Scolpaig Tower
| Scolpaig Tower | |
|
Inverness-shire | |
|---|---|
 Scolpaig Tower across Loch Scolpaig | |
| Type: | Folly |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NF73117502 |
| Location: | 57°38’46"N, 7°28’53"W |
| Village: | Scolpaig |
| History | |
| Folly | |
| Information | |
Scolpaig Tower (also known as 'MacLeod's Folly') is a Georgian folly in Loch Scolpaig, a small freshwater loch near the village of Scolpaig on the island of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides, and within Inverness-shire.
The tower was built in about 1830 by Dr Alexander MacLeod, who was the factor of the North Uist estate.[1] It was erected to provide employment for the purpose of famine relief. It was built over an Iron Age dun on a small islet in Loch Scolpaig
It is a folly built in the Gothic-style, with an octagonal footprint and it appears as a two-storey structure surmounted by a crenellated parapet. The tower is surrounded by a low stone wall that was probably constructed at the same time. The original dun has disappeared entirely. Today the tower is open to the elements and serves as a nesting place for birds.
When the water level is sufficiently low, it can be reached via a stone causeway in Loch Scolpaig. The tower is a prominent feature on otherwise flat ground and is among the most photographed sites on the island.
==Preservation The was included in the Ninth Report and Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in the Outer Hebrides, Skye and the Small Isles (1928) of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.
A group organised by the Council for Scottish Archaeology under its Adopt-a-Monument scheme was in 2008 attempting to raise funds to stabilise and conserve the structure.[2]
References
- Beveridge, Erskine (1911). North Uist: Its Archaeology and Topography. Edinburgh: William Brown & Co.. p. 193.
- "Dun Scolpaig, North Uist". Western Isles Sites and Monument Records. http://www.cne-siar.gov.uk/smr/SingleResult.aspx?uid=MWE10072. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
- "The Monument Known as Dun Scolpaig" (pdf). The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. http://hsewsf.sedsh.gov.uk/eschedule/show?ID=7640&OK=Y. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
References
- ↑ Beveridge, Erskine (1911). North Uist: Its Archaeology and Topography. Edinburgh: William Brown & Co.. p. 193.
- ↑ "Communities Adopt Ancient Sites". BBC News. 2007-06-15. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/6755785.stm. Retrieved 2008-05-12.