Spittal Of Glenmuick

Plane table survey of the site in several parts. Individual plans were amalgamated and geo-referenced to create the Spittal of Glen Muick composite map.

Review of histoic maps and research undertaken on Invercauld Estate papers.

This site lies next to the modern visitors’ centre and ranger’s house at the Spittal of Glenmuick. It occupies a triangle of land formed by the Allt Darrarie, an un-named arm of the Allt Darrarie, and the old drove road to Glen Esk (whose route is largely preserved by the modern estate track to Glen Esk). The ground is stony, covered with rough grass and heather, but there is evidence of field clearance on the W bank of the Allt Darrarie and in the ground lying between the drove road and the footpath to Lochnagar.

At least seventeen buildings have been identified, clearly relating to several distinct periods of occupation and use. Their locations are shown on the Spittal of Glenmuick Composite Map, which should be consulted in conjunction with this site description: the Spittal after which the site takes its name (buildings 1-3), situated at the junction between the drove road and the footpath to Lochnagar; a late eighteenth or early nineteenth century township (buildings 4-8), situated on both banks of the un-named arm of the Allt Darrarie; an earlier township or sheiling site (buildings 9-11, 13-14), situated on a raised grassy area between the Allt Darrarie and its un-named arm; two sheiling huts (buildings 16-17), situated on the E bank of the Allt Darrarie; a still (building 12), situated in an isolated position on the W bank of the Allt Darrarie; and a single building (building 15), situated on the E bank of the Allt Darrarie where the old drove road originally forded the burn. Building 4 is partially roofed in corrugated iron, but all the other buildings are unroofed and their walls stand no more than knee-height. All of the walls, except building 4, are of undressed stone and it seems likely that buildings 9-11 and 13-14 would have had turf walls built upon stone footings.

The Spittal takes its name from the hospital or hospice for travellers on the drove road through Glen Muick and over to Glen Clova, which is reputed to have been run from the fourteenth century by monks from the Bishop and Chapter of Aberdeen (Sedgwick, S “The Legion of the Lost”, Wm Culross & Son Ltd 1999, p107), and later by the lay inhabitants of the area. Documentary evidence so far unearthed refers to “the sheallings called hospital haugh” allied to Braichlay, at the foot of the Glen, in 1709 (Instrument of Sasine In Favour of Isaac Fullerton, 1709, Invercauld Papers); and a sub-tack of 1754 which required the sub-tacksman to re-roof “the house in Spittall” (Sub-tack, Lewis Mackenzie to Donald Glass, 1754, Invercauld Papers).

In 1807, the surveyor George Brown recommended the joining of Spittal with Titabutie and Forresterhaugh to create one large stock (sheep and cattle) holding (George Brown, Plan and Survey of the Spittal of Glenmuick, Titaboutie, Forester Haugh and Byallachour, 1807-09, Invercauld Papers). In the 1841 census, the main occupant of the Spittal was listed as a “farmer and grazier”. In 1848, the land at Spittal was joined to that of Aucholzie (Sedgwick, as above, p113) and by 1851, the main occupant was a shepherd, and there are two other occupied buildings. By 1873, the main occupant was a deer-stalker. By this time, the Spittal had been become part of the Balmoral Estate. (For details of tenants, see the attached document Spittal of Glen Muick Tenants) It is not known when the current ranger’s house, or the stables for the stalking ponies, were built.

The Spittal (buildings 1-3)

Local tradition identifies building 2 as the spittal or inn which existed at the Spittal of Glenmuick in the nineteenth century. It is not known if it occupies the same position as the medieval spittal. It measures 11.1m x 4.2m internally and appears to overlie building 1. Building 3 is dissected by the modern track leaving just its SE corner walls intact. These buildings were not recorded in detail – see NO38NW2 for further details.

Early nineteenth century township (buildings 4-8)

It is difficult to reconcile the buildings currently remaining with those on George Brown’s map; at least two are not traceable at all, but it is possible that buildings 4 and 6 relate to the buildings shown on that map.

