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Old Leckie

Lairds House (16th Century), Sundial (17th Century)

Site Name Old Leckie

Classification Lairds House (16th Century), Sundial (17th Century)

Canmore ID 45384

Site Number NS69SE 2

NGR NS 68980 94690

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/45384

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
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Administrative Areas

  • Council Stirling
  • Parish Gargunnock
  • Former Region Central
  • Former District Stirling
  • Former County Stirlingshire

Archaeology Notes

NS69SE 2.00 68980 94690

NS69SE 2.01 68940 94603 Leckie Home Farm

(NS 6898 9469) Leckie (NR)

OS 6" map (1959)

Old Leckie House. Old Leckie House stands in well-wooded grounds at the foot of the Gargunnock Hills, two and a half miles E of the village of Kippen. It is an attractive example of a laird's house of about the end of the 16th century, and comprises an original T-shaped building to which there has been added an E wing. The 16th-century house consists of a main block of three storeys and an attic, which measures 62ft by 25 ft 2in and lies E and W, together with a S wing of four storeys which measures 22ft 2in by 13ft 11in. This wing contains a circular stair-tower in each of its re-entrant angles, the one to the W rising from the ground floor to the second floor and the one to the E beginning at first-floor level and rising to the full height of the S wing. The E wing is of two storeys and measures 29ft by 25ft 2in; it is of 18th- century date. The roofs are slated, those of the original building finishing in crow-stepped gables and ogival skewputs; the gables of the E wing are tabled and have roll-moulded skewputs. The house is built of harled rubble, the masonry being a red sandstone similar to that which outcrops on the banks of the Leckie Burn 50 yds SE of the building. The window margins, of dressed stone, are now painted.

The lands of Leckie were held by the family of Leckie of that Ilk from the middle of the 14th century until the year 1668, when they were conveyed to David Moir of Craigarnhall. Leckie remained in the hands of a branch of the Moir family until the beginning of the 20th century.

Sundial: Part of an obelisk-shaped sundial of 17th-century date stands in a rockery a few yards SE of the old bridge (No. 453). The shaft, which has been broken at the top, is 9 1/2in square and now rises to the height of 3ft 1in. When complete it showed five stages, separated by incised lines, each of which contained four sunken geometrical dials, one on each face. The head, which is detached and lies about 20 yds S of the shaft, takes the form of a bulged capital the faces of which contain a number of dials; one face, however, bears two sunk shields charged, respecitvely, in low relief: Dexter, three unidentifiable charges; sinister, a fess checky. The significance of the dexter coat is uncertain, but the fess checky may be associated with the family of Moir of Leckie.

RCAHMS 1963

'Old Leckie', now uninhabited, is as described by the RCAHMS. The sundial could not be located.

Visited by OS (RD) 23 September 1968

According to Dr Andrew Somerville (MS 5741/2/11) the sundial was moved from Old Leckie to '(New) Leckie House' by Lord Younger after the war. Leckie House is at NS 69430 94018. For New Leckie (Watson House) see NS69SE 28.00.

(A Cassells, 7 May 2009, updated 18 February 2010).

Activities

Project (10 June 2019 - 12 June 2019)

Alder Archaeology was commissioned by Scottish Woodlands to undertake a deskbased assessment and walkover survey at Leckie, Gargunnock, Stirling in advance of a proposed afforestation scheme. The survey was undertaken by two archaeologists on 10-12 June 2019.The survey area is divided in two parts by an existing woodland belt. South of the woodland were remains of pre-improvement rig and furrow and grass banks, including a possible former head dyke. North of the woodland belt were the remains of one, possibly two, ha-has as well as some possible rig and furrow. A cropmark on APs may indicate a former building but there were no visible remains on the ground

Information from David Perry, Alder Archaeology, 18 October 2019

OASIS ID: alderarc1-370891

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