MHG30332 - Landward Defences, Trench system - Cromarty Mains Farm, South Sutor
Summary
Part of the First World War Cromarty Defences
Type and Period (2)
- MILITARY INSTALLATION (First World War - 1914 AD to 1918 AD)
- TRENCH (First World War - 1914 AD to 1918 AD)
Protected Status
- None recorded
Full Description
WWI trench system was in the field south east of Cromarty Mains Farm. All the trenches have now been ploughed out. J A Guy, 20th Century Defences, (report nos. 1, 8 & 11)
A M Fox, Highland Council, 14.11.01.
The trench system is visible on RAF vertical air photographs (106G/UK751, 6034-6035 flown 31 August). The air photographs show a fairly concentrated group of trenches of complicated pattern at NH 7960 6615, with a small triangular trench about a 100m to the SE. In addition, there is what appears to be earthworks running alongside the NW to SE fence which runs adjacent to this site.
Information from RCAHMS (DE), October 2004
It was important to protect coast defence batteries from attack by enemy troops landed behind them. War Department maps dated 1916 (The National Archives WO 78/5193) record that the batteries on the South Sutor were protected by a series of trenches and barbed wire entanglements. One line ran from the north coast of the peninsula behind the line of the Red Burn, in front of Newton of Cromarty farmhouse (see MHG59888). A second series ran from Cromarty Mains Farm SW to the south coast of the peninsula.
Recorded as part of the HS/RCAHMS World War One Audit Project, 2013. <1> <2>
Originally thought to be practice trenches these were part of the fixed landward defences of the coast battery at South Sutor. Positioned across the ridge on the SE side of Gallow Hill they made use of the land to provided a strong firing position. The remains of a wall to the S of Cromarty Mains farm is all that is known to have survived of the defences.
The NE trench system visible on the aerial photographs is much more complex than the plans suggest.
For the line between Newton of Cromarty to the Cromarty Firth shoreline see MHG59888.
Information from RCAHMS (AKK) 1 August 2013.
GIS spatial data copied from data supplied by AKK from the RCAHMS World War One Survey Project. <3>
Sources/Archives (4)
- --- SHG20874 Text/Report/Fieldwork Report: Guy, J. A.. 2000. Highland Region: A Survey of the 20th Century Defences. Historic Scotland. 30/01/2001. Digital (scanned as PDF). Vol 2, 104.
- --- SHG28062 Collection/Project Archive: Kilpatrick, A K. 2014. RCAHMS World War One Survey Project. Digital. No.504. XY
- <1> SHG23282 Interactive Resource/Online Database: Historic Environment Scotland. Canmore. 173660.
- <2> SHG27124 Text/Report/Fieldwork Report: Barclay, G.J.. 2014. The Built Heritage of the First World War in Scotland: The report of a project commissioned by Historic Scotland & RCAHMS. Unaffiliated. Digital. pp 18-20, table 5.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NH 7948 6583 (895m by 984m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NH76NE |
| Geographical Area | ROSS AND CROMARTY |
| Civil Parish | CROMARTY |
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (1)
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/173660/cromarty-defences-fort-south-sutor-cromarty-mains-farm-landward-defences (Link to online HES Canmore record)
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