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Dunfermline, Pitreavie, Saint Margaret's Stone
Commemorative Stone (Period Unassigned), Cup Marked Stone (Prehistoric)
Site Name Dunfermline, Pitreavie, Saint Margaret's Stone
Classification Commemorative Stone (Period Unassigned), Cup Marked Stone (Prehistoric)
Alternative Name(s) Pitreavie Business Park; Queensferry Road
Canmore ID 50869
Site Number NT18NW 7
NGR NT 10837 85060
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/50869
- Council Fife
- Parish Dunfermline
- Former Region Fife
- Former District Dunfermline
- Former County Fife
NT18NW 7 1091 8504
(NT 1091 8504) St Margaret's Stone (NR)
OS 6" map (1967)
St Margaret's Stone (8ft 6ins by 4ft 7ins by 1ft 6ins) now stands on the W side of the road from Dunfermline at about 1/4 mile N of Rosyth Halt, but its original site is unknown. Cup markings cover one side of the stone which according to an inscription on its modern support is associated with the traditional resting place of St Margaret on her way to Dunfermline in 1069.
OSA 1793; P Chalmers 1859; RCAHMS 1933.
The sculpture has lately been chipped off St Margaret's Stone, leaving few traces of the subject upon it.
J Stuart 1856
St Margaret's Stone is a large boulder, as described by the RCAHMS and pitted on the E face. There are no rings around the 'cups', which appear to be the result of weathering. The boulder is now incorporated in a modern wall, and lies on its largest axis N-S. There are no traces of sculptures upon it, and it would appear that its only antiquarian value is in the traditional association with St Margaret.
Visited by OS (JLD) 27 March 1961
This stone has been removed and placed in temporary storage by Dunfermline District Council, but will eventually be re-erected as part of the landscaping scheme following the completion of road construction work. The site has been de-scheduled.
Information from SDD (HBM) to OS and RCAHMS, 28 November 1985.
Descheduled.
Information from Historic Scotland, Certificate of Exclusion from Schedule dated 5 March 1993.
Field Visit (7 September 1925)
"St. Margaret's Stone."
This stone is set up on a modern support within a stone-built recess on the west side of the public road from Dunfermline at a distance of about ¼ mile north of Rosyth Halt. It stands with its main axis due north and south and measures 8 feet 6 inches by 4 feet 7 inches by 1 foot 6 inches. On one side the entire surface is cup-marked, the markings varying in size from 1 ¼ inches to 3 ¼ inches and having an average depth of from ½ to ¾ inch.
The original position of the stone is unknown, but it is popularly associated with Queen Margaret and bears an incised panel on which is cut "St. Margaret's Stone" in letters 3 inches high. The following inscription has been added on the modern support: ACCORDING TO TRADITION MARGARET AFTERWARDS QUEEN OF MALCOLM CANMORE RESTED ON THE ABOVE STONE A.D. 1069 WHEN ON HER WAY TO DUNFERMLINE.
RCAHMS 1933, visited 7 September 1925.
Field Visit (4 January 2011)
St. Margaret's Stone is a large rectangular block of sandstone which measures about 2.6m in length by 1.4m in height and 0.45m in thickness. In recent years it has been moved some 70m from its previously recorded location (NT 1091 8504) to its present position on the N side of the southern of the two entrances (Grange Drive) into Pitreavie Business Park from Queensferry Road. Here, it has been set up in a plinth which incorporates a stone bench on its S side. The S face of the stone is heavily cup-marked. Although the Ordnance Survey was of the opinion in 1961 that these cups were the result of natural weathering, a number have raised rims, several are clearly linked by gutters and in the bottom left corner there seems to be a cluster forming a crude rosette. An inscription ‘SAINT MARGARET’S STONE’ has been incised into a rectangular panel cut into the surface of the stone, truncating several cupmarks in the process. The S face of the stone also bears two incised symbols resembling mason’s marks. The plinth below the stone bears the incised inscription ‘ACCORDING TO TRADITION MARGARET AFTERWARDS QUEEN OF MALCOLM CANMORE RESTED ON THE ABOVE STONE A.D. 1069 WHEN ON HER WAY TO DUNFERMLINE’.
Visited by RCAHMS (JRS), 4 January 2011.
