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Archaeology Notes
Event ID 837303
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Archaeology Notes
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/837303
NH75NW 1.02 72737 56536
[Chapter House / Court House]. The cathedral of the Bishops of Ross, dedicated to SS Peter and Curitan, was transferred from Rosemarkie (NH75NW 7) to Fortrose about 1235. Of the building of this period only the undercroft of the Chapter-house remains; the upper storey of which was rebuilt in the 19th century as a Court-house. All other remains date apparently from the late 14th and early 15th centuries and consist of the vaulted south aisle of the nave, and the bell-tower. The ground plan was recovered about 1870 by an excavation by H.M. Commissioners of Woods & Forests.
The cathedral fell into disrepair about the time of the Reformation, but was partially repaired in 1615 and by 1649 was not very ruinous. Traditions says that Cromwell subsequently removed most of the masonry.
A R Scott 1873; D MacGibbon and T Ross 1896-7.
The remains of the cathedral are as described above. The area of the nave is defined by shale and only a few base stones of the buttresses remain. The graveyard to the S is still used occasionally, the extant portion of the Cathedral has recently been re-roofed.
Visited by OS (N K B) 9 March 1966.
NH 7271 5652. A series of excavations and a watching brief were carried out by Kirkdale Archaeology at Fortrose Cathedral in February and March 1996. The aim of the project was to establish whether the landscaped layout presently in place accurately reflects the location of the buried elements of the cathedral structure.
The extent of surviving remains was patchy, with noticeably superior masonry revealed towards the W end of the site, perhaps indicating the assumed two-phased construction programme between the nave and the choir.
Sponsor: Historic Scotland
G Ewart and D Stewart 1996.
NH 727 565 Archaeological monitoring was undertaken during two phases of work, December 2005 and March 2006. The first phase was carried out to locate existing electrical services, while the second involved the digging of a trench for the installation of a new power supply for the Chapter House. No finds or features of archaeological significance were encountered during these works.
Archive to be deposited in NMRS.
Sponsor: Historic Scotland
P Fox and C Shaw 2006.
