Description

The monument comprises a range of pre-improvement settlement and agricultural remains including farmsteads, buildings, field systems and enclosures ranging in date from the medieval (AD 1000 – 1500), post medieval (AD1500 – 1600), and early modern (AD1600 – 1750) periods. It is located in Menstrie Glen between 180m and 250m above sea level. 

Located at NS 84505 97836 is the main farmstead of Quarterside of Lipney (Canmore ID 145092). It is first documented in 1730 and has three phases of development. It includes the footings of a turf building and the tumbled remains of four stone buildings, one of which has two compartments measuring 7m by 3.8m and 8m by 3.6m. There is also evidence of an associated stack yard, midden and gardens. A further farmstead lies 350m to the north (Canmore ID 145093). It  includes the remains of an 8-bay cruck framed turf byre dwelling 16m by 3m; two huts and an enclosure with a further three huts to the south. Located 260m to the north northwest of Quarterside of Lipney is another farmstead with the footings of two sub-rectangular turf buildings measuring 8.5m by 2.8m and 9.9m by 3m, an enclosure, field bank and fragment of a smaller building (Canmore ID 145075). Approximately 260m to the west of the main farmstead are two phases of field systems including a head dyke referred to in documents from 1740, unenclosed rig and three enclosures measuring 13m by 8m, 80m by 45m and one measuring 140m by 90m which is likely to be a stock enclosure (Canmore ID 145081). Also within the area are the remains of other turf buildings, huts and enclosures. 

The scheduled area is irregular. It includes the remains described above and an area around within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling specifically excludes the above ground elements of all modern post and wire fencing and the top 300mm of the road which runs through the monument, to allow for their maintenance.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The national importance of the monument is demonstrated in the following way(s) (see Designations Policy and Selection Guidance, Annex 1, para 17):

a.  The monument is of national importance because it makes a significant contribution to our understanding or appreciation of the past, as well-preserved pre-improvement settlement and agricultural remains with potential origins in the medieval period (AD1000 – 1500). 

b.   The monument retains structural and physical attributes which make a significant contribution to our understanding and appreciation of the past such as the remains of farmsteads, cruck framed buildings and field systems. There is the potential for the survival of stratified archaeological deposits from which samples can be taken for environmental analysis, radiocarbon dating and optically stimulated luminescence dating.  

c.   The monument is a rare example of well-preserved pre-improvement settlement and agricultural remains for which there is a large volume of documentary evidence including named individuals, descriptions of land use and advertisements, in particular between 1750 and 1769. This documentary evidence sets this site apart from other similar pre-improvement settlement and farming remains.

d.   The monument is a particularly good example of a pre-improvement settlement and agricultural remains and is therefore an important representative of this monument type. 

e.   The monument has research potential which could significantly contribute to our understanding or appreciation of the past. Historic records of the site can be studied in relation to surviving settlement and agricultural remains. 

f.   The monument makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the historic landscape. In particular, it shows the development of land use over a significant period of time which can be interpreted alongside detailed historic records. This can help us to understand similar landscapes with little to no historic records as well as key changes and trends in land use in Scotland before during and after the agricultural improvements of the 18th  century and 19th centuries.  

g.  The monument has significant associations with a local landowner, James Wright, who kept extensive records of his properties and land holdings during the 18th  century. There are also significant associations with the agricultural revolution. 

Assessment of Cultural Significance

This statement of national importance has been informed by the following assessment of cultural significance:

Intrinsic characteristics (how the remains of a site or place contribute to our knowledge of the past)

The monument is a good example of pre-improvement settlement and agricultural remains. These include the remains of farmsteads, turf, stone and cruck frame buildings, field systems and enclosures ranging in date from the medieval (AD 1000 – 1500), post medieval (AD1500 – 1600), and early modern (AD1600 – 1750) periods. 

Documentary evidence for land use in Menstrie Glen ranges in date from the medieval period to the 18th century and primarily takes the form of testaments, tracks and rentals. In 1450 the western half of Menstrie Glen, including the holding of Lipney, was Crown land with the main activity sheep grazing until 1500. Over the following century this would gradually shift to mixed arable and pastoral tenant farming which continue into the 18th century (Cowley and Harrison 2001, 16-17). The 'Wright of Loss Papers' provide significant documentary evidence for the monument between 1750 – 1769. Their author, James Wright, owned Loss and Lipney and kept records of land use, for example crop type and frequency of sowing, advertisements and tenancies. Unusually, details contained within these records can be tied to surviving archaeological remains (Cowley and Harrison 2001, 9, 21).  

Most of the settlement and cultivation remains date to the 17th and 18th centuries, however there is the potential that this may overlie and include earlier remains. There is evidence of at least three phases of construction at Quarterside of Lipney (Canmore ID 145092). The rectangular building at NS 84201 97963 (Canmore 145085) share parallels with those at the deserted settlement of Old Redhead dating to the late medieval and post-medieval periods (scheduled monument SM13722) and cruck frame buildings have been shown through excavation in Roxburghshire to have the potential to date to the 13th century (Dixon 1998, 742). Excavation of settlement and agricultural remains at the monument could provide material for environmental analysis and radiocarbon dating as well as artefacts which can tell us about the daily life and economy of the inhabitants. 

