Description

The monument consists of the remains of a bastle house, a fortified farmstead of 16th or 17th-century date.

The site is located on the N side of the Wintercleugh Burn, approximately 40m S of the lower E corner of a modern field

enclosure. The rectangular, turf-covered structure is aligned NE-SW and has external dimensions of 11.5m by 5.2m. The mound, at its highest point (corresponding to the SW gable) is 1.7m high. A recently disturbed section on the SE side showed rubble courses and pottery. Several hewn stones lie in the vicinity of the site. There may be another structure of similar size and shape 30m W of the identified site. Further W there is an exposed section of walling containing shaped stones by the N river bank where the track ends.

The area to be scheduled is irregular and measures a maximum of 110m E-W by 50m N-S to include the bastle house and an area likely to contain related structures and evidence of activities associated with the construction and use of these structures. It is bounded on the SE by a track and on the NW by a drystone boundary, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance because it is a virtually undisturbed site which has considerable archaeological value and the potential, through analysis and future excavation, for increasing our understanding of the architecture, lifestyle and economy of late medieval/early modern farming communities in Upper Clydesdale.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NS91SE 7.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland