Maldie Burn Hydro Electric Scheme, Kylestrome, Eddrachillis, Sutherland Cultural Heritage and Archaeology Catherine Dagg for ASH 21 Gordon Street Glasgow G1 3PL Maldie Burn Hydro Electric Scheme, Kylestrome, Eddrachillis, Sutherland Cultural Heritage and Archaeology 1.0 Introduction A hydro-electric scheme is to be constructed on the Maldie Burn, Reay Forest, Eddrachillis, Sutherland. This evaluation was originally prepared for inclusion in an Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Statement on the proposed development, and covers the potential impact of the scheme on the archaeological record and cultural heritage of the area. This evaluation aims to • Identify the cultural heritage baseline within and in the vicinity of the proposed area of the development • Assess the proposed development site in terms of its archaeological and historic environment • Consider the potential impacts of construction and operation of the proposed development on the cultural heritage and archaeological record. • Propose measures (where appropriate) to mitigate any predicted adverse impacts The cultural heritage resource of an area is taken to consist of the following elements which might be adversely affected by the development: • Scheduled Ancient Monuments • Listed Buildings • Designed Landscapes and Gardens • Other archaeological features, conservation areas, historic cemeteries and battlefield sites The evaluation contains the following elements: • A desk-based assessment of the archaeological sites and areas of historical or cultural interest considered likely to be affected by the development. • A field evaluation of the area of the proposed development, to locate known and recorded archaeological sites and areas of archaeological and cultural significance and to identify previously unrecorded sites At the time that this evaluation was carried out (2005) the survey area included another development proposal which has now been abandoned, and several aspects of the Maldie Burn proposal, including locations for temporary compounds, which have also been abandoned. The survey area is therefore much larger than required for the present Maldie Burn development, but the information on the whole area, including the archaeological sites, is included here. This is partly to avoid confusion about site numbers; the majority of sites no longer within the development area have been extracted into Appendix 2 2.0 The Maldie Burn Development The proposed development consists of the following elements: • A single intake at the outflow of Loch an Leathaid Bhuain at NC 2625 3520, raising the water level of the loch by approximately 2m • Buried pipeline and temporary access track from the intake to the turbine house • Turbine house at NC 2500 3400, on the east bank of the Maldie Burn, and tailrace discharging into the burn • Widening of present access track to the turbine site from Kylestrome and new section of track north of Kylestrome Lodge • Temporary construction compounds at the main intake site and east of the turbine house • Buried cable connection from Maldie intake, following the argocat track and stalkers path to a point east of the Bealaich nam Fiann, then cutting through Achfary Forest to the existing power line at Achfary 3.0 Area Description The development is located to the north of Loch Glendhu and south of Loch More, and utilizes water which drains into Loch Glendhu via the Maldie Burn. The catchment area is the greater part of the high ground between Loch Glendhu and Loch More. The area of the proposed development is for the most part defined as wild land, although it is a managed sporting estate, which also carries a small stock of sheep. For sporting and recreational purposes, a number of 19th century stalkers’ paths have been upgraded for argocat access, notably along the north shore of Loch Glendhu from Kylestrome Lodge, and, splitting from this track at Maldie, running up the west side of the Maldie Burn and rising steeply to meet a higher route from Kylestrome to Achfary. All buildings presently in use by the estate are confined to Kylestrome, with the exception of a lodge and Mountain Bothy Association bothy at the head of Glendhu, and a fishermen’s hut on Loch Leathiad Bhuain. Achfary, a separately managed part of Reay estate, also contains a lodge, offices and estate workers houses. 4.0 Baseline Conditions 4.1 Archaeological Background 4.1.1 Sites with Statutory Protection There are no Listed Buildings or Designed Landscapes within, or adjacent to, the area of this evaluation There are two Scheduled Ancient Monuments in the wider area covered by this evaluation: 1. Broch, An Dun at NC 2170 341 SMR no. NC23SW0001, SAM Index 1833 2. Cairn at NC 21938 3422 SMR no. NC23SW0003, SAM Index 1800 4.1.2 Recorded Archaeological Sites No systematic archaeological field survey had previously been carried out in the general area of Reay Forest. Some sites have been identified by the Ordnance Survey, others by TC Welsh, and others through evidence recorded by earlier map makers and added to the Highland Sites and Monuments Record (SMR, now replaced by the Historic Environment Record, HER) as a desk-based exercise. There is therefore a high probability of unrecorded sites being located in this area The following archaeological sites are recorded on the Highland Sites and Monuments Record as within or adjacent to the area of this evaluation: • Building at NC 2160 3420 HER ref. MHG18821, SMR no. NC23SW0019 One unroofed building is recorded on the 1878 1st edition Ordnance Survey map at this location, which is down on the sea shore north of An Dun • Two enclosed areas of cultivation at NC 2150 3450 HER ref. MHG41517, SMR no. NC23SW0021 Recorded on the 1st edition OS map • Burial Ground at NC 21835 34820 HER ref. MHG31468, SMR no. NC23SW0025 A rectangular enclosure is recorded on the 1st edition OS map, although it is not named as a burial ground, nor is it defined on the 1969 OS 1:2500 Pathfinder map. It has been recorded in Cowper and Ross’s monuments survey • Sheep pen at NC 2230 3505 SMR no. NC23NW0003 This structure is recorded but unnamed on the 1st edition OS map, and named as a sheep pen on the 1969 Pathfinder map. • Building at NC 2270 3460 , HER ref. MHG18820SMR no. NC23SW0018 One unroofed building is recorded on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map at this location, which is north of the track within the present forestry. • Maldie Burn, depopulated settlement at NC 2470 3420 HER ref. MHG12118, SMR no. NC23SW0002. The 1st edition OS map only records one unroofed building and one enclosure, but eighteen buildings and two enclosures have subsequently been noted. All these buildings lie to the west of the Maldie Burn 4.2 Summary of Settlement History and Cartographic Evidence A more complete historical background is provided in Appendix 1 1. Achfary: Roy’s military survey of 1750s records two clusters of buildings, one on each side of the Allt Achadh Fairidh, with corn lands mostly south of the river. The northern clachan lies under the present buildings, while the southern clachan may have been removed entirely in the improvement of the fields between the road and Loch nan Ealachan. Cleared at an unknown date. One shepherd was resident there in 1841. The Duke of Westminster developed the settlement, building stables (dated 1853), offices and a laundry to service the nearby Lochmore Lodge. The Sutherland Coaching Company kept a house and stables there. By 1953 the population was large enough to support a school, which is still open. 2. Kylestrome: Roy records an unnamed township at the site of the present farm lands north of the lodge, and another small township, which he names Kylestrome, at the site of Galascaig, along the coast to the west. Cleared in 1808 when Charles Clarke added it to Glendhu sheep farm, and probably installed a shepherd. The 1841 census records one shepherd with his family and a female servant. The Admiralty map of 1846 records Old House of Kylestrome, which may have been the original tacksman’s house, up the Allt an Dubhaidh. To the west of this is a large rectangular enclosure and a long dyke or road, both of which can be traced on modern maps. Three buildings, enclosures and dykes are noted at the site of the present lodge, and the road runs from the ferry point on Eilean na Rainich, north towards Scourie. The Picts Tower (broch) is recorded, as is the fact that boats can pass at flow between Garbh Eilean and the mainland into Loch an Truister 3. Grianan/Maldie. Roy records the township on the high ground west of the Maldie Burn. Cleared in 1808 when Charles Clarke added it to the sheep farm. No record of any shepherd or forester living there, and no map evidence for any houses. The 1st edition OS map shows the fank and park east of the burn, a small fank within the township area west of the burn, and the track 4.3 Gazetteer of Archaeological Features and Sites The following sites were noted during a rapid walk-over survey, carried out on 27-29th July and 8th November 2005 Kylestrome to Maldie Burn 1. Eilean na Rainich. Site of fishing station at NC 2290 3425. The western wing of the complex of standing buildings is a rubble-built storehouse, similar enough to the fish store at Rispond on Loch Eriboll, known to have been in existence in 1787, to be contemporary. An existing storehouse on Eilean na Rainich is known to have been leased to James Anderson in about 1775. If this is that building, it would be the oldest standing building in the area. It is two-storey, originally with an external stair which has now been removed. The south gable appears to have originally contained a flue, as the fireplace is still visible at the first floor level, but the chimney has been removed.