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Burnt Hill
Farmstead (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Burnt Hill
Classification Farmstead (Period Unassigned)
Canmore ID 270947
Site Number ND34SW 324
NGR ND 34024 44722
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/270947
- Council Highland
- Parish Wick
- Former Region Highland
- Former District Caithness
- Former County Caithness
ND34SW 324 34024 44722
This farmstead is situated immediately W of the public road linking the villages of Thrumster and Sarclet, some 60m N of the disused Thrumster School. It is laid out around three sides of a central yard, and a garden enclosure lies immediately ENE of the northern range. A large quarry (ND34SW 258), which in part may have supplied some of the stone to build the farmstead, lies immediately to the SE, between it and the school.
The northern range, on the NNW side of the courtyard, (YARROWS04 189) measures 19.5m from ENE to WSW by 5.3m transversely over rubble walls and is roofed with corrugated asbestos sheets. Its interior has been divided into two dwellings, the eastern one with a central door and two flanking windows in its SSE side, and the western one with a door and a window to its E, again opening into the yard.
The building on the WSW side of the yard (YARROWS04 190), which is roofless, was originally built as a freestanding structure, but it was linked to the NNW range by a corrugated iron roof that has since collapsed. The building measures 12m from NNW to SSE by 4.2m transversely over rubble walls. The interior contains two compartments, each with an entrance in its ENE side. The northern compartment was a byre; two upright flagstones are set at right angles to the NNW end and there is a central drain. The southern compartment has a blocked window in the wall opposite its doorway.
The building on the SSE side of the yard (YARROWS04 191) is separated from its neighbour on the WSW by a narrow gap that is spanned by a lintel. This building, which is roofless, measures 7.9m from ENE to WSW by 4.8m transversely overall, and its rubble walls still stand to their full height. It contains two compartments, the eastern one being a cart-shed open to the N, and there is a small outshot, possibly a privy, attached to the WSW end.
The steading is depicted roofed on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Caithness 1877, sheet xxix), but at that time it comprised only the NNW range. The buildings on the WSW and SSE sides of the yard, as well as the garden plot to the ENE, were added some time in the late 19th century and all three buildings are shown roofed on the 2nd edition of the map (1907, sheet xxix).
(YARROWS04 189-91)
Visited by RCAHMS (ATW) 11 August 2004
