Archaeology Notes

Event ID 715539

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/715539

NT36NE 9 37738 68389

(NT 3774 6837) Castle (NR) (rems of)

OS 6" map (1967).

See also NT36NE 13.

Location formerly entered as NT 3774 6837.

The remains at this site form an enclosure, 224' square within walls 2'10" thick; the masonry suggests 17th century work. At the NE corner is a very ruinous 17th century house, of which the part that projects within the enclosure appears to be earlier than the portion lying parallel to and incorporated in the E wall. This older portion is a structure 30' wide and of indeterminate length and layout. This site was originally published by the OS as "Supposed site of Nunnery", and it has been scheduled as "Cousland Nunnery". However, Easson makes no mention of the existence of a nunnery here, and the RCAHMS state that though the older part of the building noted above is orientated, in no other way is it suggestive of an ecclesiastical purpose. They consider that the remains are probably those of Cousland Castle, which is indicated on diagrams of the Battle of Pinkie in Patten's "Expedicion into Scotlande". (See also NT36NE 13).

RCAHMS 1929, visited 1921; D E Easson 1957

These remains are as described except that the S wall of the enclosure and part of the N wall have been demolished.

Visited by OS (BS) 22 October 1975.

NT 377 683 An area of ground resistance survey was started on 23 September over a levelled field to the W of Cousland Castle (NT36NE12). The castle, a possible tower house, stands to the S of Cousland village some 60m to the E of a small road that runs S to join the A68. A large stone wall runs for over 100m N beside this road before turning through a right-angle to butt on to the side of the castle; the wall effectively encloses the surveyed area. Seven 20 x 20m squares were surveyed and the printout showed high and low resistance lines adjacent to the castle suggesting an extension or outbuildings to its W. Slight high and low resistance lines run parallel with the W wall and, as there are socket holes in the wall, could indicate a lean-to structure.

The squares to the S show strong high and low resistance amorphous shapes, possibly indicating limestone bedrock. One sharply angled low resistance could be an infilled limestone extraction pit. Further survey is planned to take place in 2007.

Sponsor: D Connolly, British Archaeological Jobs Resource, Cousland Historical Society, Edinburgh Archaeological Field Society.

HMD Jones 2006.

Schedulked as 'Cousland Castle, tower and house 75m ESE of Chapeldyke... [comprising] the remains of a tower house, a later building that adjoined it to the south, and part of a garden wall.'

Information from Historic Scotland, scheduling document dated 25 June 2011.

Castle

(remains of) [NAT]

OS (GIS) MasterMap, June 2011.