Portgordon Maltings, Phase 1

NJ 38953 63229 (centred) An evaluation, measured survey and watching brief were carried out at Portgordon Maltings in advance of the construction of an anaerobic digestion plant. The works were carried out in two phases in January and February 2019, a trial trenching evaluation followed by a measured survey and watching brief.

Nine trenches were dug during the evaluation in which a number of buried archaeological features comprising small pits and stone walls were uncovered. The upstanding ruin of the mansion house offices was recorded by measured survey. This was followed by a watching brief of removal of the building and topsoil clearance on the site.

The development site once lay within the grounds of Tannachy House, which was built in the 18th century by Patrick Stuart, and first appears on the OS 1st Edition maps of 1868. This historic mapping shows a building range and courtyard in the NW part of the development site, with the remainder of the site forming a walled garden and grounds.

During site clearance, the archaeological features identified included the remains of several stone walls, pits and drains, and the fragmented remains of cobbled surfaces, culverts and wall foundations, some of which were related to the former offices and designed garden associated with Tannachy House.

The historical mapping shows clear evidence for what would have been a substantial wall enclosing a designed garden. Within the garden were several features including drains, further walling, a grid of pits, and a stone-lined circular feature. To the W of the garden were the remains of the building range, which formed a farmstead-type structure, referred to as the ‘court of offices’ for Tannachy House in the OS Name Books. After the demolition of the upstanding ruins, the foundations of walls, cobbled surfaces and a series of interconnecting culverts were identified. The documentary evidence suggests the house may have been altered or rebuilt between 1794 and 1845 as it is described as a ‘modern building’ in the parish in the New Statistical Account of 1845. There was no mention of the offices and walled garden, but they were certainly in existence prior to the 1st Edition OS map of 1870.

A small assemblage of 84 glass sherds and two glass related artefacts was recovered from eight separate contexts during the archaeological works. The assemblage is mostly made up of bottle glass, but also contains small amounts of food storage vessel sherds, tableware sherds, bottle closures, and window glass. The finds range in date from the early 18th century to the mid-20th century, with the majority of the assemblage dating from around the mid-18th century to early 19th century. The composition of the assemblage is typical of assemblages representing 18th- to early 20th-century domestic waste.

The majority of the bottle glass was free-blown wine and ale bottles dating from the early 1700s to the mid-1800s. The tableware comprises a clear glass sherd, possibly from a drinking vessel such as a tumbler or goblet, and a clear glass stemware foot, both of which are likely to date from around the 18th to early 19th centuries. Similarly, two sherds of window glass also date to this time. Food vessel sherds and bottle closures were also present in the assemblage.

In addition to the glass artefacts recovered, a small assemblage of ceramic and metal artefacts was found. These include fragments of unmarked clay tobacco pipe stem, a range of ceramic tableware, including the vestiges of two distinct table services as well as dairy bowl sherds, which indicate the household production of butter and cheese. Except for the metal artefacts, which are Victorian or later in date, the artefacts span the 18th and 19th centuries in production and use, and are all types considered to be ubiquitous in the period. Individual finds of note amongst this group of artefacts are a substantial portion of a 19th-century sponge-cut decorated bowl, which is likely to be the product of William Caddell’s pottery works in Prestonpans and dates to the second half of the 18th century, and a single sherd of a Scottish post-medieval oxidised ware (SPMOW) jar or jug. The manufacture of SPMOW vessels span the 16th to 18th centuries, but it is certain that such vessels remained in use in some instances into the 19th and 20th centuries. The artefactual evidence confirmed the documentary evidence that a house and offices were on the site from the early 1700s. The use of glass bottles from this time suggests that the house was a prestigious property while the red earthenware dairy bowls give an insight into the day-to-day activities that went into running such a household.

Archive: NRHE (intended)

Funder: Grant & Geoghegan

Lynn Fraser and Lindsey Stirling – AOC Archaeology Group

(Source: DES Vol 22)