Battlefields›Battle of Old Meldrum
Medieval

Battle of Old Meldrum

1307
Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
John Comyn, 3rd Earl of Buchan
VS
Victor
Robert the Bruce (Scottish royal army)
Outcome
Decisive royalist victory; Buchan's feudal levies fled on seeing the king advance despite his illness, and Buchan was pursued to Fyvie before fleeing to England, where he died later that year. Followed by the Harrying (Herschip) of Buchan.
The Battle

History & Significance

Battle of Old Meldrum was a medieval pitched battle between opposing field armies, fought at Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 1307. Robert the Bruce (Scottish royal army) prevailed over John Comyn, 3rd Earl of Buchan. Decisive royalist victory; Buchan's feudal levies fled on seeing the king advance despite his illness, and Buchan was pursued to Fyvie before fleeing to England, where he died later that year. Followed by the Harrying (Herschip) of Buchan.

Confirmed battlefield location
The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Old Meldrum lies on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Ordovician To Silurian, bedrock that formed in the Silurian. The rock here is mafic igneous-rock.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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Everything a full report reveals about Battle of Old Meldrum

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Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Old Meldrum

Hill of Barra, fort
Hill of Barra, fort
Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~1.1 mi

Hill of Barra is an Iron Age fort situated in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The fort occupies a naturally defensive position on bedrock formed from an Ordovician to Silurian igneous intrusion of ultramafic composition, which provides a solid geological foundation characteristic of this region. The sit…

Kirkton of Bourtie, stone circle 250m WNW of
Kirkton of Bourtie, stone circle 250m WNW of
Scheduled monument · Bronze Age · ~1.5 mi

Kirkton of Bourtie is a Bronze Age stone circle situated in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately 250 metres west-north-west of Kirkton of Bourtie itself. The monument comprises a ring of standing stones typical of the Bronze Age ceremonial and ritual monuments that characterise this period in n…

St Mary's Chapel, chapel
St Mary's Chapel, chapel
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~1.7 mi

St Mary's Chapel is a medieval chapel located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The site sits upon bedrock of the Argyll Group, a geological formation dating to the Neoproterozoic era, composed primarily of psammite, semipelite and pelite. These metamorphic rocks represent ancient sediments that were t…

Hillhead of Barra, standing stone 240m W of
Hillhead of Barra, standing stone 240m W of
Scheduled monument · Bronze Age · ~1.8 mi

Hillhead of Barra is a Bronze Age standing stone located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, situated 240 metres west of the settlement from which it takes its name. The monument stands upon bedrock of the Argyll Group, a Neoproterozoic formation comprising psammite, semipelite and pelite deposits that u…

Mounie Castle,symbol stone 15m S of
Mounie Castle,symbol stone 15m S of
Scheduled monument · ~2.8 mi

Mounie Castle symbol stone is a Pictish carved stone located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The monument stands 15 metres south of Mounie Castle itself and is protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument under reference SM3957. Symbol stones of this type are characteristic prod…

Stoneyhill, cairn 195m WSW of
Stoneyhill, cairn 195m WSW of
Scheduled monument · ~3.1 mi

Stoneyhill is a cairn located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, situated 195 metres west-south-west of the settlement from which it takes its name. The monument stands upon bedrock of Ordovician to Silurian age, specifically an unnamed felsic igneous intrusion emplaced during the Silurian period. This…

Four Braehead Cottages, standing stone 195m SE of
Scheduled monument · Bronze Age · ~1.6 miles
Sheldon, stone circle 180m N of
Scheduled monument · Bronze Age · ~1.6 miles
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Battles near Battle of Old Meldrum

Battle of Inverurie (1308)
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~0.8 miles away
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~1.3 miles away
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~3.4 miles away
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