An Archaeological Survey for the Allt Na H' Airigh Hydro Scheme

An Archaeological Survey for the Allt na h’Airigh Hydro Scheme, Laudale Estate, Morvern, Lochaber, Highland.

For Hydroplan UK.

February 2013.

Jennifer G. Robertson MA PhD FSA Scot. MIFA

Garden Cottage, Ardtornish Estate, Morvern, By Oban, Argyll, PA80 5UZ. Tel. 01967 421234. E-Mail [email protected]

Allt na h’Airigh Hydro Scheme

1. Summary. Two archaeological sites were recorded in a desk-based and walkover survey at Allt na h’Airigh, Laudale Estate, Morvern, Lochaber, Highland. Both are situated beyond the limits of the survey area and neither will be affected by the proposed scheme. The place-name suggests that the stream flows past a shieling settlement though no evidence was found within the survey area and any remains are presumably further upstream.

The archaeological sites with grid references, impact assessments and mitigations are summarized in Table 1 in Appendix A.

2. Introduction. An archaeological survey was undertaken on behalf of Hydroplan UK., at Allt na h’Airigh, Laudale Estate, Morvern, Lochaber, Highland (OS 1:10.000 Sheet NM75NE), prior to the proposed construction of a hydro scheme. (See Fig 1: Location Map)

The proposed hydro scheme at Allt na h’Airigh (See Fig. 4) consists of: a) Intake 4 on the Allt na h’Airigh at approximately NM 79228 58626. b) A buried pipeline from Intake 4 along the eastern edge of the forestry plantation on the West bank of Allt na h’Airigh. The pipeline then heads to the NW and, crossing an unnamed burn, continues to: c) Two Powerhouse options, PH2 above the A884 road at NM 78658 59642 and PH2a below the road at NM 78625 59682. d) Access to Intake 4 will be by an existing forestry track through the plantation.

The survey area lies on granites of the Strontian complex and consists of moderately sloping ground, rising from 10m OD to a height of 200m OD. The survey area consists of a narrow strip of ground, 50m either side of the proposed pipelines, an area 50m in diameter around the intakes and 100m in diameter around

J.G.Robertson. Ardtornish. February 2013. 1 Allt na h’Airigh Hydro Scheme the powerhouse. This survey was first undertaken in 2011, leading to a report, dated February 2011, which included the upper part of the Allt na h’Airigh scheme as well as other proposed hydro schemes on Laudale Estate. Following a change in layout, further survey was required and the present report supercedes the 2011 report, with regards to the Allt na h’Airigh scheme.

3. Working Methods. The survey consisted of a combination of a desk-based assessment and a rapid walkover survey. The survey benefited from a previous desk-based survey, undertaken by the writer, of the woodlands on Laudale Estate. (Robertson, 2002)

3.1. Desk-based Assessment. The desk-based assessment consisted of the consultation of a variety of sources:

3.1.1. Sites and Monuments Registers. a) The National Monuments Record of Scotland (NMRS), held by RCAHMS, John Sinclair House, 16 Bernard Terrace, Edinburgh EH8 9NX, available on www.rcahms.gov.uk b) The Historic Environment Record (HER), held by the Highland Council Archaeology Unit, Planning and Development Service, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness, IV3 5NX, available on www.ambaile.org

No sites have been recorded within the vicinity of the survey area.

3.1.2. Maps. a) Alexander Bruce: “A Plan of Loch Sunart”, dedicated to Lieutenant General George Wade, 1733. b) William Roy’s Map of Scotland, 1747-55. c) George Langlands & Sons: Map of Argyleshire, 1801. d) David Crawford: Plan of Farms in Morvern, Argyllshire The Property of His Grace The Duke of Argyll, 1819 (Scottish Record Office RH 3260) e) John Thomson: the Atlas of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1832. f) OS 1st Ed. 6” Map Sheets: Argyllshire xxvii and xxviii, surveyed 1872, publ. 1875. g) OS 2nd Ed. 6” Map, publ. 1900. h) OS 1:10,000 Sheets NM75NE, NM85 and NM86. i) OS Explorer 1:25,000, 2002.

