Old Rayne

NJ62NE 2 6752 2846

(NJ 6752 2846) Bishop of Aberdeen's House (NR)

(Site of)

OS 6" map, (1959)

On a small mount once surrounded by a moat, there was a residence of the Bishop of Aberdeen of which nothing remained in 1845. It was probably built by Alexander Kinninmonth who was made Bishop in 1329. The lands of Rayne were granted to the bishopric in 1137 .

NSA 1845.

In 1840, the site was 'a small rising ground... surrounded by a moat... once a house of residence for the Bishop of Aberdeen..'

A Smith 1875.

The N and E areas of the moat remain as a well ploughed-down depression, about 1.5m maximum depth. It apparently enclosed an area about 60.0m diameter. There are no other remains, but the name and tradition are still known locally.

Revised at 1/2500.

Visited by OS (NKB) 11 March 1969.

Following the granting of planning permission for a house on part of this moated homestead, a small excavation was mounted. With the aid of a JCB, a large area 18m by 12m was stripped and cleared to expose the N arc of a wide ditch. This was then cleaned by hand, revealing the remains of a substantial medieval earthwork, steep-sided on its inner face and with a more gradual slope to the outside. The ditch was 2m deep by 6m at widest. Sherds of 14th century pottery were recovered from low in the ditch-fill.

Only a small area, 6.50m by 3.50m, of the top surface of the mound was excavated but this revealed several post holes and a drainage ditch. A series of complicated layers were found towards the south-east corner of the trench, while a number of large stone roofing slabs and some mortar- bound stones were found on the south edge of the excavated area, towards the inner part of the mound. A few medieval pottery sherds were also found here.

Sponsor: Grampian Regional Council.

M Greig and A Shepherd 1991.

Now largely obliterated by ploughing, the 'foundations' of this episcopal manor were still visible in the 18th century. Although the lands of Rayne were granted to the Bishops of Aberdeen in 1137, this 'Bishop's Manse' is believed to have been constructed for Bishop Alexander Kyninmund (1329-40) during the 2nd quarter of the 14th cent. Boece records that Kyninmund regularly spent the summer and autumn at Fetternear and 'Rain' and that he began to build a residence at Rayne which does not seem to have been completed before his death. Despite this reference to 'a small rising ground' it would appear more likely that the Bishop of Aberdeen's house at Rayne should be recognised as a moated homestead rather than as a motte.

J Moir 1894; (undated) information from Dr N Bogdan in Aberdeen Archaeological Service records.

NMRS, MS/712/19.

This site is listed in an Atlas of Scottish History (McNeill and MacQueen 1996) as a moated site.

Information from RCAHMS (DE) September 1997

Little is now visible of this moated site, which is depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Aberdeenshire 1870, sheet xliv) as a roughly oval enclosure some 60m across, its W side apparently clipped by the public road. By 1901, however, a school had been built upon the W half of the interior (OS 6-inch map, Aberdeenshire 1901, sheet xliv.NE) and, more recently, a house and garden have been constructed there also. The remaining half of the earthwork has been severely reduced by ploughing and the ditch is recognisable only as a broad depression.

Visited by RCAHMS (PC), 22 July 1998.