Building record MHG7175 - 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 (1)

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 (9)

  • --- Image/Photograph(s): Bell Tower, Ardclach.. Colour Slide; Digital Image. .
  • --- Image/Photograph(s): Bell Tower, Ardclach.. Colour Slide; Digital Image. .
  • --- Text/Publication/Volume: Hay, G. 1957. The architecture of Scottish post-Reformation churches, 1560-1843. 173.
  • --- Text/Publication/Volume: Love J, McMullen E (ed). 1994. A Salmon for the Schoolhouse, A Nairnshire Parish in the C19.
  • --- Image/Photograph(s): Taylor, A. 2007-9. Photographs of various HER sites by Andrew Taylor (CD 1). Colour. Yes. Digital.
  • --- 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.
  • --- 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.
  • --- Image/Photograph(s): Puls, A. 2015. Photographic Survey - Ardclach Bell Tower. Colour. Digital.
  • --- Text/Publication/Volume: Ritchie, J B. 1932. The Pageant of Morayland. 163-7.

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (1)

Record last edited

Jul 7 2015 10:07AM

Comments and Feedback

Do you have any questions or more information about this record? Please feel free to comment below with your name and email address. All comments are submitted to the Heritage Portal maintainers for moderation, and we aim to respond/publish as soon as possible. Comments, questions and answers that may be helpful to other users will be retained and displayed along with the name you supply. The email address you supply will never be displayed or shared.