3.1.3. Archives. a) Ardtornish Estate Archives: Bruce Map (see above). b) Scottish Record Office, Edinburgh: Map (see above) c) Fort William Library: Census of Morvern 1841, 1851, 1861. d) NMRS RCAHMS: Ian G Lindsay: Plans sections and elevations showing details of survey (of Gamekeeper’s Cottage, Site 1.14), 1952. e) Robertson, Jennifer G.: “A Desk-top Archaeological Survey of the woodlands on Laudale Estate, Morvern, Argyll”, an unpublished report for Bidwells Property Consultants, August 2002.

3.1.4. Aerial Photographs. Aerial photographs were consulted in the RCAHMS Air Photo Unit: a) CPE/UK/0286; Date 28.8.1947; Scale 1:10,000; Frames 4281-4283, 4286-4289. b) CPE/UK/0197; Date 12.10.1946; Scale 1:9,960; Frames 1093-1095, 1097-1101. c) CPE/UK/0195; Date 12.10.1946; Scale 1:25,700; Frames 6105-6109. d) ASS/617/88; Date 7.6.1988; Scale 1:24,000; Frames 166-170.

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3.1.5. Published Sources. Lord A. Campbell: Waifs and Strays of Celtic Tradition, Argyllshire Series, 1891. Eric Cregeen: Inhabitants of the Argyll Estate, 1779, Scottish Record Society, 1963. Eric Cregeen: Argyll Estate Instructions, 1771-1805, Scottish History Society, 1964. Philip Gaskell: Morvern Transformed, Cambridge, 1968. H. Cameron Gillies: The Place-names of Argyll, London, 1906. C. Innes: Origines Parochiales Scotiae, (3 vols in 2) Vol II pt I, 1854. JM. Lindsay: “Charcoal iron smelting and its fuel supply; the example of Lorn Furnace, Argyllshire, 1753 – 1876” in Journal of Historical Geography, 1, 3, 283 – 298, 1975. Nicholas Maclean-Bristol: Inhabitants of the Inner Isles Morvern and Arnamurchan 1716, Scottish Record Society, 1998. JRN. MacPhail: “Papers relating to the Macleans of Duart, 1670 – 1680” in Highland Papers I, Edinburgh 1914. Mary Miers: The Western Seaboard, An Architectural Inventory, 2008. RCAHMS: Argyll An Inventory of the Monuments Vol. 3 Mull, Tiree, Coll and Northern Argyll, HMSO, 1980. Sunart Oakwods Research Group (SORG): The Sunart Oakwoods, A Report on their History and Archaeology, 2001.

3.2. Fieldwork. The desk-based research was followed by a rapid walkover survey. This was undertaken in mostly dry and occasionally sunny conditions by the writer between 14th and 19th February 2011. Following changes to the hydro scheme layout, a further site visit was undertaken on 1st February 2013 in dry conditions.

4. Historical Background. 1

“Loch Sunart is become famous by the Greatest National Improvement this Age has produced” Bruce, 1733.

Thus the map maker, Alexander Bruce, concluded in 1733 from his observations of the lead mining industry on the North and South shores of Loch Sunart. However, the shores of Loch Sunart have a long history of occupation, stretching back, though not necessarily continuously, perhaps 7000 years. Evidence of Mesolithic occupation has been found on the island of Risga and at Barr, Loch Teacuis, on the southern shore of the loch to the West of the survey area. 2 Later prehistoric occupation is suggested by a series of cairns on both sides of the loch, though no prehistoric sites have been recorded in the survey area. 3 The former existence of an Early Christian chapel or cell might be indicated by the name, Cill Mairi, a burial ground to the West of Laudale, though there are no clear surviving remains. (NMRS NM75NW.2; Gillies, 1906, 107) The Norse derivation of the place-names Laudale, Liddesdale and Easgadail suggest some exploration by Norsemen along the south shore of Loch Sunart during the period of Viking domination from the 11th – 13th centuries, though no material remains have been discovered. (Gillies, 1906, 107) The names may have been applied to features noted from the sea.

