Description

The monument comprises the extensive remains of the settlement of Grummore, occupied at least as early as 1726 and cleared in 1819. The majority of the monument was scheduled in 1962, but this re-scheduling adjusts the boundaries to take account of better mapping now available and also of recent changes in land use beside Loch Naver.

Grummore was finally cleared, after centuries of occupation, in 1819. This was one of the relatively few episodes during the Highland Clearances in which croft roofs were actually burned to prevent re-occupation. In 1819, sixteen families were finally cleared, several having already been evicted five years earlier. Roy's map of 1726 shows only five houses, suggesting that Grummore expanded rapidly. This was at least partly a result of incoming cottars from other settlements in the area which had been cleared earlier.

The remains at Grummore are extensive and complex, and of multiple date. Within a hill- or head-dyke (which itself shows signs of re-building at several points) are the foundations of over sixty buildings, of which slightly less than half were dwellings, the rest being barns and byres, with at least three corn-drying kilns. A large number of walled enclosures, for stock management and crop raising, lie within the boundary of the settlement. In addition, there are many slight building foundations and traces of walling scattered over the hill-ground beyond the main boundary (these are not included in the scheduling).

The area now to be scheduled is in two parts, both very irregular on plan. The larger has maximum dimensions of 840m SW-NE by 630m transversely. It is bounded on all sides (except the SE) by a line running approximately 5m beyond the crest of the main head-dyke, and on the SE side by the NW edge of the modern B873 road. The smaller part is a maximum of 660m SW-NE by 65m transversely. It is bounded on the NW by the SE edge of the B873 road; on the NE by the SW bank of the Grummore Burn; on the SE by the shore of Loch Naver; and on the SW by a straight line running from the B873 road SSW to the loch shore. These areas include all of the building remains and field boundaries, as well as the land lying between and among them, in which evidence relating to the history and use of the settlement is likely to survive. The areas are indicated in red on the accompanying map.

This re-scheduling now excludes that part of the former scheduled area beside the loch, which is occupied by a caravan park, and also an area of woodland at the E end of the larger of the two scheduled areas. It adds a band of about 5m wide around the rest of the outer edge of the former scheduled area. The B873 road and the ground beneath it are excluded from the scheduling to allow for maintenance. Grummore broch remains scheduled separately.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography
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Source: Historic Environment Scotland