During the Middle Ages most of the inhabitants of Perth and Kinross lived in the countryside, yet the region’s medieval rural settlements are poorly understood. Some upland areas have seen important archaeological surveys. However, the majority of rural settlements remain largely unstudied. Enhancing our knowledge of rural settlements should be a high priority for research in the region (M Brown pers comm).
Survey by the RCAHMS in the 1990s identified a significant number of probable medieval settlements in eastern Perth and Kinross (RCAHMS 1990; 1994). In the uplands of the north-east many elongated stone and turf buildings have been recorded. These are thought to range in date from early medieval to post-medieval. Many of the earlier buildings are of the Pitcarmick-type – that is large turf-built byre houses with rounded ends typically constructed between the 7th and 11th centuries (Carver et al 2013; Strachan et al 2019). Unfortunately, most of the other buildings ‘do not lend themselves easily to classification’ (RCAHMS 1990, 12). The remains of numerous stone-built rectangular farmsteads and fermtouns can be seen in upland areas. These are often assumed to be medieval or post-medieval, but more research into their dating would be desirable (RCAHMS 1990, 95–171).
Initial assumptions about the date of rural buildings in upland Perth and Kinross have often been overturned by evidence from excavation. For example, the possible hunting lodge at Buzzart Dykes was originally thought to be post-medieval, but has been radiocarbon dated to the 13th or 14th century (MPK3821; RCAHMS 1994; Hall and Malloy 2017; see Buzzart Dykes Case Study). Meanwhile at Lair (MPK4456), Glen Shee two turf buildings (1 and 2) which did not conform to the Pitcarmick-type were presumed to be relatively late structures. However, excavation has shown that they were also early medieval (Strachan et al 2019, 110–1).
The Ben Lawers Historic Landscape Project significantly enhanced our knowledge of medieval communities in the area around Loch Tay (Atkinson 2016). In particular, the project’s excavation of a cluster of stone and turf buildings at Kiltyrie (MPK16865 and MPK16961) has helped our understanding of medieval upland dwellings. They are thought to be the remains of a long-term settlement, mainly occupied between the 12th and 15th centuries, though with some episodes of abandonment within this period (Atkinson 2016, 86–7). The best-preserved of the Kiltyrie buildings was a dwelling ‘constructed mainly of turf, with traces of what may be a stone inner face along the base of the banks’ (Atkinson 2016, 91). This building was about 9.5m long by 6m wide and had a hearth towards one end. Although not fully of the Pitcarmick-type, there were several similarities between the Kiltyrie examples and the early medieval dwellings of the region. This again suggests that researchers should be wary of dating structures purely on the basis of their plan and construction style.
The sparse occupation of upland areas, at least since the 19th century, has left many archaeological remains relatively undisturbed. This provides opportunities for investigating medieval settlement and cultivation in marginal zones – a topic of considerable significance for understanding how climatic variation, and other economic and cultural factors, affected the habitable areas of Scotland. There has been a recent exploration of this theme in relation to the early medieval period (Strachan et al 2019). However, more study for the rest of the Middle Ages would be helpful. Ongoing forestry activity and the construction of wind-farms might provide opportunities for survey and excavation in medieval marginal zones.
In comparison to the research on upland settlements, the archaeological work on lowland rural settlements in Perth and Kinross has been even more limited. This is partly the result of denser post-medieval occupation of lowland areas, causing medieval settlements to be built over by later farms and villages or removed by modern cultivation. The current trend for redeveloping farm buildings may provide opportunities for investigating the origins of these sites. However, as medieval rural buildings were insubstantial compared with their successors, the survival of evidence may be rare and difficult to identify. The use of charter evidence may prove to be a valuable tool in the identification of centres of settlement and the patterns of estates into which they fitted.
The abandoned village of Pitmiddle (MPK4669) on the slopes above the Carse of Gowrie would be an interesting site for further investigation. Although much of the evidence for this farming community dates from the 17th and 18th centuries, there was already an established settlement here in the 1170s (Perry 1988, 8). Careful study of cropmarks could perhaps provide evidence for other abandoned settlements, although thus far cropmarks have mainly revealed the presence of larger moated sites, which are morphologically more diagnostic (RCAHMS 1994, 108–9).
The relationship between medieval settlements and earlier patterns of occupation deserves further research. The Perthshire Crannog Survey highlighted the frequency with which prehistoric crannogs ‘continued to be significant into the Late Medieval and Early Modern periods’ (Dixon and Shelley 2006, 80). A number of these crannogs became the basis of relatively high-status residences, such the tower house built by the bishop of Dunkeld on a possible crannog at Loch Clunie (MPK5255). Investigation of the way in which medieval communities made use of other types of prehistoric site, and the extent to which there is evidence of continuous occupation, would be beneficial.
Attention should be drawn to another unusual form of rural settlement – namely moated sites. At least 14 moated sites are recorded in Perth and Kinross. This is a sizeable number as only about 60 are known across the whole of Scotland (Coleman and Perry 1997, 176–7). Moated sites are usually enclosed by broad rectilinear ditches and often survive either as earthworks or cropmarks. They vary significantly in scale. For example, while the enclosure at Hallyards near Alyth (MPK5366) measures 75 x 60m, another moated site at Ballangrew in the Stirling Council area has an enclosure of only 20 x 15m.
