Description

The monument comprises the remains of the township of Upper Auliston, a depopulated settlement of post-medieval date.

The monument lies in an area of rough grassland, on a hill slope, between about 80m OD and about 120m OD. The township consists of an extensive group of building remains, in several clusters, suggesting that it developed over a period of time. It includes at least 30 larger structures (houses, byres and barns), a corn-drying kiln and several enclosures.

About 25 buildings are shown on an estate plan of 1836 and were presumably in use at that time. The township is known to have been occupied by 1755 and cleared around 1855. The area proposed for scheduling comprises the remains described and an area around them within which evidence relating to their construction and occupation is likely to survive. It is irregular on plan and measures a maximum of 445m NNW-SSE by a maximum of 200m SW-NE, as marked in red on the accompanying map.

(A smaller area of remains by the shore, at Lower Auliston, is not as well preserved and is not included in this scheduling.)

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance because of its potential to contribute to our understanding of post-medieval settlement and economy. The buildings are well preserved, up to eaves height in many cases, and provide a particularly coherent set of building types, with a range of styles and sizes, all of which were nonetheless in contemporary use before the settlement was cleared.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NM 55 NW 1 and NM 55 NW 9.

References:

Gaskell P 1968, MORVERN TRANSFORMED: A HIGHLAND PARISH IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland