Archaeological Evaluation

Date September 2004

Event ID 998089

Category Recording

Type Archaeological Evaluation

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/998089

An excavation took place in September 2004 following a geophysical survey of the area. Three trenches were opened in an attempt to find the manse, agricultural buildings and the garden, associated with the chuch. An early substantial building wall was found, which pre-dated the manse. The foundations of the manse were found, and survive to a depth of 0.7m and are around 1m wide. The full height of the foundations have not survived, the top section being removed when the manse was demolished in 1964. It would appear the manse replaced an earlier manse (or manses) on this or a nearby site. The manse was internally 11.80m. Local knowledge indicated that the manse has three floors on the S side and two on the N. A driveway and garden were also discovered. The garden wall, separating the garden and agricultural land was also uncovered. A large, long farm building, the remains of which were still partly upstanding, was also excavated and found to have cobble floors.

The current building remains of the church are covered in harling making it hard to determine its date. it may be as late as the 17th century. The belfry, now covered in ivy, contains an inscription which reads 'M M MINISTER 1704'. The church was used by the Presbyterians until it was replaced by the new parish church built in 1829.

A Cameron, 2004