Building record MAB37075 - 20A CROSS KEYS CLOSE, BRECHIN

Building depicted on the 1st and 2nd edition OS maps, still in use.

Building depicted on the 1st and 2nd edition OS maps, still in use. A buildings survey was conducted by MAS in March 2009 prior to the redevelopment of the property. The west part of the building was recorded as the earliest in the building sequence. At this stage the building had a west stonewall with three high windows in the ground floor room, with the higher ground levels to West these windows may have appeared quite low externally. The east wall is more problematic as it may have originally been of stone, broken through and replaced in timber when the east structure was added. The alternative is that the existing timber framed wall was the original form of the east wall. The east part of the main block was built abutting the west block and with a lean-to roof depending on it. In its original form this east block appears to have had a roughly central door, narrower than its present width, with a window on either side. Later the east outshot was built, abutting the east wall of the main block. The surviving southeast corner of another building abutted the northeast corner of the main block. The West part of the building almost certainly dates to pre-1823, with the remaining elements having been added circa 1823-1852. The building is currently used as a storehouse. There is nothing to suggest that the building was ever used as a dwelling, as there is no evidence of fireplaces or chimneys. The only other suggestion of function was evident in the upper floor of the earlier west part of the building, where small hooks were observed on the rafters and low collars of the building, which resembled tenter hooks used to stretch cloth evenly after washing and weaving. A watching brief was carried out in January 2010 by MAS over the excavation of trenches for the installation of services to the property. Footings of wall were observed below the later concrete floor in the building. It also became evident that the drains and drainage channels uncovered that run north-south and east-west are providing drainage for a floor, possibly cobbled, that pre-dates the concrete floor, now removed, therefore, associated with the earliest use of the building. Although there were no indications of what this use may have been, it is possible that it was an area of stabling (as suggested following the original building survey), requiring an efficient drainage system or that the drains were necessary to cope with water penetration.

Period Notes
Main part of building is pre-1823

MURRAY ARCHAELOGICAL SERVICES, 2009, 20A CROSS KEYS CLOSE, BRECHIN: STANDING BUILDING SURVEY, SBS (Bibliographic reference). SAB4639.

MURRAY ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERVICES, 2010, 20A CROSS KEYS CLOSE BRECHIN - BUILDING RECORDING, SBS (Bibliographic reference). SAB4662.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2010, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND: VOL 10, 2009, p.32 (Bibliographic reference). SAB3514.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2011, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND. NEW SERIES, VOLUME 11, 2010, p.32 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5535.

Record last edited

Jan 3 2024 4:34PM