Lawers
Field System (Period Unassigned), Head Dyke (Post Medieval), Rig And Furrow (Medieval) - (Post Medieval)
Site Name Lawers
Classification Field System (Period Unassigned), Head Dyke (Post Medieval), Rig And Furrow (Medieval) - (Post Medieval)
Alternative Name(s) Machuim; Lawernacroy; Duallin; Drumglass; Shenlarich; Cragganruar; Balbeg; Cloanlawers
Canmore ID 301242
Site Number NN64SE 145
NGR NN 6900 4150
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/301242
- Council Perth And Kinross
- Parish Kenmore (Perth And Kinross)
- Former Region Tayside
- Former District Perth And Kinross
- Former County Perthshire
NN64SE 145 6900 4150
The present landscape and field system of the former district of Lawers is largely a creation of agricultural improvement and change from the late 18th century onwards, though elements of an earlier field system survive. That part of the district lying east of the Lawers Burn is described here; see NN63NE 212 for the lands to the west of the burn.
The lands of Lawers, assessed in the medieval period as a forty-merk land, were granted in 1473 to Colin Campbell of Glenorchy, ancestor of the Campbell earls of Breadalbane. John Farquharson's 1769 Survey of the North Side of Loch Tay (National Archives of Scotland, RHP 973/1, Plans 14-16) identifies eleven farms in Lawers to the west of the Lawers Burn: Machuim, Lawernacroy, Duallin, Lurroginbuie, Drumglass, Marragintrowan, Shenlarich, Cragganruar, and Wester, Middle and Easter Cloanlawers. All can be traced in estate records from at least the late-17th century (Harrison 2003, 54). Farquharson depicts a landscape of small enclosed fields of irregular plan interspersed with small areas of grassland and meadow, but with very few woodlands. The beginnings of improvement can be seen, however, in the straightened march dykes between several farms, and this 'enclosure' is acknowledged by Farquharson in his Book of Reference (NAS RHP 973/2). The upper limit of these farms is marked by a head-dyke running across the hillside at about 300m OD.
A century after Farquharson, the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Perthshire 1867, sheet lviii) shows a landscape transformed by improvement; the fields have been recast as rectilinear enclosures and there is a new head-dyke at about 400m OD. There appears to have been some consolidation of holdings, as some farm names have disappeared, such as Lurroginbuie and Drumglass, while others have changed their name, Wester Cloanlawers becoming Ballybeg, for example.
Most of this improved landscape survives today, though the various holdings have now been consolidated into three farms, Machuim, Duallin and Shenlarich. Only fragmentary remains of the pre-improvement field system can be traced, and there are barely any traces of rig and furrow in fields that have been thoroughly cleared and improved. The 18th-century head-dyke is well-preserved, however – an earthen bank faced with stone on its uphill side.
Visited by RCAHMS (SDB) March 2004
Harrison 2003 (= RCAHMS MS1155/6)
Field Walking (12 June 2019)
GUARD Archaeology Limited undertook an archaeological desk-based assessment and walkover survey, conducted on 12th June 2019, of an area proposed for woodland creation at Duallin Farm in Perth and Kinross. The aims of the study were to assess evidence for the past human use of the area, its archaeological sensitivity, and the potential impact of any development upon the archaeological resource.
The cultural heritage assessment has found that the Site sits within an archaeological landscape that has been used for settlement and ritual purposes since prehistoric times. Within the Site itself are six cup marked or cup and ring marked stones. A further nine cup marked or cup and ring marked stones, one prehistoric hut circle (CHS 56) and a nationally significant stone circle are located within the 1 km buffer.
There are 16 post-medieval sites of local or lesser cultural heritage significance within the area proposed for woodland creation. These consist of agricultural remains, townships, small-scale industrial features, individual structures a trackway and a wall.
Cartographic evidence and aerial and satellite imagery indicate that the Site has been agricultural land and upland rough grazing since at least the mid eighteenth century. Given that prehistoric remains are known within the Site, there is good potential for the survival of hitherto unrecorded sub-surface archaeological remains within the area proposed for woodland creation. Consequently, Perth and Kinross Council may require the implementation of a programme of archaeological evaluation works to establish the presence or absence in those areas of the Site that will be subject to ground-breaking work.
A brief assessment of potential indirect effects upon the designated cultural heritage sites located within the 1 km buffer found that there would be no significant indirect effect upon the settings of Old Lawers Village, Settlement and Burial Ground Scheduled Monument, Lawers Toll House (CHS 31), Lawers Bridge (CHS 32), Lawers Smithy, Lawers Mill, or Lawers Burn, Peat Stores, Huts and Trackways, and Cup-marked Stones Scheduled Monument.
Information from: Karolina Saxerbo Sjoberg (Guard Archaeology) 14th June 2019
OASIS ID: guardarc1-355540
