Building record MAB30714 - REFORM TOWER, MEET HILL, PETERHEAD
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Summary
Tall tapering tower, and site of a tumulus and cist.
Protected Status/Designation
- Listed Building (B) 16362
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NK 1215 4466 (40m by 40m) Centred at - Polygon: Known Site Extent |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NK14SW |
| Authority | Aberdeenshire |
| Civil Parish | Peterhead |
Type and Period (3)
Full Description
Tall tapering tower, and site of a tumulus and cist. The tower, built in 1832, is of five stages on a Greek cross plan, the top stage slightly corbelled out with splays in angles. Constructed of squared granite, with rock-faced masonry at the ground floor, a simple cornice over openings and a crenellated parapet. It was originally intended as an observatory, but this was not completed. The foundation stone was laid by George Mudie of Meethill in August 1832. The Reform Tower, erected by the Whigs, is one of two monuments built to commemorate the Reform Bill, the other the Reform Monument (NK14NW0045) in the town erected by the Tories. A tumulus and cist containing fragments of human bones and a food vessel are recorded as having been discovered when digging the Reform Tower foundations in 1833. An account in the Aberdeen Press and Journal 20 June 1832 describes how the foundation trenches were dug into an artificial mound 3.96 m (13 feet) high and circa 24-27 m (80-90 feet) across, uncovering a large flagstone oriented north-south covering a cist. It contained black mould mixed with bone fragments including jawbone and led. An urn, ‘ornamented with curves and dotted lines’ contained ‘mould and bone fragments’. The core of the mound was a pile of large stones on which the cist rested, the outer part of the mound earth ands stones containing charred oak. Although an urn in the Arbuthnott Museum was recorded as having been 'found below foundations of Meethill Monument, Broad Street, Peterhead' this is likely to be the result of confusion between the two reform monuments.
Period Notes
Tower erected in August 1832.
ORDNANCE SURVEY, 1871, Ordnance Name Book, No72(1868) 52 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1360.
FOOD-VESSEL
ANDERSON, J, 1888, REPORTS ON LOCAL MUSEUMS IN SCOTLAND IN PSAS 22(1887-88) 331-422, 366 (Bibliographic reference). SAB17.
FOOD-VESSEL
Feb 19 2014 , AAS-GR-14-02-134 - 140, AAS-GR-14-02-134 - 140 (Ground Photograph). SAB20815.
Author unknown, n.d., BUCHAN OBSERVER, 02/09/86 (Bibliographic reference). SAB113.
Author unknown, n.d., NSA, No12(1845) 356 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1269.
FOOD-VESSEL
Other Statuses/References
- Authority: ASH;
- HAMP Asset: HA0040;
- HES Listed Building Number: 16362;
- Local Government Guardianship;
- NMR Card Number: NK14SW62;
- NRHE Numlink: 21339;
- Old Historic Environment Record Ref: NK14SW0001;
External Links (2)
- https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB16362 (Historic Environment Scotland Portal Link)
- https://www.trove.scot/place/21339 (trove.scot link)
Sources/Archives (5)
- --- SAB113 Bibliographic reference: Author unknown. n.d.. BUCHAN OBSERVER. 02/09/86.
- --- SAB1269 Bibliographic reference: Author unknown. n.d.. NSA. No12(1845) 356.
- --- SAB1360 Bibliographic reference: ORDNANCE SURVEY. 1871. Ordnance Name Book. No72(1868) 52.
- --- SAB17 Bibliographic reference: ANDERSON, J. 1888. REPORTS ON LOCAL MUSEUMS IN SCOTLAND IN PSAS 22(1887-88) 331-422. Y. 366.
- --- SAB20815 Ground Photograph: Feb 19 2014 . AAS-GR-14-02-134 - 140. Digital. AAS-GR-14-02-134 - 140.
Finds (1)
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (2)
Record last edited
Sep 5 2024 3:14PM
