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

  SM857_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600003700)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises a substantial motte of medieval date (the remains of a 12th-century castle), together with part of its probable bailey, the latter visible on aerial photographs.

Leuchars Castle motte is a massive, oval, flat-topped mound located in a low-lying field N of the dismantled railway line and Leuchars Church. The mound stands about 8m high. Its summit plateau measures about 80m N-S by 50m W-E. Cultivation appears gradually to be reducing the size of the summit area (in 1956 it was recorded by OS surveyors as about 100m by 70m in extent). Quantities of animal bone, shells, worked stones and masonry are routinely recorded eroding from the summit and sides of the motte.

Probable traces of the bailey, or outer enclosure, of Leuchars Castle are visible on aerial photographs, extending some 150m SW of the great mound. This may have been a D-shaped enclosure. Other cropmarks are also visible in the immediate vicinity. At one time, a moat is recorded as surrounding this site.

Documentary evidence suggests that the barony of Leuchars existed in the time of William the Lion (1165-1214) and that a castle existed here from before 1264. A stone castle crowning the motte was occupied at least as late as 1565, and part of it was still standing at the end of the 18th century. It was demolished in the early 19th century.

In 1923 a decorated bronze plate was found immediately south of the mound. It bears figures in 12th- to 13th-century dress and is now in the National Museum.

The area to be scheduled encompasses the motte itself and the associated cropmarks. It has maximum dimensions of 370m ENE-WSW by 380m NNW-SSE. It is partially defined on its eastern boundary by the line of a track, and on its northern boundary by the lines of field fences. All other edges have been determined on the basis of the archaeology and do not follow existing boundaries. The area includes part of a dismantled railway; this is embanked and it is probable that features of archaeological importance survive beneath it. The area to be scheduled is shown in red on the accompanying map extract. All existing modern boundary fences are excluded from this scheduling.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance as one of the most impressive surviving mottes in Scotland. It has the potential to contribute to our understanding of the place of this monument type in medieval Scotland: the origins and construction techniques of 12th-century and earlier mottes; the transition from earthwork and timber-built castles to stone-built castles; and the economy of high status sites within rural medieval Scotland. Within the scheduled area is likely to be preserved evidence of the medieval and late medieval environment, agricultural practices, trading contracts, craft activities and daily life of the occupants of Leuchars Castle motte and their contemporaries. The length of occupation attested on this site, perhaps as much as 500 years, would allow analysis of the development of medieval and later, rural society.

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.