Kirkcudbright, 38, 40 High Street

NX 68084 50970 A watching brief was undertaken to the rear of 38–40 High Street in the medieval burgh of Kirkcudbright, during February and March 2020. Works involved the demolition of the former garage/store to the rear of the property and the construction of a new house on the site. The opportunity was also taken to photograph the original 18th-century building at the front of the site after the removal of its slates and roof timbers. This building was previously recorded by RCAHMS prior to the commencement of these works (see Canmore ID 257620).

Construction trenches cut through the concrete floor of the garage/store area exposed a stone wall running on an NW–SE alignment down through the centre of the property. This may have represented the original property boundary between Nos 38 and 40 High Street, behind the street frontage. Generally, there were indications that material had been dumped under the garage/store area to maintain a level with the High Street frontage, over a natural slope to the NW towards the River Dee. In the garden area behind the former garage/store, a trench cut to a depth of 0.6m for a new waste pipe revealed a notable thickness of top-soil to almost the same depth; a feature noted elsewhere in the medieval burgh area. Late 18th- to 20th-century ceramics and bottle glass were found across the site but there were no finds of medieval date.

Archive: NRHE (intended)

Funder: Private individual

David Devereux

(Source: DES Vol 21)