Craggan Hill

Historical document research in the archives of Invercauld Estate

This dispersed township lies on both sides of the modern road to the Spittal of Glenmuick, in an area of rough grass and heather moorland, slightly elevated above the boggy ground which slopes gently down to the Water of Muick, some 250m to the W. On the E side of the road, the ground rises slightly and there is a modern plantation here within which two of the township buildings are situated. The settlement covers a wide area with the visible remains of nine buildings and seven enclosures centred upon five locations: NO30971 85878, NO30971 85878, NO31078 86181, NO31114 86100 and NO31069 86006. The walls are built of roughly dressed field or river boulders and stand to a maximum height of 0.8m.

All of the township’s buildings are shown as unroofed on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map (Aberdeenshire, 1869, sheet c) and all, except those at NO30971 85878 and NO31114 86100, appear on an estate map of 1807-9, under the name of Titaboutie (George Brown, Survey and Plan of the Spittal of Glenmuick, Titaboutie, Forester Haugh and Byallachour, 1807-09, Invercauld Papers). The survey accompanying this map outlines plans to amalgamate Titaboutie with Forester Haugh (a small neighbouring farm to the N) and the Spittal of Glenmuick (a larger, neighbouring township to the S), to create one large stock farm called the Spittal of Glenmuick. At this time, the tenant was Donald Fraser who “had a fraction of an acre along the burn east of the houses and over an acre of excellent land by the water” (Sheila Sedgwick, “The Legion of the Lost” (Wm Culross & Son Ltd, 1999, p117). This burn is no longer in evidence, but the better land by the river still exists. Titaboutie does not appear in the 1841 census, but Sheila Sedgwick refers to a school and public house here until at least 1815 (p 117-118), which suggests that it became deserted at some point between 1815 and 1841, probably following amalgamation with the Spittal of Glenmuick.

The township buildings have been surveyed at scales of 1:100 and 1:200 and the resulting plans incorporated into a landscape map covering the whole site (Titaboutie Composite Map). A detailed site description follows, below, and this should be read in conjunction with the Titaboutie Composite Map and the individual building/group plans.

Buildings A, B, F, H at NO30971 85878

This appears to be the core of the township. It comprises four buildings (A, B, F and H) and three enclosures (1 , 2 and 3), incorporated into a head dyke which runs due S to the Spittal of Glenmuick.

Building A is aligned N/S and measures 5.5m x 3.1m internally. It has rounded corners, both internally and externally and there is an entrance midway along its E wall. The walls stand to waist height at the N end, but are reduced to footings up to 0.6m elsewhere.

Building B is aligned E/W and measures 6.9m x 3.8m internally. It has opposed openings in the N and S walls and was presumably a winnowing barn. The walls are reduced to low stone footings and are covered in heather.

Building F, a byre dwelling, is aligned N/S and measures 15.2m x 3.4m internally. The corners at the S end are squared and those at the N end are rounded. There are two openings in the E wall and an internal inserted partition wall approximately 3.5m from its S end, which forms a small unit, accessed from the main building. There is a small level terrace to the W of the building which may have been a garden plot, or may be the platform of an earlier building.

Building H is aligned N/S and measures 4.2m x 2.3m internally, with an opening in the E wall. There are two consecutive out-shots to the N, with internal measurements of 4.5m x 2.4m and 3m x 2m, respectively. The walls are much tumbled.

The remains of an enclosure (3) lie S and W of buildings A and B and there is a small level feature inside it which may be the corner of an earlier building.

Some 30m N of these buildings, the head dyke forms a T junction, incorporating a small rectangular enclosure of 9.5m x 25m (1), before turning sharply E up the hill for some 100m, before turning N again down the glen. A second dyke runs NW from the head dyke to form a roughly rectangular enclosure of 0.42 ha (2). The fourth side has presumably been obliterated by the modern road. The land inside this enclosure is shown on the estate plan of 1807-1809 as arable land (George Brown, Spittal of Glenmuick, Titaboutie, Forester Haugh and Byallachour, 1807-09, Invercauld Papers).

The head dyke also extends W from the smaller enclosure towards the river. After some 30m evidence of stone ceases but a distinct elevated ridge some 1.5m wide continues over the boggy ground to within 50m of the river and the good pasture which lies alongside it. Here there is evidence of peat-digging; it is possible that the ridge is the remains of an old turf wall. It is on the alignment of an enclosure boundary shown on the Estate plan of 1807-1809 by George Brown.

Building N at NO30971 85878

Approximately 300m S of the main group is a small building (N) with attached enclosure (4), built into the head dyke. The building is aligned N/S with the head dyke and measures 11m x 2.6m internally. It is subdivided by an inserted wall placed approximately 3m from its S end. There is a single opening in the W wall just to the N of the internal partition. The enclosure is attached to the S wall of the building and measures 26m x 12m. Some 20m S of the enclosure, a short section of dyke runs W from the head dyke towards the Water of Muick, but peters out after approximately 12m. The walls of both building and enclosure are reduced to grass covered footings.

Kiln Barn J at NO31078 86181

Approximately 70m E and uphill of the main group is a kiln barn (J), presently hidden in a small, densely planted larch plantation. It is aligned E/W and is scarped into a significant slope with the kiln bowl at the uphill (E) end and the barn down-slope, with an opening in its lower (W) end. The kiln bowl is 1.7m deep and measures 1.9m in diameter at the top and 1.1m at the bottom. The barn measures 3.6m x 2.2m internally. The walls stand to a maximum height of 0.9m and are of dry-stone construction with no infill. There is some plough damage to the E wall.

Building K at NO31114 86100

Approximately 80m S of the kiln barn (J), and also within the plantation, is a small building (K) with attached yard (5), lying on a N/S alignment across a moderate slope. The building occupies a small level platform and measures 4.5m x 2.0m internally. There may be an entrance mid-way along its W wall where a pine tree is now growing. The yard extends to the W of the building and measures 4.5m x 2.8m internally, with a possible entrance in its S wall where it joins the building at its S end. The walls are of dry-stone construction with no infill.

Buildings L and M at NO31069 86006

Approximately 80m further S south are two small buildings (L & M) occupying level platforms on a moderately steep slope, with large, conjoined enclosures (6 and 7) attached. The walls are much tumbled, and overgrown with heather, making it difficult to determine features and wall faces with certainty. They were depicted as a sheepfold on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map, but this was clearly a secondary use.

Information from SRP Spittal of Glenmuick, April 2010.

Building L is aligned approximately N/S and measures 8.8 x 2m internally, with walls standing to a maximum height of 0.6m. A sub-rectangular enclosure, 12.m x 8.5m, is attached to the W (down-slope) side of the building (6). This is formed by dry-stone walls, up to 0.9m high, incorporating some large natural boulders. There are no obvious entrances to either the building or the enclosure.

Building M is also aligned approximately N/S and measures 8mx 2m internally. The entrance is on the W (down-slope) wall and a freshwater spring is located some 8m below. A dry-stone dyke runs from the SE corner of this building in a roughly circular shape to join the SE corner of Building L. At its widest points the enclosure (7) measures 29m x 32m; it has one opening in the E wall at the highest point and another in the W wall at the lowest point. The enclosed land slopes steeply in places with large stones and rock outcrops so is unlikely to have been cultivated.