remains of the tarworks and the associated workers' cottages (Coltburn Rows); the second comprising the coal mines and a drainage system, and the third a limestone quarry.

The area to be scheduled contains the following features:

1. The remains of the tar works, set up by Lord Dundonald in 1786 and sold to J.L. Macadam in 1790 (hence the monument to Macadam on the site of the tarworks, set up in 1931). The structural remains consist of the grass-grown foundations of 34 tar kilns and a still-house. To the NW of the tar works can be seen the remains of the workers' cottages known as Coltburn Rows. The tar works were in operation for only a few years and closed in 1809.

2. The coal mines immediately to the W of the tar works, probably the earliest in the district. The coal mining remains include bellpits, very closely spaced with their associated spoil heaps and horse-engine platforms, and the remains of opencast workings. Also included is the artificial water course which runs alongside the SE of the scheduled area, built to divert water from the Colt Burn as a drainage measure.

3. To the south of the coal mines, a large limestone quarry with an inclined plane leading from its SW corner connecting it to one of the network of tram and trackways.

The area to be scheduled includes the tar works, the associated workers' cottages, the coal mines, limestone quarry and drainage channel and the land between and around these features. The boundary runs clockwise along the fence to the E of Macadam's Cairn, due S from the end of that fence and then E along the old course of the Colt Burn until it reaches the new course of the Colt Burn where it turns SW following that course as far as the track.

It turns due S following the track until just before the ford where it turns SW until it reaches Garpel Water. The boundary then runs NW along the E bank of Garpel Water until Tibbies Brig (not included in the scheduled area) where it turns NE until reaching the fenceline to the SW of Springhall. It then runs along the N side of the sheepfold, but excluding the above-ground structure of the sheepfold itself heading ENE until it reaches the track where it began.

The area so defined is irregular in shape with maximum dimensions of 765m N-S by 860m E-W and a ground area of approximately 30 hectares as marked in red on the accompanying map extract.

Statement of National Importance

The monument to be scheduled is of national importance as a very well-preserved group of late-18th and early-19th-century industrial remains. These include coal and ironstone mines (early examples), a limestone quarry, Macadam's tarworks and associated buildings (e.g. Coltburn Rows) and a drainage system.

In addition to the remarkable field characteristics of the upstanding remains the area proposed for scheduling has the archaeological potential to reveal further historical and technical information on some of early industrial Scotland's most important industries.

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.