Auchnacraig Hill

Documentary research in the archives of Invercauld Estate and the census records.

Field visit and plane table survey.

Auchnacraig sits on a south facing slope on a wide grassy saddle between the hills of Drum Cholzie and Auchnacraig at an altitude of between 420 and 430m OD. There is limited shelter from the prevailing south-westerly winds.

A cluster of seven buildings and an enclosure form the centre of the settlement. A further five buildings are scattered around the W, S and E sides up to a distance of 320m from the centre. Only Buildings A, C, E &F are shown as roofed on the George Brown survey map of 1807-09 (George Brown Survey, 1807-09, Invercauld Papers). Approximately 350m to the SW lies the settlement of Clashmuick (N38NW 4).

A pattern of rig and furrow cultivation, at approximately 8m spacing, radiates around the slopes of Auchnacraig Hill to the N and W of the main township. There are several lynchets on the slopes around the settlement indicating a long period of cultivation.

The head dyke were built before the George Brown Survey of 1807-09 and then added to and altered in the improvement period when the summit and N-facing slopes of Auchnacraig Hill were enclosed for tree planting. Some traces were found of earlier dykes, now extensively robbed, and in many places the footings of the old dykes run close to the new dykes which replaced them.

All locations were measured using a hand held GPS.

Building A

This building lies on a NW-SE alignment with internal measurements of 6.7mx2.8m. The walls are of drystone construction with rubble infill, roughly dressed on the external face, and stand up to three courses high. The W wall has been severely robbed and there is no obvious entrance. The building has square corners.

A sub-rectangular enclosure of drystone construction lies to the W of the building. It measures approximately 29mx24m and abuts onto the SW and NW corners of Building A.

Building B

This building lies on a NW-SE alignment with internal measurements of 3.4mx2.6m. The walls, which are of drystone construction, are much reduced and partially grassed over. There is an entrance in the SE wall and the corners are nearly square.

Building C

This building lies on an ENE-WSW alignment with internal measurements of 5.1mx2.2m. The walls are of drystone construction with rubble infill and stand up to two courses high. The corners are slightly rounded and there is no obvious entrance.

Building D

This building lies on an ENE-WSW alignment with internal measurements of 6.0mx2.4m. An internal division wall divides the building transversely into two halves. The walls are of drystone construction with rubble infill and stand up to two courses high. The corners are square and there is a possible entrance in the E wall.

Building E

This building lies roughly on an E-W alignment with internal measurements of 11.8x3.4m. The walls are of drystone construction with rubble infill and stand up to four courses high. The corners are slightly rounded and there is an entrance located approximately halfway along the S wall. The footings of an L-shaped wall butt onto the inside of the W wall. An outshot, of rougher construction, with internal dimensions of 3.0mx2.0m, abuts onto the W end of the building and is open to the S.

Building F

This building lies on an NW-SE alignment with internal measurements of 4.6mx2.6m. The walls are of drystone construction with rubble infill and stand up to four courses high. The stones are roughly faced on the outside. The corners are slightly rounded and there is an entrance in the SW wall. At the SE end of the building there is a raised platform some 0.5m higher than the floor, the full width of the building and 1.0m deep.

Building G

This building lies on an ENE-WSW alignment with internal measurements of 4.0mx2.6m. The walls, which are of drystone construction with rubble infill, stand up to two courses high in places but have largely been reduced to grass grown footings. The corners are rounded and there is an entrance in the S wall.

Outlying Buildings:

Building H

This building is situated at NO 34138 89132 at an altitude of 410m OD in a prominent position below two large areas of lynchet. The internal measurements are 7.8x2.0m and it is aligned NW-SE up and down the slope on its long axis. The walls have been constructed using field boulders and stand up to 0.6m high. The internal corners are square whilst the external ones are rounded and there is one entrance in the NE wall. This building is not marked on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map or the George Brown survey map.

There is a less well defined structure extending from the SE end of Building H visible as raised grassy banks with occasional stones, forming two edges and a rounded end. It is on a similar alignment to Building H and measures internally 8.3mx2.7m. This building is also not marked on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map or the George Brown survey map.

Building I

This building is situated at NO 34152 89147, approximately 15m from Building H, at an altitude of 410m OD. The internal measurements are 8.1x2.3m and it is aligned NE-SW across the slope on its long axis. The walls have been construction using field boulders and stands up to 0.5m high. The corners are rounded and there is one entrance near the S corner of the SE wall. This building is not marked on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map or the George Brown survey map.

Building J

This building is situated at NO 33996 88979 at an altitude of 420m. The internal measurements are 6.2x2.2m and it is aligned NW-SE across the slope on its long axis. The walls have been construction using field boulders and stands up to 0.4m high. The corners are rounded and there is one entrance in the NE wall. This building is not marked on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map or the George Brown survey map.

Building K

This building is situated at NO 33803 89084 at an altitude of 420m. The internal measurements are 10.7x2.3m and it is aligned NW-SE across the slope on its long axis. It is built of drystone construction using field boulders and stands 0.5m high at most. The corners are rounded and there are two entrances in the SW wall. The remains are overgrown with tall heather. Marked on the first edition OS map but not shown on the George Brown map.

Enclosure

An unevenly shaped enclosure is located to the NW of the Auchnacraig main township at NO 33695 89284. It is an integral part of the settlement boundary dyke and consists of two main cells, a small cell and a further three smaller walled structures (possibly buildings or small enclosures) all within the main enclosure. All walls are constructed from rough stone, stand up to 0.5m high and are heather grown. There are no obvious entrances to the main enclosure but each of the three smaller walled structures have an opening. This site is shown on the 1st edition OS 6-inch map as a single enclosure while the George Brown survey map depicts an enclosure with a roofed building within.

Building L

This building lies at NO 3372 8934, outside of the head dyke, and at an altitude of 410m. The internal measurements are 6.0x2.5m and it is aligned NW-SE up and down the slope on its long axis. The walls have been construction using field boulders and stands up to 1.0m high. The corners are rounded and there is no obvious entrance. This building is not marked on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map but is shown on the George Brown survey map as an unroofed building or possibly an enclosure.

Information from Glen Muick SRP Group