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Court Knowe, High Auchenlarie
Farmstead (Medieval) - (Post Medieval), Fort (Prehistoric)
Site Name Court Knowe, High Auchenlarie
Classification Farmstead (Medieval) - (Post Medieval), Fort (Prehistoric)
Canmore ID 63729
Site Number NX55SW 31
NGR NX 5383 5308
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/63729
- Council Dumfries And Galloway
- Parish Anwoth
- Former Region Dumfries And Galloway
- Former District Stewartry
- Former County Kirkcudbrightshire
NX55SW 31 5383 5308.
(NX 5383 5308) Court Knowe: A small rocky eminence on High Auchenlarie farm on which are traces of a small inner circle and part of an outer one. (1st edition 6" (1853) shows a circular bank enclosing an area c. 20.0m in diameter on the summit of the hill, with the arc of another bank some 20m to S). Traditionally, courts of justice were held on this knowe, hence its name.
Name Book 1849
Situated on the summit of Court Knowe are the severely mutilated remains of a small fort with an enigmatic stone-built structure c. 20.0m in diameter near the centre, formed by an apparently strong, but now featureless, wall. The fort, sub-circular on plan, measures c. 38.0m in diameter and was defended on the S by at least two walls of which the outer faces survive to a height of 0.4m. A natural rock face provides a defence on the W and the wall appears to have been built along the edge, particularly at the NW corner where it merges with a stony bank which is all that survives of the N wall. Along the E only a slight single scarp can be seen. The entrance was probably at the SE corner.
Surveyed at 1:2500.
Visited by OS (RD) 14 March 1972
The remains of this fort, generally as described in the previous report, occupy the top of Court Knowe (name confirmed by Mr E Johnstone, High Auchenlarie). The origin and purpose of the inner enclosure are uncertain, but it does not appear to be associated with the fort and is probably a secondary feature.
Surveyed at 1:10 000.
Visited by OS (BS) 31 May 1977
Field Visit (26 April 1994)
This fort (Cree94 241), within which there are the robbed remains of a later farmstead (Cree94 242-5), occupies a rocky knoll immediately SE of High Auchenlarie farmsteading.
The knoll is bounded by cliffs or very steep slopes on the W, N and SE, with easier lines of approach from the E and along a broad ridge from the S. The sub-circular summit area, measuring about 35m in diameter, is enclosed by the remains of a substantial wall, with an additional outer wall on the S side. On the N and E the main wall survives as a spread stony bank, 1.3m high and 5m thick on the N, but only 0.5m high and 2.9m thick on the E. On the W side an outer face 0.4m high can be traced along much of the cliff edge and, apart from a gap above cliffs at the SW corner, this face continues round the S side, standing up to 1m high but fading out on the SE on top of a rock outcrop. The outer line of defence, set about 7m forward of the main wall, consists of a stone-faced scarp up to 0.7m (three to four courses) high, running W for about 30m from an outcrop at the SE corner of the fort. At its W end it turns towards the main rampart, but as it fades out before reaching this the relationship between the two is unclear. The entrance to the fort, 2.5m wide, is on the E and leads past the outcrop which occupies the SE corner of the fort into a flattish central area.
In the interior of the fort there are the remains of a farmstead comprising three or four robbed buildings grouped around a central hollow. Their walls are largely reduced to grass-grown stony banks 0.2m to 0.3m high, and one side has been completely removed from two buildings (Cree94 243, 245). Three buildings (Cree94 242-3, 245) range in length from 8.4m to 13.3m and in breadth from 4.5m to 6.6m; one of these (Cree94 245) has an internal partition. The fourth structure, to the NW of the others, is little more than a hut stance measuring overall 6.5m in length by 4.8m in breadth. The central hollow, presumably a yard, measures 7.3m in diameter. At first sight there appears to be a slight bank around the edge of the hollow, but this is probably debris from the robbing of the buildings.
(Cree94 241-5)
Visited by RCAHMS (SDB) 26 April 1994.
Note (20 December 2013 - 23 May 2016)
This small fort occupies a rocky hillock with steep slopes and cliffs bounding the W, N and SE. A substantial wall, reduced on the N and E as a stony bank up to 5m in thickness by 1.3m in height, but elsewhere with long runs of outer face standing from 0.4m in height on the W to 1m on the S, encloses the whole of the summit, an area measuring about 35m in diameter (0.1ha). An outer wall reduced to a stone faced scarp up to 0.7m high in four course can be seen on the S. The entrance, which is about 2.5m wide, is on the E. The interior is largely occupied by the remains of a later farmstead.
Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 23 May 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC0243
