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Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Highlands and Islands
Date 2007
Event ID 930255
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/930255
Burghead Harbour
(Historic Engineering Works no. HEW 2530)
This small rectangular harbour on the south-west side of the promontory at Burghead was built from 1807–12 by day labour supervised by Andrew Forsythe, mason of Elgin. A short pier at the entrance provided shelter to
vessels entering the harbour and by 1835 this had been extended by the construction of a breakwater.
Although a short pier has been constructed within the basin and the external harbour wall has been widened externally to provide more quay space, the harbour retains much of its original character. There is a number of early-19th century warehouses on the quayside.
Telford had an involvement only when it became necessary for the local promoters to apply to the Highland Roads & Bridges Commission for finance to complete the harbour, their plan for which is shown.
The plan of 1821, where marked, ‘Roman Station’, shows a then newly-discovered open stone water cistern about 11 ft square, in a chamber now roofed over, at the foot of an ancient flight of steps. This ‘Roman’ or ‘Bailey’s’ well as it is known is not Roman but may date from the Dark
Ages. It is a notable early example of its kind which may have had some religious origin.
R Paxton and J Shipway 2007
Reproduced from 'Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Highlands and Islands' with kind permission from Thomas Telford Publishers.
