Old House Of Ardross

NH67SW 48 6132 7484

A farmstead comprising one unroofed, two roofed buildings and three enclosures is depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Ross-shire and Cromartyshire 1881, sheet liii). Two roofed buildings and an enclosure are shown on the current edition of the OS 1:10000 map (1978).

Information from RCAHMS (SAH) 4 April 1996

NH 613 748 A well was discovered during water pipe laying operations in February 2001 and was excavated by Clare and Steve Farrukh in September 2001. Excavation revealed two covering stones each approximately 1.6m long, 0.8m wide and 0.15m thick, and lying 0.17m below ground surface. Each stone had a semi-circle cut in the central long side to allow a 10cm diameter pipe to pass through. It had been held in place by a 0.3m square plate (not found) which had been attached to the covering slabs by a fixing point at each corner, one of which contained a bent square nail. The pipe survives below the covering slabs and held clear water at a depth of 6.17m; there was wet mud in the well itself at a depth of 5.7m. The well was examined by suspending a light through the central hole, and the bottom surfaces of the covering slabs were photographed. They were not carved. The well is drystone-lined with a descending spiral of protruding stones. It is slightly ovoid with an internal diameter of 1.08m. The top surfaces of the covering slabs show abrasion marks beneath the site of the central square plate, and signs of wear on one slab may indicate repeated use of a pump. The 1st edition 6 inch OS map shows a pump near this point. The OS Name Book (1874) mentions two cottages on the house site 30m to the NE. These are now occupied as a single dwelling.

J Robertson 2002