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List of town defences in Scotland

This list of town defences in Scotland identifies both the defensive walls and stone walls that were built around towns and cities in Scotland. Scottish burghs were rarely enclosed by walls unlike many English and Welsh cities and towns such as York, Caernarfon or Chester. Gates, known in Scotland as ports, were often established to control who or what went into and out of the city or town, They were used to collect tolls and duties, rather than to defend the town from invaders, such as Aberdeen who never had a town wall.[1]

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Key to the town defences in Scotland:
Designated Grade B listed (B)
Designated Grade C listed (C)
Designated Scheduled Monument (SM)
Town wall or defence with a Canmore listing (CAN)

List

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Key to Scottish heritage status
Status Criteria[2]
B Grade B listed. Building of special architectural or historic interest which are major examples of a particular period, style or building type
C Grade C listed. Building of special architectural or historic interest which are representative examples of a period, style or building type.
SM
 Scheduled Monument. Nationally important archaeological building.
CAN
 Canmore database listing of an archaeological site or building, compiled and managed by Historic Environment Scotland
Note: The term "building" includes structures such as walls and bridges.
Name Reference(s) County Heritage
status 		Condition Image Notes
Aberlady town wall [3] East Lothian C Substantial remains Historic Environment Scotland listing as Aberlady, Back Lane, Town Wall.

The wall is approximately 510 m (1,670 ft) long, which incorporates an earlier town wall.[3]

Dunbar town wall [4][5] East Lothian
CAN
 Masonry fragments. Canmore listing as Dunbar Town Wall.[4]

A fragment of Dunbar Town Wall was found at 24 High Street. The wall varies in height from 12 m (39 ft) to 6 m (20 ft) and it's about 1 m (3.3 ft) thick.[5] The remains of Dunbar Town wall are described by Canmore as being considerably restored.[4]

Dundee town wall [6][7][8] Dundee City
CAN
 One gatehouse (port) and vestiges   Canmore listing as Dundee, East (Cowgate) Port, Wishart Arch - Gateway (Period Unassigned), Town Wall (16th Century).

"By the end of the (16th) century, however, the town had invested heavily in the upgrading of existing ports and the building of a stone wall to surround the town"[7]

Edinburgh town walls
(King's Wall,
Flodden Wall,
Telfer Wall) 		[9][10] City of Edinburgh
SM
 Substantial remains   Scheduled Monument (SM) listings:
Edinburgh Town Wall, Flodden Wall and Telfer Wall, Heriot Place. SM number: SM2901
Edinburgh Town Wall, Flodden Wall, Johnston Terrace to Grassmarket. SM number: SM3012
[11] B Historic Environment Scotland listing as High Street, Tweedale Court, Walling to West of Court and to South of Tweedale House
Haddington town wall [12][13][14] East Lothian B One gatehouse (port) and vestiges   Historic Environment Scotland listing as Town Wall (Haddington) states that "Portions of the old town walls remain, mostly rebuilt, lining the Butts and on the North side of the town."[12]
Inverkeithing town wall [15][16] Fife C Masonry fragments   Historic Environment Scotland listing as Roman Road, Town Wall states that "This small section of medieval town wall is the only fragment remaining in Inverkeithing. Stone walls were built around Inverkeithing following a mandate to further fortify the burgh with dykes, ditches and catapults in 1557."[15]
Kirkcudbright town wall [17][18] Dumfries and Galloway
CAN
 Vestiges Canmore listing as Kirkcudbright, Meickle Yett and Town Wall states that "The town defences of 1547, when Kirkcudbright was besieged by the English under Sir Thomas Carleton, consisted principally, on the east, of a broad marshy creek extending south from the harbour to the Meickle Yett. Here a wall and ditch ran west to where the Academy stands and turned north to the riverside."
Lauder town wall [19] Scottish Borders
CAN
 No remains Canmore listing as Lauder, Town Wall states "Where the West Port had been, there was till lately a crumbling remnant of the old town wall."[19]
Montrose town wall [20][21] Angus B Fragments Historic Environment Scotland listing as West End Park and Western Road, fragments of Old Town Walls
Peebles town wall [22][23][24][14] Scottish Borders
SM
 Vestiges with one remaining corner bastion.   Scheduled Monument listing as Peebles, town wall.

