March-house

NT00SE 119 0871 0064

'Palaceknowe. A dwellinghouse with outhouses, garden and a small piece of land attached. Formerly a farm steading'.

Name Book 1857.

At NT 0871 0064 there is a levelled knoll with much modern activity visible on the surface, including two 1m by 2m areas of concrete on the N and S sides and a cattle feeder in the centre. The levelled area is roughly circular and approximately 25m in diameter. The middle of this area is slightly lower than the perimeter giving a hint of a surrounding bank, and at least three small ephemeral scoops are just visible within it. There is a slim possibility that the knoll was originally the site of a scooped settlement and that ploughing and other modern activity have reduced it to a level area. It is more likely however, that it was levelled in relatively modern times and the surrounding concreted areas were probably related to this.

M P Robins 1993

There is no evidence at this site for the prehistoric settlement that is suggested by Robins. The levelling of the knoll can probably be best explained by the presence of the former farmsteading of 'Palaceknowe' that was noted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Dumfriesshire, sheet 24) in 1857 and has survived in part to be depicted on the current 1:10,000 map (1982).

Visited by RCAHMS (ARW, JRS), 6 October 1994.

NT 087 006 A well and rectangular building foundations thought to be related to a farmstead which was demolished in 1984.

J S Duncan and S Halliday 1997