Ramscraigs, The Aisle, Graveyard

ND12NW 11 1474 2714

(ND 1474 2714) The Aisle (Grave Yard) (NR)

OS 6" map, Caithness, 2nd ed., (1907)

About half an acre of ground enclosed by a stone wall, on the S side of the county road, and W of Allt na Caorach, said to have been a place of interment before the Reformation. It is known by some of the oldest inhabitants as 'Tuit Marian' (Grave of Marian) on account of a person of that name who fell over the rocks, having been buried in it last, but generally known now as 'The Aisle'. From minute inquiry no written record can be found. Information depends solely on the local informants consulted.

OS Name Book 1872.

'The Aisle' is now in use as a sheep fold. The interior is entirely featureless.

Visited by OS (W D J), 24 June 1960.

(ND 1474 2714) The Aisle (NR) or Trist Marian (NR)

OS 6" map (1965).

The name 'The Aisle' and the tradition of burials still survive; otherwise no further information.

Visited by OS (R L), 6 March 1968.

A roughly circular area, 15m in diameter, enclosed by a stone wall.

C Batey 1982.

The Aisle (name verified), believed locally to be a graveyard of shipwrecked mariners, but there are no traces of graves. The surrounding stone wall appears to be fairly modern, but it may have been built upon an earlier wall visible as a turf-covered stony swelling at the base of the present enclosure.

Visited by OS (N K B), 6 December 1982.