Scardroy

The remains of the upper township at Scardroy are distributed around a series of natural knolls on south facing but marginal ground at an altitude of approximately 180m, 500m to the NW of the lower township of Scardroy/Keanloch Beancharain (NH25SW 023). The township comprises 5 buildings, 2 enclosures and fragments of field or boundary dykes interspersed between pockets of former improved ground bounded on the W side by the Scardroy Burn. Much of the ground consists of mixed woodland with young trees although it is generally quite open with a covering of grass and heather and surrounded by a high deer fence. It is currently used for pheasant rearing. The township may have been established as a result of clearance from the original lower township of Scardroy/Keanloch Beancharain (NH25SW 023) in order to make way for Scardroy Lodge.

The remains of five individual buildings were recorded (Nosas Site Survey Nos. 403, 405, 407, 410 and 414) three of which were included but marked as unroofed on the 1st Edition OS 1881. The building remains generally consist of stone wall footings of rectangular plan nowhere standing to more than 0.5m high, and all overgrown with grass, heather and trees. The largest building measures c. 15m x 3.5m between wall faces and is one of only two buildings where an internal sub-dividing wall was evident and it is probable that these more substantial buildings were dwellings. No walls remained high enough to determine the location of any window openings but S facing entrances were located in all buildings. Individual buildings are located at (403) NH 20981 51738, (405) NH 21098 51903, (407) NH 21004 52048, (410) NH 20883 51948 and (414) NH 20932 51887.

Other discrete features recorded were a small square turf walled enclosure (412) at NH 20895 51892) standing to 0.4m height with an entrance in the SW corner and pit (413) at NH 20939 51892 some 0.5m deep with a diameter of 1.5m.

There remain distinct sections of linear stone and dyke earth dykes of varying length, upstanding to c.0.5m, some of which may be fragments of a head dyke belonging to the earlier,now largely destroyed township of Keanloch Beanchran downslope to the E, or Ballinan to the W.

Located on the E side of the township is another, larger enclosure (406) at NH 21032 52025 formed by a substantial earth bank and is reckoned to be of fairly recent construction associated with pheasant management on the modern estate.

Information from North of Scotland Archaeological Society