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MHG66218 - Building - Kinloch

Summary

An ovoid or sub-rectangular structure which measures 14m NE-SW by 10 m externally.

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

An unnamed depopulated settlement in existence in 1747 and consisting of the ruins of about 25 buildings and enclosures, of which about five appear to be long-houses. Being part of 'Lord Reay's Country' it was probably not cleared until c.1855. Talbot notes that foundation at NC 556 532 is bow-sided, some 17m by 10m with straight gables, 6m long. It is aligned roughly NW-SE on flat ground and rigs encroach slightly upon it.
W Roy 1747-55; OS 6" map, Sutherland, 1st ed., (1874); J Prebble 1963;
E Talbot 1973

This abandoned township is on W shore of the Kyle of Tongue. The remains inside an extensive head-dyke comprise a close grouping of five long-houses, ranging from 15 by 4.5m to 28x 4m, with accompanying enclosures and subsidiary buildings; down the slope rig-and-furrow covers much of a raised beach. The foundation noted by Talbot, at NC 5566 5307, is in this cultivated, level ground. It is a bow-sided enclosure measuring approximately 14.5m, NE - SW, by 8m internally; the wall, up to 0.7m high and an estimated 1.2m wide, is partially turf-covered but appears of roughly coursed medium to small stone. No entrance is visible. An arc of residual walling sub-divides the interior. The enclosure seems more mature than another SW of it in the untilled ground and it may be from an early phase of the deserted township.
Re-surveyed at 1:10 000. Visited by OS (JM) 20 November 1978

A township comprising 25 unroofed structures, of which 14 are buildings, six are structures and five are enclosures, is depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Sutherland 1878, sheet xxv). Ten unroofed structures, of which eight are enclosures and two are buildings, one of which is sub-divided, are shown on the current edition of the OS 1:10,000 map (1990).
Information from RCAHMS (FO) 18 August 1995.

A rapid coastal zone assessment survey was conducted by GUARD in the Autumn of 1997 commissioned by Historic Scotland from the Viking and Early Settlement Archaeological Research Project based at the University of Glasgow.

The majority of the structures represented on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Sutherland 1878, sheet xxv) and those depicted on the current OS 1:10 000 map (1990) lie deep in the hinterland, and thus outside the scope of this survey. This is an un-named depopulated settlement in existence in 1747 and probably not cleared until around 1855. Two structures were recorded in this survey, both of which are depicted as circles on the current OS 1:10 000 map (1990) and described as `bow-shaped' in the NMRS from Talbot's D86ES entry (1973, 55) and from a site-visit by the OS (JM) in 1978:
(b) Located immediately to the NE of the enclosure just described is an ovoid or sub-rectangular structure which measures 14m NE-SW by 10 m externally. There is an internal dividing wall in this structure which is located 5 m from the SW wall. Although largely turfed-over, this building would appear to be constructed from roughly-coursed stone with walls surviving to 0.7 m high. There is an artificial mound outside the NE end which measures 4 m NW-SE by 2.5 m and may represent an area of tumble from the primary structure or the ruins of a small secondary building. <1>

NGR adjusted based on 1999-2001 vertical aerial photographs. <2>

Sources/Archives (5)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NC 5567 5307 (33m by 24m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NC55SE
Geographical Area	SUTHERLAND
Civil Parish	TONGUE

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (2)

Related Investigations/Events (1)

External Links (1)