Building 4 is shown as a roofed rectangular building on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map(Aberdeenshire 1869, sheet cviii), with a large rectangular enclosure attached to its S wall (which also appears on George Brown’s map). The building has now been truncated to approximately 4m square and is roofed with corrugated iron (the roof is at 90° to the gable). The walls are built of roughly dressed rubble with mortar. The enclosure is still well defined and is now overgrown with trees. This building may be contemporary with the stock farm which was created, post-1809 and the First Edition Ordnance Survey map shows a sheepfold to its E, which is still extant. Three other roofed buildings are also shown on the First Edition map: a long rectangular building to the W of the modern estate track , which is presently used as stabling for stalking ponies; and two smaller buildings, one of which is overlain by the estate track and one which may survive as the foundations of building 1.

Buildings 5-8 are not shown on the First Edition Ordnance Survey Map and were presumably already reduced to low stone footings by this time. They are all built of dry-stone or earth-bonded rubble and are rectangular or sub-rectangular in shape. Building 5 is a corn drying kiln with a small barn attached and has been built into the bank of the burn. The barn measures 3.95m x 2.3m internally. Building 6 measures 6.5m x 2.95m internally and may also have been a barn. Buildings 7 & 8 lie at right-angles to each other, the E wall of building 8 partially over-lying building 7 and so presumably post-dating it. Building 7 measures 5m x 2.3m internally and has an internal sub-division. Building 8 measures 5.7m x 2.8m internally and has a poorly defined sub-rectangular enclosure is attached to its S wall.

Earlier township or sheiling site (buildings 9-11, 13-14)

These buildings survive as low, grass-covered stone footings, characterised by a narrower internal width than the previously described township buildings. The consistent height of the stone footings and the absence of any fallen stones, makes it very likely that their walls were built up of turf. None of the buildings are shown on the First Edition Ordnance Survey Map, although the drove road, which originally ran between them in an E-W direction, is. For these reasons, they are thought to be the earliest buildings on site, possibly representing an earlier phase of township settlement, a sheiling site, or perhaps both. They occupy a raised grassy area of land, which appears to have been cultivated and improved.

Building 11 is the longest single building recorded in this group and indeed, on the whole site. It measures 12.30m x 2.35m internally and has a rectangular enclosure attached to its E wall. Buildings 9 and 13 are also long buildings and of similar dimensions to each other, measuring 9.90m x 2.30m and 9.10m x 2.30m, respectively (internal dimensions), and building 9 may have had an internal division. The final two buildings in this group are smaller, but also share similar internal dimensions: 6.45m x 2.30m (building 14) and 6.0m x 2.4m (building 10).

Sheiling huts on the E bank of the Allt Darrarie burn (buildings 16-17)

These buildings are shown as unroofed on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map. They stand amongst long heather on the W bank of the Allt Darrarie and are almost obscured from sight. They are small rectangular structures built of dry-stone rubble with small enclosures attached. It is thought that they were sheiling huts, and possibly later adapted as sheep pens.

Building 16 is situated on a grassy knoll and measures 5.4m x 2.0m internally. At some point the W wall has been demolished and re-built some 2.2m closer to the E wall which divided the building from the walled yard. The yard lies roughly at right angles to the building. Its internal dimensions are 5.0m x 3.0m and its rear wall retains the natural banking of the slope above.

Building 17 measures 4.4m x 2.3m internally and its yard is 5.6m x 3.0m. The E end of the yard is partly built into the natural slope.

Whisky Still

This isolated structure is shown as building 12 on the Composite Map. For further details see Site Number NO38SW 6.

Single building (building 15)

This building is situated on the E bank of the Allt Darrarie where the old drove road forded the burn. It is shown as an unroofed building on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map. It measures 9.22m x 3.00m internally.

Information from SRP Spittal of Glenmuick, April 2010.

NO 3077 8495 Part of the township recorded under NO38SW1. The turf-covered remains of a figure of eight kiln

barn built into a bank a short distance from the long houses of the township. Close to and associated with the kiln are the turfcovered remains of stone footings of what was probably a barn.

A Roch and K C Cooper, 2007.