Building record MHG42898 - Ardclach Bell Tower
Summary
No summary available.
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NH 9538 4533 (10m by 10m) (Buffered by site type) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NH94NE |
| Old County | NAIRNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | ARDCLACH |
| Geographical Area | NAIRN |
Map
Type and Period (2)
Full Description
See also:
NH94NE0033 Graveyard
NH94NE0003 Old Church
NH94NE0005 Present Church
JHooper, 13/12/2001
NH94NE 1 9538 4533.
(NH 9538 4533) Belfry (NAT). OS 6"map, (1960)
A detached tower, two storeys high and gabled, with a chimney on one gable and a belfry on the other. It is 14' square and bears the date 1655.
Built in restless country, its primary function was that of watch tower and local prison. When the parish kirk was built in a hollow below the knoll (NH94NE 3: Built 1626 rebuilt 1762), permission was obtained to erect the kirk belfry on the tower. (G Hay 1932)
Ritchie maintains that the tower was built 'long before' 1655, in which case that might be the date of the addition of the belfry. It is said to have been last used as a prison in 1676.
D MacGibbon and T Ross 1892; G Hay 1957; J B Ritchie 1932.
Harled and well-maintained, the tower is locally known and sign-posted as 'Ardclach Bell tower'.
Visited by OS (R D) 23 August 1965.
Sources/Archives (7)
- --- SHG13306 Image/Photograph(s): Bell Tower, Ardclach.. Colour Slide; Digital Image. .
- --- SHG13307 Image/Photograph(s): Bell Tower, Ardclach.. Colour Slide; Digital Image. .
- --- SHG2307 Text/Publication/Volume: Hay, G. 1957. The architecture of Scottish post-Reformation churches, 1560-1843. 173.
- --- SHG2425 Text/Publication/Volume: Love J, McMullen E (ed). 1994. A Salmon for the Schoolhouse, A Nairnshire Parish in the C19.
- --- SHG2442 Text/Publication/Volume: MacGibbon, D and Ross, T. 1887-92. The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth centuries. Hardback. Vol. 5, 218.
- --- SHG2672 Text/Report: RCAHMS. 1978. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. The archaeological sites and monuments of Nairn District, Highland Region. . 16, No. 114.
- --- SHG2711 Text/Publication/Volume: Ritchie, J B. 1932. The Pageant of Morayland. 163-7.
Finds (0)
Protected Status/Designation
Related Monuments/Buildings (1)
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Record last edited
Aug 31 2009 4:07PM