Scheduled Monument number: SM2685

Perth town wall [25] Perth and Kinross
CAN
 One remaining section   Canmore listing as Perth, Town Defences states "In 1311-12 Perth was a place of great strength fortified on three sides by a thick wall having stone towers at the angles and over the gates and surrounded by a wet ditch."[25]
St Andrews town wall [26][27][28][29][30] Fife
SM
 Only two gatehouses (ports) remain (right)  
  		St Andrews has never had a defensive wall as such, it was intended purely to impress people entering the city. There are two 'ports', or gates, still inexistance. West Port (left upper) which was built in 1587 and rebuilt in 1843, the other being Sea Yett or Mill Port (left lower). The Scheduled Monument listing as West Port, St Andrews.

Scheduled Monument number: SM90263

Stirling town wall [14] Stirling
SM
 Substantial remains   The wall stands between about 4.8 m (16 ft) and 7 m (23 ft) in height and is about 1.8 m (5.9 ft) thick. Scheduled Monument listing as Stirling, town wall & bastion & Port Street Bastion at 44 Bastion Wynd.

Scheduled Monument number: SM1754

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Aberdeen, Town Gates". Canmore. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  2. ^ "What is listing?". Historic Environment Scotland. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  3. ^ a b Historic Environment Scotland. "Aberlady, Back Lane, Town Wall (Category C Listed Building) (LB49597)". Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Historic Environment Scotland. "Dunbar Town Wall (57698)". Canmore. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Dunbar Town Wall". John Gray Centre - Library, Museum & Archive. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  6. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Dundee, East (Cowgate) Port, Wishart Arch (33531)". Canmore. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  7. ^ a b Stevenson, Sylvia; Torrie, Elizabeth (1988). Historic Dundee: the archaeological implications of development: Part 2 (PDF). Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  8. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Dundee-Town Wall (16th Century) (33468)". Canmore. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  9. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Edinburgh Town Wall, Flodden Wall and Telfer Wall, Heriot Place (Scheduled Monument) (SM2901)". Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  10. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Edinburgh Town Wall, Flodden Wall and Telfer Wall, Heriot Place (Scheduled Monument) (SM3012)". Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  11. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Edinburgh Town Wall, Flodden Wall and Telfer Wall, Heriot Place (Category B Listed Building) (LB29058)". Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  12. ^ a b Historic Environment Scotland. "Town walls (Category B Listed Building) (LB34468)". Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  13. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Haddington (56514)". Canmore. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  14. ^ a b c Historic Environment Scotland. "Stirling, town wall & bastion & Port Street Bastion at 44 Bastion Wynd (Scheduled Monument) (SM1754)". Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  15. ^ a b Historic Environment Scotland. "Inverkeithing (50933)". Canmore. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  16. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Roman Road, Town Wall (Category C Listed Building) (LB49954)". Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  17. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Kirkcudbright, Meickle Yett And Town Wall (64075)". Canmore. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  18. ^ "An Observation of Kirkcudbright's town wall" (PDF). Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society. p. 136-7. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  19. ^ a b Historic Environment Scotland. "Lauder, Town Wall (55878)". Canmore. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  20. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Montrose, West End Park, Old Town Walls (146670)". Canmore. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  21. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "West End Park and Western Road, fragments of Old Town Walls (Category B Listed Building) (LB38183)". Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  22. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Peebles,town wall (Scheduled Monument) (SM2685)". Retrieved 3 April 2022.}
  23. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Peebles, Town Wall (51440)". Canmore. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  24. ^ "Town Wall". www.peebles-theroyalburgh.info. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  25. ^ a b Historic Environment Scotland. "Perth, Town Defences (28417)". Canmore. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  26. ^ "St Andrews, West Port". Britain Express. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  27. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "St Andrews Cathedral, Precinct Wall (94500)". Canmore. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  28. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "St Andrews,West Port (Scheduled Monument) (SM90263)". Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  29. ^ Mason, R.; MacDougall, N. (2021). People and Power in Scotland: Essays in Honour of T. C. Smout. Birlinn. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-78885-414-6. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  30. ^ The Popular Encyclopedia: Or, Conversations Lexicon. The Popular Encyclopedia: Or, Conversations Lexicon. Blackie. 1862. p. 163. Retrieved 5 April 2022.

Sources

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  • Cullen, W. Douglas (1988). The Walls of Edinburgh. Cockburn Association. ISBN 0-9505159-1-4
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