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Balmacara, The Square

Farmhouse (Period Unassigned), Farmstead (Period Unassigned), Visitor Centre (Modern), Watermill (Period Unassigned)

Site Name Balmacara, The Square

Classification Farmhouse (Period Unassigned), Farmstead (Period Unassigned), Visitor Centre (Modern), Watermill (Period Unassigned)

Alternative Name(s) Balmacara Estate; Balmacara Farm Square; Cromarty House

Canmore ID 123707

Site Number NG82NW 42

NGR NG 80589 28287

NGR Description Centred NG 80589 28287

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/123707

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
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Administrative Areas

  • Council Highland
  • Parish Lochalsh
  • Former Region Highland
  • Former District Skye And Lochalsh
  • Former County Ross And Cromarty

Recording Your Heritage Online

Balmacara Square Small hamlet north of the former kitchen garden and woodland walks, occupying the site of an old cattle gathering stance at the foot of Sgur Mhor. Its name comes from the home farm complex, restored and converted by Wittets Architects, 2000, for the National Trust for Scotland. (For more on the NTS's croft reclamation and other initiatives here, see p.194). The focus of the Square is a long steading surmounted by an Italianate ashlar tower, c.1820, now five flats. Earlier U-plan ranges to its rear are now work units and a small interpretation centre. The dwelling range (two houses), possibly of 18th century origin, runs forwards at right angles, but was never matched by a corresponding wing; instead, there is a detached hay barn, c.1820 (now converted), and (restored) millpond. Behind, a derelict mill.

[Balmacara home farm was turned into crofts c.1918 (although some of these reverted back to a farm, c.1954). In the spirit of former laird Sir Daniel Hamilton, the NTS is currently engaged in 'one of the most exciting and innovative integrated rural development projects in its history'. It has reorganised the township, splitting up 300 acres of redundant home farm land and creating eight new crofts for local people. It has restored the buildings and rescusitated the millpond, dam, lade and ice house. This £1.3 million scheme has been carried out in partnership with the community.]

Taken from "Western Seaboard: An Illustrated Architectural Guide", by Mary Miers, 2008. Published by the Rutland Press http://www.rias.org.uk

Archaeology Notes

NG82NW 42.00 centred 80589 28287

NG82NW 42.01 NG 80589 28251 Ice House

NG 780 300 (centre) In the springs of 1995 and 1996 a field survey was carried out on the NTS Balmacara Estate. The estate covers approximately 22.5 sqkm of the Lochalsh peninsula. It lies largely within the points of a triangle formed by Kyle in the SW, Plockton in the N and Balmacara in the SE. The range of topographic variation found within the estate largely reflects that found on the W coast of Scotland generally. The range of sites found during the survey reflects this topographic variation.

During two seasons of survey 109 new sites were recorded. A full report is lodged with the NMRS.

1995

NG 8058 2827 Concrete well head

Sponsors: National Trust for Scotland, Historic Scotland

M Wildgoose 1996.

NG 8062 2829 A standing building survey was completed by Kirkdale Archaeology at Balmacara Square, an 18th-19th-century steading complex, in January 1997, and a further contour survey and survey of the associated mill, cottages and ?ice house was completed in September 1997.

The initial standing building survey revealed the multi-phased nature of the steading. The earliest elements were erected in the final quarter of the 18th century, when the estates of Balmacara had been returned to the newly created Lord Seaforth. There followed a succession of owners, each of whom added further elements to the steading, the most important of which was the Italianate tower added in the 1820s by Sir Hugh Innes. The steading complex also included a threshing mill, served by an artificially enhanced mill pond and stone-lined lades, and a range of two cottages housing a ploughman and shepherd.

Sponsor: National Trust for Scotland

G Ewart and A Dunn 1997.

NG 806 283 The excavation and recording of the steadings at Balmacara Square was brought about by the National Trust for Scotland's plan to convert the now dilapidated buildings into houses and offices.

A total of 26 trenches were excavated between August and September 1998. The excavations were designed to solve dating and construction sequence questions raised by a buildings survey carried out by Kirkdale Archaeology in the spring of 1997 (Ewart and Dunn 1997). The excavations revealed that the steadings had been constructed in the latter half of the 18th century and had undergone three major periods of expansion and one period of contraction before they reached their present state.

Excavations were also carried out in the (now empty) mill pond which lies to the NE of the steadings. This revealed that the pond had been excavated, and the dam raised, in the middle of the 19th century. The mill pond had then gradually silted up over a period of 60 years, culminating with the abandonment of the nearby mill, the mill pond and its related lade system in the first quarter of the 20th century. The dam was breached and the pond drained in the 1970s.

Reports are lodged with Highland SMR and the NMRS.

Sponsor: National Trust for Scotland

M Wildgoose 1999.

