Building record MAB39912 - BOWBUTTS

Farmstead, still in use, depicted on the 1st and 2nd edition OS maps as a square plan steading with central open courtyard, and sluice and dam to the northeast.

Farmstead, still in use, depicted on the 1st and 2nd edition OS maps as a square plan steading with central open courtyard, and sluice and dam to the northeast. To the west is a L-plan house and on the OS 1st edition three rectangular buildings which by the time of the OS 2nd edition map had been altered to, or replaced by, a single long building of three compartments. The pond, sluice and dam have been built over. The name 'Bowbutts' is associated with a supposed area of fences used by archers. A level 2 standing building survey of the steading was carried out in 2012 by Cameron Archaeology in advance of the proposed demolition. The farm appears as 'Bowhults' on John Thomson's Atlas of Scotland, dated 1832 , and is well developed by the 1st edition OS map by which time is named as 'Bowbults'. The farm name had changed to 'Bowbutts' by the 2nd edition OS map. The steadings consist of five rooms around a central courtyard which was open at the south side in Phase 1 whilst in Phase 2 buildings were constructed to form an enclosed courtyard with small passageway between Rooms 2 and 3. Phase 1: Room 1, the north and east portions of Room 2, the east end of Room 3, the north and east portions of Room 4 and Room 5 formed parts of the earliest phase of this farm steading. The walls of these Phase 1 structures are mainly constructed of large blocks of pink granite. Original uses of the rooms are unknown apart from Room 4 which probably incorporated a threshing mill. A pond and sluice are shown at the northeast corner of the farm 1st and 2nd edition OS maps. A sluice would have fed the water from the pond through the threshing mill and the water would have exited the farm through a stone drain. Scars on the east wall of Room 4 indicate where a building (Room 6) has been demolished and blocked apertures show where drive shafts would have passed through the wall. Phase 2: The second phase of buildings was constructed of large granite blocks and smaller fieldstones. In this period the threshing mill was still in use. Room 2 had been extended and an addition on the west side of Room 3 formed a closed courtyard 19 x 20.2m in size with a small passageway into the courtyard to the south. Phase 3: Various alterations have taken place including refitting Room 5 with reinforced concrete byre partitions and fireclay ventilation system. The south part of Room 4 was also demolished creating an access to the east of the steading and other walls were demolished. Photographic survey of the buildings north of the house was carried out in 2015.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2012, BOWBUTTS FARM, STRACHAN - LEVEL 2 STANDING BUILDING SURVEY (Bibliographic reference). SAB5330.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2013, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND, NEW SERIES, VOLUME 13, 2012, p.28 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5487.

Jan 23 2015 , APP/2011/2789, APP/2011/2789 (Ground Photograph). SAB20797.

Record last edited

May 18 2021 10:56AM