Eaglesham, Moat Hill
Motte (Medieval)(Possible)
Site Name Eaglesham, Moat Hill
Classification Motte (Medieval)(Possible)
Alternative Name(s) Orry; The Mote; Eaglesham Common
Canmore ID 43919
Site Number NS55SE 18
NGR NS 57105 51908
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/43919
- Council East Renfrewshire
- Parish Eaglesham
- Former Region Strathclyde
- Former District Eastwood
- Former County Renfrewshire
NS55SE 18 57105 51908
For further details, see MS/1508.
'The Mote' or 'Moat Hill' is shown by Ainslie is a mound detached from the valley side by a semi-circular ditch which is no longer in evidence. The construction of the 19th century cotton-mill on the SE has entailed the removal of about 5m of the mound which has been oval, originally 31m by 24m at base, 20m by 16m on top and 2-3m high. A possibly later rectangular mound 12m by 10m by 1.5m high, has been built on top. The small bailey mound on the north suggested by E Talbot, Glasgow University, probably results from the creation of a modern path. This may have been a motte, sitting on a promontory and may have been the site of the first wooden castle of the Montgomeries in the 12th century, but local tradition now remembers it only as a site for meetings and festivals.
J Ainslie 1789; J H Thomson 1903; Information contained in letter from T C Welsh to OS, 25 September 1980; T C Welsh 1983.
This motte is situated on the NW bank of the Eaglesham Burn and now forms a tree-grown feature in a public park in the centre of Eaglesham. It is flat-topped mound that measures about 40m from NE to SW by 18m transversely at the base, but the SE side was truncated in the late-18th century by the building of a mill (NS55SE 52), which has resulted in the removal of probably about a third of the site. The mound stands at least 4m in height to a flat top that has likely measured some 15m in diameter originally but now measures 15m from NE to SW by 10m transversely. A large gouge on the SW flank of the mound probably relates to the building of the adjacent mill, but areas of slighter disturbance on the NW and NE are erosion gullies caused by pedestrian and cycle traffic. An overgrown path runs from the base of the mound on the NNW, up and around the NE side to a point just below the summit on the SE.
It is likely that the motte would have incorporated a broad ditch but only very vague impressions of such a feature are visible at the foot of the mound on the SW. It is possible that any ditch was filled in and landscaped either when the mill was constructed or when this part of Eaglesham Common was landscaped into a public park.
Visited by RCAHMS (PMCK) 18 July 2007.
Measured Survey (18 July 2007)
RCAHMS surveyed Eaglesham motte on 18 July 2007 with plane-table and self-reducing alidade at a scale of 1:250.
Geophysical Survey (18 July 2011 - 19 July 2011)
NS 57163 51915 A geophysical survey of ‘The Orry’ was undertaken on 18–19 July 2011. A total of 1.72ha was surveyed across three areas of ‘The Orry’; including the larger open areas on the N side of the Eaglesham Burn (Area 1 – the ‘Eastern Park’ and Area 2 – the ‘Moot Hill’) and the small open area on the S side, c200m SW of Mid Road. A total of nine principal groups of anomalies were identified, along with several groups of faint features. These included features relating to the 19th-century grain mill at the NE end of the study area, structures probably associated with the Orry Cotton Mill (NS55SE 52/175), a number of complicated anomalies around the alleged ‘moot hill’ (NS55SE 18,) and more amorphous features that potentially relate to the medieval layout of the village (NS55SE 17), as depicted on Roy’s map (1752-55).
The survey was carried out by Peta Glew with equipment hired from Glasgow University and a survey team of G Petersen (Glasgow University), S Hunter, I Marshall and J Munro (ACFA).
Archive: RCAHMS (intended) and WoSAS
Funder: Eaglesham and Waterfoot Community Development Trust and Eaglesham Feuars Association
ACFA 2011
