Scheduled Monument

Ardclach Bell TowerSM90020

Status: Removed

Documents

Where documents include maps, the use of this data is subject to terms and conditions (https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/termsandconditions).

The legal document available for download below constitutes the formal designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The additional details provided on this page are provided for information purposes only and do not form part of the designation. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within this additional information.

Summary

Date Added
28/08/1995
Date Removed:
23/11/2017
Local Authority
Highland
Parish
Ardclach
NGR
NH 95381 45334
Coordinates
295381, 845334

Removal Reason

The bell tower is a roofed structure that requires routine maintenance and listing is the more appropriate designation to recognise its significance and allow for its maintenance and upkeep.

Description

The monument consists of a small detached tower built as a bell tower for the church (founded 1626, apparently on a virgin site), sited 0.3km away but 60m lower in the bottom of the valley of the River Findhorn.

The two-storey tower, approximately 4.3m square, is constructed of harled stonework with ashlar dressings and with a slated, double- pitched roof with a stone ridge. The tower was used not only as a belfry but also as a watch tower and local prison, the first two functions making necessary a hilltop site.

The tower is dated 1655 externally, and internally a further plaque displays the monogram MGB for Alexander Brodie of Lethen and his wife Margaret Grant, on whose estate it was situated. It is suggested that the building of the tower may have been a response to attacks by Royalist forces on Brodie, a noted Covenanter. If it is any earlier than this date, it is not greatly so.

The south gable contains both date stone and belfry; the latter has a pyramidal capping and openings in all four sides. The tower is entered at the SE corner and contains a windowless vaulted chamber on the ground floor, together with stairs to the upper floor, which has a chimneypiece in the north wall, flanked by 2 gunloops. There is one further gunloop in the N gable and 3 windows, 2 in the E and one in the W wall, all at first floor level.

The area to be scheduled comprises a square of side 15m, centred on the tower, to contain the tower and an area around it which may provide evidence for activities connected with its construction and use, as marked in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance as an unusual bell tower of 17th century date, associated with post-Reformation ecclesiastical reorganisation. Study of its standing remains is likely to provide evidence for building practices and ecclesiastical and social organisation during the early modern period.

References

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NH 94 NE 1.

References:

Hay, G. (1957) The architecture of Scottish post-Reformation churches, 1560-1843, Oxford, 173.

MacGibbon, D. and Ross, T. (1892) The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth centuries, 5v, Edinburgh, Vol. 5, 218.

Ritchie, J. B. (1932) The Pageant of Morayland, Elgin, 163-7.

Historic Environment Scotland Properties

Ardclach Bell Tower

https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/ardclach-bell-tower

Find out more

Related Designations

  1. ARDCLACH BELL TOWERLB551

    Designation Type
    Listed Building (A)
    Status
    Designated

About Scheduled Monuments

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Scheduling is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for monuments and archaeological sites of national importance as set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.

We schedule sites and monuments that are found to be of national importance using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Scheduled monument records provide an indication of the national importance of the scheduled monument which has been identified by the description and map. The description and map (see ‘legal documents’ above) showing the scheduled area is the designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The statement of national importance and additional information provided are supplementary and provided for general information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within the statement of national importance or additional information. These records are not definitive historical or archaeological accounts or a complete description of the monument(s).

The format of scheduled monument records has changed over time. Earlier records will usually be brief. Some information will not have been recorded and the map will not be to current standards. Even if what is described and what is mapped has changed, the monument is still scheduled.

Scheduled monument consent is required to carry out certain work, including repairs, to scheduled monuments. Applications for scheduled monument consent are made to us. We are happy to discuss your proposals with you before you apply and we do not charge for advice or consent. More information about consent and how to apply for it can be found on our website at www.historicenvironment.scot.

Find out more about scheduling and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

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Printed: 29/03/2024 08:06