Bealachodhar And Forrester Haugh

Plane table survey and photographs

Historical document research in the archives of Invercauld Estate

Historical document research in the archives of Invercauld Estate

The townships of Bealachodhar and Forrester Haugh lie where the small glen of the Water of Allt Fileachaidh joins the River Muick, Bealachodhar situated the N bank of the burn and Forrester Haugh on the S bank. The land to the W of the settlements slopes gently down to the Water of Muick and there are grassy patches along the sides of the burn. To the E, the ground flanking the glen rises more steeply into stony heather moorland.

Bealachodhar contains a total of four buildings. A single roomed building of dry-stone construction with adjoining enclosure, which may be the oldest, is some 200 metres from the others. These comprise a well preserved kiln barn and two buildings, each with more than one compartment, adjacent to a large enclosure. The largest of the buildings may have contained a winnowing barn. The barn and the other two buildings are of dry-stone construction with rubble infill standing up to seven courses high. The kiln bowl is of dry-stone construction with clay infill.

Forrester Haugh comprises one kiln barn, one possible winnowing barn and four, or perhaps five, other buildings. All the buildings are of dry-stone construction with rubble infill and stand up to seven courses high. Building J is constructed of more finely dressed stone than the others which would suggest it was of later date.

The long head dyke which runs from Spittal of Glen Muick through Titaboutie also passes through both Bealachodhar and Forrester Haugh. In both townships, buildings are sited both inside and outside the dyke.

Bealachodhar is a Gaelic word meaning dun coloured pass. The name Forrester Haugh probably refers to the deer Forrest of Braecock and Rendrom which ran from the Linn of Muick along the S side of the Glen to Cairn Taggart above Loch Muick (referred to in Watson and Allan’s “Place Names of Upper Deeside” (Aberdeen University Press, 1984), “The Records of Invercauld” (Aberdeen: New Spalding Club, 1891, and George Brown’s Survey and Plan of the Invercauld Estate Aberdeenshire, 1807-09, Invercauld Papers).

Bealachodhar & Forrester Haugh were recognised as two distinct townships on the estate maps of 1807 - 1809 (George Brown, Survey and Plan of the Invercauld Estate Aberdeenshire, 1807-09, Invercauld Papers). However, both Thomson’s Map of 1820 (John Thomson, Nern part of Aberdeen and Banff Shires, Sern Part, Edinburgh: 1820, National Library of Scotland) and Robertson’s of 1822 (James Robertson, Topographical and Military map of the counties of Aberdeen, Banff and Kincardine, London: 1822), record only the name “Byallachour”, though clearly covering the buildings on both sides of the Allt Fileachaidh. The same applies in various editions of the Ordnance Survey maps. Kirk records treat Bealachodhar and Forresterhaugh as inter-changeable (Sedgwick, S “The Legion of the Lost”, Wm Culross & Son Ltd 1999, p119).

Most of the townships’ buildings are shown as roofed on the estate map of 1807 – 1809 but are shown as unroofed on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map (Aberdeenshire, 1869, sheet c). Buildings A, B & G are not shown on the estate map.

The site was surveyed by SRP Glen Muick, in 2010, and a detailed site description based on that survey is appended to this record. This should be read in conjunction with the related site plans and photographs.

Information from SRP Glen Muick, January 2011.