Monument record MHG81 - Farmstead, Muicrach

Summary

Late C18-early C19 farmstead, abandoned 1841.

Location

Grid reference Centred NM 7289 5040 (100m by 100m) (Buffered by site type)
Map sheet NM75SW
Old County ARGYLL
Civil Parish MORVERN
Geographical Area LOCHABER

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

Two houses, a well-preserved corn-drying kiln and the remnants of an enclosure are situated in a narrow south-facing gully on the West bank of the Allt na Mucaireachd. The settlement was occupied at least by 1801 but abandoned by 1841. Two houses, an enclosure and a head-dyke are depicted in a note on a plan of the farm of Claonlead, 1833. The settlement is surrounded by a substantial turf and stone dyke, which encloses a roughly triangular area, 350m N-S by 150m at the S end, from a point on the Allt na Mucaireachd to the Abhainn a’ Ghlinne Ghil. The A884 road to Lochaline crosses the enclosure from E to W on a high embankment but greater damage to the site seems to have been caused by the stream, which has encroached on the enclosure (Site 3 on sketch plan) and contributed to the dilapidation of House 2.

House 1 is a small round-angled rectangular structure, 5.20m N-S by 4.50m, with an entrance in the E side. Constructed of coursed drystone masonry, it survives to a height of 0.60m. It has been dug into the slope and the S downslope end is built up on a plinth. House 2 is extremely dilapidated and is represented by a rectangular pile of rubble, 8m N-S by 4.10m and 0.40m high. Only fragments of the enclosure, Site 3, remain: an arc of coursed wall curving northwards and westwards from House 1 and another arc on the N side of House 2.

The well-preserved corn-drying kiln, Site 4, consists of a rectangular structure, 5.40m NE-SW by 3.80m, which has been partly dug into the slope. A stone-revetted conical bowl, 1.90m in diameter at the top and 1m at the base, is situated in the centre. A flue opens through the SE sector though the exit has collapsed.

A turf and stone bank, almost rectangular in plan, 9m N-S by 5m, at the foot of the A884 embankment, may be the remains of another structure, disturbed during road construction. The head dyke, Site 6, is a very prominent feature, measuring 1m wide and 1.20m high.
Field Verification Project (West Lochaber) - J Robertson, 03/2004

Two unroofed buildings, one of which has an attached enclosure, and a head-dyke are depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Argyllshire 1875, sheet lvi), but they are not shown on the current edition of the OS 1:10000 map (1974).
Information from RCAHMS (SAH) 20 May 1998

Muicrach: Remains of at least 3 houses and (?) kiln, occupied by 1801, abandoned by 1841, probably cleared c. 1840.
P Gaskell 1968

Sources/Archives (4)

  • --- Text/Publication/Volume: Gaskell, P. 1968. Morvern transformed: a highland parish in the nineteenth century. 139.
  • --- Image/Photograph(s): Depop, Muicrach. Digital Image. .
  • --- Image/Photograph(s): Depop, Muicrach. Digital Image. .
  • --- Image/Photograph(s): Depop, Muicrach. Digital Image. .

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (2)

Related Events/Activities (0)

Record last edited

Apr 9 2008 4:41PM

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