Optically stimulated luminescence profiling and dating has established the prehistoric origins and subsequent development of lynchets along field boundaries at Bosigran, Cornwall (Vervust et al. 2020). The application of this technique to the settlement and cultivation remains such as dykes terraces and turf buildings at the monument could greatly increase our understanding of their origins and how they developed over time.

The monument has the potential to increase our understanding of construction methods and materials of medieval to post medieval rural architecture. Coupled with the detailed historic evidence the remains can help us to better understand pre-improvement settlement and agriculture. 

Contextual characteristics (how a site or place relates to its surroundings and/or to our existing knowledge of the past)

The monument is located in Menstrie Glen between 180m and 250m above sea level in the Ochil Hills, Clackmannanshire. To the west is Dumyat Hill and to the east is Myreton Hill. Due to a lack of later intensive agriculture, pre-improvement settlement and agricultural remains are common in upland areas throughout Scotland. However, this monument is a particularly good example of such remains. Comparable examples include Banheath, farmstead and cultivation remains 1050m SSW, Perth and Kinross (scheduled monument SM7595) and Braid, farmstead and cultivation remains 1200m ENE of Beoch,  Dumfries and Galloway (scheduled monument SM7357).  

The monument provides the opportunity to study the diversity of pre-improvement agricultural practice in Scotland as it is located between the Highlands and Lowlands. It was also in proximity to the low lying cultivated areas of the Forth Valley and a significant cattle drove between the Highlands to Falkirk. This position would have influenced the range of activities undertaken there (Cowley and Harrison 2001, 19). 

As well as Lipney, James Wright also owned the farm at Loss and rented the nearby estates of Fossachie and Airthrey. He had a livestock business with connections to the Western Isles and London (Cowley and Harrison 2001, 10).  There is the potential to study the monument in relation to Wright's other holdings and business ventures to better understand its connections to the wider economy and society. 

Associative characteristics (how a site or place relates to people, events, and/or historic and social movements)

The monument has strong associations with local land owner and prolific record keeper, James Wright as well as the early stages of the agricultural revolution, in particular the 1760s to 1770s. These were a series of changes, often referred to as 'improvements' which were characterised by the introduction of new technologies and farming practices often coupled with the depopulation of rural settlements. 

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

Historic Environment Scotland http://www.canmore.org.uk reference number

CANMORE ID 145080 (accessed on 26/09/2022).

CANMORE ID 145092 (accessed on 26/09/2022).

CANMORE ID 145093 (accessed on 26/09/2022).

CANMORE ID 145075 (accessed on 26/09/2022).

CANMORE ID 145085 (accessed on 26/09/2022).

CANMORE ID 145084 (accessed on 26/09/2022).

CANMORE ID 145086 (accessed on 26/09/2022).

CANMORE ID 145083 (accessed on 26/09/2022).

CANMORE ID 145081 (accessed on 26/09/2022).

CANMORE ID 47147 (accessed on 26/09/2022).

CANMORE ID 145356 (accessed on 26/09/2022).

Local Authority HER/SMR Reference 1902.01 (accessed on 21/07/2022).

Online sources

Cowley, D. and Harrison, J. (2001) 'Well Sheltered and Watered' Menstrie Glen a Farming Landscape Near Stirling. Edinburgh: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. (available at: https://www.academia.edu/42303899/_Well_shelterd_and_watered_Menstrie_Glen_a_farming_landscape_near_Stirling) (accessed on: 23/08/2022).

Dixon, P., Bateson, J. D., Bown, L., Ford, B., Grove, D., Nye, S., Turner, J., Welfare, A., & Wickham-Jones, -. (1999). 'A rural medieval settlement in Roxburghshire: excavations at Springwood Park, Kelso 1985-6.' In Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 128, p. 671-751. (available at: http://journals.socantscot.org/index.php/psas/article/view/10026) (accessed on: 26/09/2022).

Vervust, S. Kinnaird, T. Herring, P. and Turner, S. (2020) 'Optically stimulated luminescence profiling and dating of earthworks: the creation and development of prehistoric field boundaries at Bosigran, Cornwall' in Antiquity Vol. 94 (374) p. 420–436 (available at: https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2019.138) (accessed on: 23/08/2022).

Canmore

https://canmore.org.uk/site/145080/
https://canmore.org.uk/site/145092/
https://canmore.org.uk/site/145093/
https://canmore.org.uk/site/145075/
https://canmore.org.uk/site/145085/
https://canmore.org.uk/site/145084/
https://canmore.org.uk/site/145086/
https://canmore.org.uk/site/145083/
https://canmore.org.uk/site/145081/
https://canmore.org.uk/site/47147/
https://canmore.org.uk/site/145356/

Source: Historic Environment Scotland