The status of these settlements is currently unclear. They were previously thought to reflect seigneurial status (RCAHMS 1994, 108–9). However, it seems likely that they ‘filled a variety of needs’ (Coleman and Perry 1997, 180). Some were perhaps estate centres, but others may have protected the homes of farmers or even served to define features such as orchards. The problems of interpreting and dating most moated sites are considerable, and much more research is needed before we can confidently assert their purpose or social status. Written records may well play a role in our efforts to understand these places While the study of medieval charters has disproportionately focused on either the aristocracy or urban residents, property documents do contain a significant body of material on rural landholders below the level of the nobility and gentry. It is perhaps this sector of society that we should be primarily considering in relation to moated sites.
| HER / Canmore ID | Place (Site and Locality) | National Grid Reference | State of Remains | Archaeological Investigations |
| MPK429/ 24963 | Moated site at Fortingall | NN 7340 4664 | Well-preserved homestead moat on a flat river terrace. Enclosure around 70 x 63m with ditch about 15m wide. | None |
| MPK761/ 25346 | John the Bangster’s House (also known as Fintalich and Muir of Lintibert), Muthill | NN 8727 1743 | Described around 1860 as the ‘site of an ancient house… on a knoll surrounded by a mote or ditch. The remains of the building were removed, and the ditch filled up about twenty years ago’. Slight remains recorded by the OS in 1967 were not traced by RCAHMS in 1996. | None |
| MPK1422/ 26071 | Kirklands of Damside, Auchterarder | NN 9634 1465 | Cropmark of a rectilinear enclosure, tentatively interpreted as a moated homestead. | None |
| MPK1693/ 26358 | Clochfoldich, Strathtay | NN 8999 5277 | Well-preserved medieval earthwork about 36 x 34m with ditch around 8m wide and rampart about 4m wide on the north side. | None |
| MPK1839/ 26511 | Wood of Coldrain (also known as Hall Yard), Kinross | NO 08390 00797 | Cropmark of a moated rectilinear enclosure measuring around 60 x 45m with a ditch about 10m wide. | None |
| MPK1990/ 26671 | Ardargie, Forgandenny | NO 0827 1437 | A rectilinear moated homestead measuring around 85 x 105m. A bank on both sides was replaced by a steep gully on the east. | None |
| MPK2214/ 26909 | Peel, Tibbermore | NO 0551 2354 | Cropmark of a probable moated site. Has been partly built over by Peel Farm. | None |
| MPK3124/ 27973 | Balgonie, Abernethy | NO 1931 1744 | Cropmarks from a complex of ditched enclosures and rig and furrow cultivation (which respects the enclosure), suggesting a medieval moated site within a contemporary cultivated landscape. | None |
| MPK3131/ 27980 | Moated site at Wallacetown, River Earn | NO 1628 1850 | Cropmark of a moated sub-rectangular settlement, sited on the edge of a natural terrace above the River Earn flood plain. It measures around 40 x 20m. | None |
| MPK3191/ 28043 | Balmanno Castle, Dron | NO 1436 1557 | A moat surrounding a L-shaped tower house. In the 19th century the moat was still partly filled with water. | None |
| MPK3650/ 28607 | Newhall, Kinrossie | NO 1865 3192 | A document of 1546 refers to a ‘moat called Newhall of Kinrossie’. A RCAHMS visit in 1989 identified no remains of the ‘castle’ that formerly stood on a knoll near Newhall steading. | Excavated around 1810 by a proprietor of Dunsinane. At this time the ruins of the castle were about 6ft high. |
| MPK5366/ 30750 | Hallyards, Alyth | NO 2790 4642 | Cropmarks from a rectangular moated settlement measuring around 85 x 80m with a ditch about 8m wide. | None |
| MPK5459/ 28523 | Links, River Isla | NO 1825 3864 | Cropmarks from a probable rectangular moated site on the edge of a terrace overlooking the River Isla. | None |
| MPK5818/ 71784 | Monzie Moated Site, Gilmerton | NN 8824 2412 | Cropmarks from a trapezoidal moated site, situated on a terrace, with two ditches about 3m wide and set about 6m apart. | None |
The challenges of the surviving physical evidence means that documentary and cartographic research may offer the best route to improving our understanding of rural settlement in lowland areas. We are fortunate that large numbers of medieval charters, both published and unpublished, survive from Perth and Kinross. They are held in archives such as the National Records of Scotland, the National Library of Scotland, Perth and Kinross Council Archive, and the University of St Andrews Library. Financial records recorded in the Exchequer Rolls are another important source. For example, there is an account for Strathearn from the 1380s and for Atholl, Strathearn and other royal properties from the 1440s onwards. At present, there have been surprisingly few efforts to use these records to understand rural settlement and landholding beyond the elites.
Proxy forms of evidence, such as parish churches, can also provide indications of lost settlements (RCAHMS 1994, 112). Churches usually leave evidence of their existence, both in documents and on the ground, sometimes as ruins, sometimes integrated into newer buildings on the same site. They often mark the focus of a medieval rural settlement which otherwise has left little or no trace. Parish churches may be key to understanding rural settlement for the area as a whole, confirming settlement locations, providing assemblages of human remains, and indicating the changing economic fortunes of rural communities. Overall, we need to combine different strands of evidence from various disciplines, locations and centuries to better understand medieval rural settlement in Perth and Kinross.