A watching brief was carried out during the stripping out and refurbishment of the farm steading at Balmacara Square during the summer of 2000. Finds, again, proved to be almost totally absent. The mill pond however proved more productive with upwards of 200 sherds of pottery and glass recovered. The majority of the finds related to the Commercial Bank of Scotland (ink wells and bottles) which stood across the road, on the north-east side of the square. All the finds from the excavation of the mill pond, post date its construction (1840's).

Perhaps the most important find of the watching brief, was the recovery of the five lithics from the stream grave's. These lithics indicate the presence of an early prehistoric site at some point upstream from the mill pond. Lithic scatters are extremely rare in this area.

M Wildgoose 2001.

Activities

Standing Building Recording (20 January 1997 - 5 September 1997)

NG 8062 2829 A standing building survey was completed by Kirkdale Archaeology at Balmacara Square, an 18th-19th-century steading complex, in January 1997, and a further contour survey and survey of the associated mill, cottages and ?ice house was completed in September 1997.

The initial standing building survey revealed the multi-phased nature of the steading. The earliest elements were erected in the final quarter of the 18th century, when the estates of Balmacara had been returned to the newly created Lord Seaforth. There followed a succession of owners, each of whom added further elements to the steading, the most important of which was the Italianate tower added in the 1820s by Sir Hugh Innes. The steading complex also included a threshing mill, served by an artificially enhanced mill pond and stone-lined lades, and a range of two cottages housing a ploughman and shepherd.

G Ewart and A Dunn 1997

Sponsor: National Trust for Scotland

Kirkdale Archaeology

Condition Survey (1998 - 1998)

The placename of Balmakairen is recorded on Bleau's mid-17th century map of the area (presumably sourced from Pont's survey of the 1590s).

Roy records the township of Ballnacarra in the vicinity of Blamacara Square in the mid-18th century, surrounded by a large swathe of runrig.

However, by the time of the Blackadder estate map of 1807 the township seems to have disappeared and 'farm offices' and associated buildings have been established.

The 1st edition OS map (surveyed in 1873-4) names the settlement, with a Commercial Bank of Scotland, kennels and icehouse, as Balmacara. The 2nd edition OS map (1902) offers no specific name. It is therefore not known when the buildings acquired the name Balmacara Square.

NTS Ref: BAL 112 (Information from condition report for NTS produced by Jill Harden 2000)

A range of historical and archaeological research has been undertaken on the 'farm offices' and associated buildings now known as Balmacara Square, as listed below:

Wildgoose, M 1995 Balmacara Mill Excavation (report to NTS, copied to NMRS)

Wildgoose, M 1997 Bank Cottage, Balmacara [Square] Demolished November 1997 - a Reconstruction on Paper (report to NTS, copied to NMRS)

Kirkdale Archaeology 1997 Balmacara Square Archaeological Recording [of the steading and hay barn] Initial Draft Report (to NTS, copied to NMRS)

Kirkdale Archaeology 1997 Balmacara Square Statement of Cultural Significance [of the steading and hay barn] (report to NTS, copied to NMRS)

Kirkdale Archaeology 1997 Balmacara Square Contour Survey and Archaeological Recording of the Mill and Cottages First Draft Report (to NTS, copied to NMRS)

Kirkdale Archaeology 1998 Balmacara Square Contour Survey and Archaeological Recording of the Mill and Cottages Second Draft Report (to NTS, copied to NMRS)

Wildgoose, M 1998 Balmacara Square Archaeological Excavations Interim Report (to NTS, copied to NMRS)

Wildgoose, M 1999 Balmacara Square Archaeological Excavations Excavation Report (to NTS, copied to NMRS)

Wildgoose, M 2001 Balmacara Square Watching Brief Final Report (to NTS, copied to NMRS)

A copy of the architect's survey plans of the steading and hay barn in Balmacara Square c1997 is held in the NTS office Inverness

NTS commissioned condition report as follow-up to Dualchas survey undertaken by Jill Harden

Watching Brief (12 October 2015 - 16 October 2015)

A programme of archaeological monitoring was required in relation to the placement of a new electric connection by SSE, comprising underground cables and the footing for a substation, through the centre of the village Balmacara Square.

Some remnants of archaeology – namely the dairy footing and the remnants of a ditch – not disturbed by the earlier site clearance in the north-east area of the development were removed without monitoring.

There was no indication of any intact archaeology during the monitoring of the trenches for the cables and for the substation. The cable trench was excavated into earlier trenches used for services relating to the street lighting, BT lines, and water mains, and as a result the stratigraphy was completely disturbed and also represented imported materials used for the backfill.

The footing for the substation contained a thin lens of topsoil over a deposit of very mixed and clearly redeposited material. The finds of plastic Styrofoam at the interface between the natural and the redeposited layer indicate that the disturbance must have occurred within the last 50 years.

The mill pond itself and its associated lades and cattle ramp were photographed for posterity and to show the natural aging of the reconstructions. These now look very much part of the natural millpond scene.

Information from OASIS ID: westcoas1-230075 (M Peteranna) 2015

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