Aberdeenshire HER - NK14SW0001 - REFORM TOWER, MEET HILL, PETERHEAD

Main Details

Primary ReferenceNK14SW0001
NameREFORM TOWER, MEET HILL, PETERHEAD
NMRS Card No.NK14SW62
NMRS Numlink21339
Site Form Standing Structure
Site Condition Complete 2
Details Tall tapering tower, and site of a tumulus and cist. The tower, built in 1832, is of five stages on a Greek cross plan, the top stage slightly corbelled out with splays in angles. Constructed of squared granite, with rock-faced masonry at the ground floor, a simple cornice over openings and a crenellated parapet. It was originally intended as an observatory, but this was not completed. The foundation stone was laid by George Mudie of Meethill in August 1832. The Reform Tower, erected by the Whigs, is one of two monuments built to commemorate the Reform Bill, the other the Reform Monument (NK14NW0045) in the town erected by the Tories. A tumulus and cist containing fragments of human bones and a food vessel are recorded as having been discovered when digging the Reform Tower foundations in 1833. An account in the Aberdeen Press and Journal 20 June 1832 describes how the foundation trenches were dug into an artificial mound 3.96 m (13 feet) high and circa 24-27 m (80-90 feet) across, uncovering a large flagstone oriented north-south covering a cist. It contained black mould mixed with bone fragments including jawbone and led. An urn, ‘ornamented with curves and dotted lines’ contained ‘mould and bone fragments’. The core of the mound was a pile of large stones on which the cist rested, the outer part of the mound earth ands stones containing charred oak. Although an urn in the Arbuthnott Museum was recorded as having been 'found below foundations of Meethill Monument, Broad Street, Peterhead' this is likely to be the result of confusion between the two reform monuments.
Last Update13/05/2024

National Grid Reference: NK 1215 4466


Easting: 0, Northing: 0

Compiler 
Date of Compilation 

Event Details

Event DateEvent Type
1905 Excavation

Excavations and Surveys

Date MDate YTypeDurationDirector / OrganisationAuspicesFundExtent
 1833  UNKNOWN   

Artefact and Ecofact

Date MDate YArtefact TypeFinderRecovery MethodConditionStorage LocationAccess No.
 1833FOOD VESSEL  Excavation NE Scotland Museum Service  

Ecofact

Samples 
Palynology 
Ecofact Notes 

Monument Types

Monument Type 1Monument Type 2Monument Type 3OrderProbability
TUMULII SITE OFA100
CISTSBURIALSITE OFB100
BONESHUMAN C100
FOOD-VESSELSBOWL D100
TOWERS COMMEMORATIVEE100

Google Map for NK14SW0001


National Status

National Status
Listed Building, Category B

Regional Status

Regional Status
Site of Regional Significance
Local Government Guardianship

Photo Details

SourceReferencePhoto TypeFilm TypeDate
AASAAS-GR-14-02-134 - 140 Ground Digital 19/02/2014

Bibliographic Detail

Bib Ref NoTitleAuthorDateOthersEditorPublishedDetailsDate MDate Y
01656Ordnance Name Book    EDINBURGHNo72(1868) 52 1833
01557New Statistical Account    EDINBURGHNo12(1845) 356 1833
00021PSAS 22(1887-88) 331-422J ANDERSON1888Y  366 1833
00142BUCHAN OBSERVER 0   02/09/86  

Location

Historic Administrative Area Name Peterhead
Positional Accuracy Centred at
Buffer Zone 15-20m
Buffer Type Standard
Capture Scale Unknown
Spatial Feature Type Polygon: Known Site Extent

Environment

Constraints No access.
Altitude50
Geology 
Topography Summit
Aspect 1360
Aspect 2 Open
Current Land Use Agricultural
Vegetation
Soil Type3s
Hydrology 

Measurements

Plan 
Shape 1
Shape 2
Diameter 
Length 
Width 
Thickness 
Depth 
Area 
Height 

Historic Land Use


Period Details

PeriodOrderProbabilityRadiocarbon DatesDate BuiltDate of DestructionDate of Loss
Bronze Age (2200 BC - 800 BC) A100    
Post-Medieval (from 1560 AD) B100    

Period Notes

Period Notes Tower erected in August 1832.

Architect Details

Architect Details

Maritime Archaeology

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