MHG8557 - Court Hill - Rosemarkie
Summary
Possible site of an early chapel and a later court.
Type and Period (2)
Protected Status
- None recorded
Full Description
NH75NW 10 7356 5762.
(NH 7357 5762) Court Hill (NR) OS 25" map, Ross-shire, (1906)
Court Hill was an apparently artificial mound of nearly a circular form, and level on the top (NSA 1845) - which description suggested a motte to Armitage (1912). The mound has been partially defaced by building. NSA 1845; E S Armitage 1912.
Court Hill, possibly an artificial mound on the W side of a steep slope is so mutilated by building and landscape gardening that its original shape and purpose cannot be ascertained. Meldrum (E Meldrum, County Architect's Office, Inverness) does not think that this is a motte; it is more probably where the manor courts were held (See NH75NW 7). Visited by OS (N K B) 16 March 1966.
The chapel mentioned in the 1379 charter of Walter and Euphemia Lesly as ‘the chapel of St Boneface is adjacent to the town of Rosemarkie, which is called Cuthyl Curitin’. The word ‘cuthyl’ means ‘court hill’, or at least assembly place, which was usually on a hill or low mound, and often found adjacent to early monasteries (e.g. the Moot Hill at Scone, the Doomster Hill at Govan, the settlement of ‘Quithel’ adjacent to the newly-found monastery of Deer). This is what makes me think the site in question was Court Hill, and that the cross-slab fragment (see MHG47323) is *just possibly* a surviving vestige of an early medieval chapel on the site. There’s no doubt there was (also) a chapel at Kincurdy as it is mentioned in various sources from 1591 onwards, but these mentions are very late and Kincurdy cannot be a corruption of ‘Cuthyl Curitin’. <1>
Sources/Archives (5)
- --- SHG1131 Text/Publication/Article: Yeoman, P A. 1988. 'Mottes in Northeast Scotland', Scot Archaeol Rev Vol. 5 1988, p.125-33. Scot Archaeol Rev. 125-33. 131, no. 108.
- --- SHG1921 Text/Publication/Volume: Armitage, E S. 1912. The early Norman castles of the British Isles. 322.
- --- SHG2597 Text/Publication/Volume: NSA. 1845. The new statistical account of Scotland by the ministers of the respective parishes under the superintendence of a committee of the society for the benefit of the sons and daughters of the clergy. Vol. 14, Ross and Cromarty, 353-4.
- --- SHG2675 Text/Report: RCAHMS. 1979. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. The archaeological sites and monuments of the Black Isle, Ross and Cromarty District, Highland Region. . 21, No. 136.
- <1> SHG29863 Personal communication: Campbell-Howes F.. 2025. Query about site of early chapel based on 14th c. source..
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NH 7356 5762 (20m by 20m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NH75NW |
| Geographical Area | ROSS AND CROMARTY |
| Civil Parish | ROSEMARKIE |
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (1)
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/14326 (View RCAHMS Canmore entry for this site)
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