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MHG12559 - Scullomie Harbour

Summary

A massive drystone rubble quay built in the late C 19th.

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

The Industrial Archaeology of Sutherland (A Scottish Highland Economy 1700-1900, p. 105) - Sinclair B Calder, 1974

Scullomie Harbour, late 19th century. A remarkable massive drystone-rubble quay in two parts, at a slight angle to each other. There are three inset stairways. The quay is formed on a rocky islet, which is linked to the shore by a causeway, ramped on the harbour side, and partly paved. For part of its length the quay was protected by a sea wall, most of which has collapsed. Little used, as approach dangerous.
J R Hume 1977.

A rapid coastal zone assessment survey was conducted by GUARD in the Autumn of 1997 commissioned by Historic Scotland from the Viking and Early Settlement Archaeological Research Project based at the University of Glasgow.

A massive drystone rubble quay built in the late C 19th (Hume 1977, 320) and said to have been constructed for the use of the people of Tongue. However, it was inconveniently placed for access by land, with a dangerous sea-approach, and was thus little used (Hume, ibid; Beaton 1995, 85). The quay is built onto a rock-islet and linked to the shore by a causeway, which is constructed in two parts at a slight angle to each other, which creates the harbour at the south. The landward stretch of the quay runs for c 74 m to the NE before turning slightly to run for c 76 m to the NNE, where it terminates on the rock-islet. The south edge of the quay has three stair-wells built into the structure, and a ramped high-tide launch attached to the SW end. On the surface of the quay there are a number of vertical stone mooring-bollards as well as a portable iron fish-gutting table. At the seaward end of the quay there is a large sea-wall which has been breached and has tumbled over the surface of the quay.

There is also a great deal of damage to the NNE tip of the quay where there is a large quantity of dressed blocks strewn across the intertidal zone. The road which leads down to the quay has been revetted at the SW where it meets the quay as there is a small inlet where water rushes through at the south. This revetment has been badly damaged by the force of the water that comes through here. The NE and SW ends of this quay are being badly damaged by the force of the waves that hit it. This process is probably being aided by the manual removal of stones from the fabric for use in surrounding settlements. This allows gaps into which the water is forced and it can dislodge surrounding stones and wash out smaller packing-stones which give the structure stability. This is a monumental site, very impressively built, and requires to be surveyed in the light of the effect that wave-and-storm action is having on it in an attempt to preserve its structural integrity. <1>

NGR adjusted based on 1999-2001 vertical aerial photographs. <2>

Sources/Archives (4)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NC 6176 6147 (178m by 157m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NC66SW
Geographical Area	SUTHERLAND
Civil Parish	TONGUE

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Investigations/Events (1)

External Links (2)