1 Much of this is based on a previous unpublished report by the writer: “A Desk-top Archaeological Survey of the woodlands on Laudale Estate, Morvern Argyll”, 2002. 2 Risga NMRS NM65NW.22; Barr NMRS NM65NW.5. 3 Carnoch, Camusine and Glencripesdale (RCAHMS, 1980, 54, 53, 56); Salen, Resipole and Ariundle (SORG, 2001, 20-21)

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The earliest record of the survey areas dates to the 16th century, when the survey areas were part of the lands of Liddesdale; “Ledistill” [Liddesdale] was granted in 1541 to Ewin McMartying. (Gaskell, 1968, 164) In 1674, Lidistill (with Beach) comprised a 5 ½ merkland and paid £333 6s 8d in rent along with, among other things, 6 quarts of butter and 6 stone of cheese. (MacPhail, 1914, 285-6)

The earliest record of any inhabitants in the survey area is in 1716, when an inventory was made of the male residents of Ardnamurchan, Morvern and the Inner Hebrides in the aftermath of the 1715 Rebellion. (Maclean Bristol, 1998) Eight adult men were recorded at “Lidistill & Gortanbeg”. The Lidistill settlement was presumably focussed at the mouth of Liddesdale Burn around the present cluster of buildings, though remains of another farmstead have been recorded upstream outside the survey area at NM 7715 5862. (NMRS NM75NE.7) “Gortanbeg”, in the later 18th century, comprises the area between Allt na Cloiche and “Dergalt” [Lurg an Dearg Uillt] and may therefore correspond to remains in the vicinity of Lochhead Cottage (NMRS NM86SW.10. Some antagonism is indicated in the 1716 Inventory, possibly between the two townships: of the eight men recorded at “Lidistll & Gortanbeg”, two had joined the rebellion and three the Hanoverian militia. (Maclean- Bristol, 1998, 85-6)

While the agricultural settlement was based around the mouth of Liddesdale Burn, a major upheaval must have occurred after 1730, when the Morvern Company acquired the mining rights for the lead mines at Lurga in Glen Dubh at NM 732 554 and constructed its terminal buildings at “Liedgesdale”. (RCHMS, 1980, 250)

Fig. 2: Extract from “Plan of Loch Sunart” by Alexander Bruce, 1733. Thus, according to Alexander Bruce, by 1733:

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“they have built a handsome dwelling house for their Manager Clerks & Office att Liedgesdale besides a Key with a compleat Storehouse upon it. Two Warehouses Lodging houses for workmen two large Stables & as many Barns a Malt kiln a Smiths shop & Workhouse besides several Biggings att Glendon from whence they have made a Road to Liedgesdale pavd or laid with gravel its Streets & passages besides brought in & inclosed all ye adjacent grounds for Tillage Hay Pasture & Gardens.” (Bruce, 1733)

These buildings are depicted in the vignette of Liedgesdale on Bruce’s Plan of Loch Sunart of 1733. (See Fig. 2) Only the storehouse and quay can be clearly identified today and possibly the remains of the malt kiln.

The mining company was short-lived and, in 1749, the lead works were flooded. (RCAHMS, 1980, 252) A “slated store house”, which was converted in 1754 into a dwelling for the tacksman of Liddesdale, was probably the Morvern Company storehouse. (Gaskell, 1968, 168) The agricultural population presumably carried on as before the mining disruption, using the “inclosed … adjacent grounds for Tillage Hay Pasture & Gardens”. (Bruce, 1733) Roy’s map of 1747-55 shows the settlement at Liddesdale with a cluster of buildings on the East bank of the burn and an enclosure on the West bank, all surrounded by extensive arable. (See Fig. 3) The lower part of Allt na h’Airigh to the East runs through a woodland, as it does today, and may have been a woodland pasture, providing sheltered grazing for the farm. The name of the burn suggests an association with a shieling settlement, though no evidence was identified within the survey area. 4 Shieling hut remains, if any survive, may be further upstream.

Fig. 3: Extract from Roy’s Map of Scotland, 1747-55.

By the 18th century, the whole of the southern shore of Loch Sunart belonged to the Duke of Argyll, along with much of Morvern. The 5th Duke played an active role in the running of the estate, taking a keen interest in the management of resources, such as woodland, and kelp, as well as the lives of his tenants. (Cregeen, 1964,

4 Airigh = shieling settlement or summer grazing.

J.G.Robertson. Ardtornish. February 2013. 5 Allt na h’Airigh Hydro Scheme passim) In 1770, Liddesdale was a tacksman’s farm and still primarily devoted to cattle raising. (Gaskell, 1968, 17) In 1779, along with the tacksman and his family, five cottars, two workmen and one herd lived with their families at “Lidisdale”, amounting to a population of 53 in nine households. (Cregeen, 1963, 68) It was at Liddesdale that a story was recorded about a farmer, making a pact with the devil in return for help with ploughing. (Campbell, 1891)

In the 1770’s and 1780’s, the Duke turned his attention to his woodlands and efforts to maximise this resource. Thus, he instructed his agent to “consider how the Morvern woods are to be enclosed”. (Cregeen, 1964, 121)

“The enclosure of the woods in Morvern was recommended to the Duke in the report made in 1771 … “The area in Morvern to the South of Loch Sunart, and including the farms of Laudale, Camussalloch, Glencrepusdale and Rahoy, should be enclosed and turned into a permanent forest “capable of producing in time a quantity of timber sufficient to supply all the demands of the great estate of Argyll, or if sold at the perfection of twenty years’ growth may fetch a price more considerable than the rent these lands can produce during that time in any other state of improvement. “ In this, and other measures, the Duke appears to have closely followed the advice given in this anonymous report.” (ibid.)

A wood-ranger was installed at Liddesdale before 1787, with another at Glencripesdale, and four woodland enclosures were considered East of the Laudale River, though none encroached on the survey area. (Cregeen, 1964, 125, 131)

Farming continued alongside the woodland enclosure, the farmers being compensated for loss of grazing. In 1788, the Duke and his agent discussed the division of Liddesdale into two farms, a division which took place between 1807 and 1826, if not before. A march dyke between East and West Liddesdale was constructed, much of which lies within a forest plantation but was recorded on the OS 1st Ed. 6” map. (Argyllshire xxvii, 1875) The survey area would have been within the East Liddesdale farm.

At some stage, the tacksmen’s farms were converted to sheep farms. (Gaskell, 1968, 16) The population of Liddesdale dwindled through the 19th century, though there do not seem to have been any evictions. Between 1872 and 1897, two buildings were constructed in the vicinity of the survey area: a school, Site 1, to the West and another structure, Site 2, to the East. Neither was located in the present survey.

The Duke of Argyll’s Morvern Estates were put on the market in 1819. (Gaskell, 1968, 24) Liddesdale Estate went through a succession of owners until it was amalgamated with other lands under the Newton family in 1871 into one large estate of Glencripesdale. (op. cit., 162-5) Subsequently, this estate was broken up, with the combined lands of Laudale and Liddesdale forming a single unit, which continues today.

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5. Gazetteer of Sites.

Site 1. School, Site of. NGR NM 78390 59660 Between 1872 and 1897 a building was constructed on the North side of the road, to the East of a small stream and the Laudale road-end. In 1900, it was in use as a school, though subsequently may have been demolished. It is not marked on the OS 1:25,000 or 1:10,000 maps. There is no evidence on the ground today. Refs: OS 2nd Ed. 6” Map Sheet Argyllshire xxvii SE, revised 1897, published 1900. Impact Assessment: This site is outwith the survey area and is no longer extant. Mitigation: No action is required.

Site 2. Structure. NGR NM 78760 59650 Between 1872 and 1897 a building was constructed within a small clearing in the woodland on the West side of Allt na h’Airigh. It may have been demolished as it is not marked on the OS 1:25,000 or 1:10,000 maps. It was not located in the present survey. Refs: OS 2nd Ed. 6” Map Sheet Argyllshire xxvii SE, revised 1897, published 1900. Impact Assessment: This site is outwith the survey area and is not at risk. Mitigation: No action is required.

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Appendix A: List of Sites at h’Airigh Hydro Scheme

Site No. Grid Reference Impact Assessment Mitigation

Site 1 NM 78390 59660 No longer extant No action is required School, Site of

Site 2 NM 78760 59650 Not at risk No action is required Structure

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Fig. 4: Proposed Hydro Scheme at Allt na h’Airigh (Map from Hydroplan UK)

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Fig. 5: Plan of Archaeological Sites at Allt na h’Airigh, Sites 1 – 2

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