Battlefields›Cairnholy
Unknown Era

Cairnholy

Scotland
Era
Unknown Era
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Battle

History & Significance

Cairnholy was a pitched battle between opposing field armies, fought in Scotland. Which side prevailed is not recorded in the surviving sources, and its outcome is not conclusively established in the historical record.

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Cairnholy lies on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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Everything a full report reveals about Cairnholy

This page covers Cairnholy. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

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 Cairnholy

Cairn Holy, chambered cairn 190m SSW of Cairnholy
Cairn Holy, chambered cairn 190m SSW of Cairnholy
Scheduled monument · Neolithic · ~0 mi

Cairn Holy is a Neolithic chambered cairn located in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, standing approximately 190 metres south-south-west of the settlement of Cairnholy. The monument sits upon bedrock of the Hawick Group, a wacke formation dating from the Wenlock period, which provided the local ston…

Cairn Holy, chambered cairn 35m S of Cairnholy
Cairn Holy, chambered cairn 35m S of Cairnholy
Scheduled monument · Neolithic · ~0.1 mi

Cairn Holy is a Neolithic chambered cairn located in Kirkcudbrightshire, south-western Scotland. The monument lies approximately 35 metres south of the settlement of Cairnholy, constructed upon bedrock of the Hawick Group wacke formation, which dates from the Wenlock period of the Silurian era. T…

Kirkdale House,six cup & ring marked stones
Kirkdale House,six cup & ring marked stones
Scheduled monument · ~0.4 mi

Kirkdale House is a six cup and ring marked stones monument located in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. Cup and ring marks are among the earliest forms of rock art in Britain, typically created during the Bronze Age by pecking or grinding shallow circular depressions and concentric rings into stone…

Kirkdale House,two cross slabs
Kirkdale House,two cross slabs
Scheduled monument · ~0.4 mi

Kirkdale House is a two cross slabs monument situated in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. These carved stones represent a significant survival from the early medieval period, when such markers commonly commemorated high-status individuals or marked sacred ground. The slabs are now located at Kirkdal…

Kirkclaugh Mote,motte
Kirkclaugh Mote,motte
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~1.5 mi

Kirkclaugh Mote is a medieval motte situated in Kirkcudbrightshire in south-west Scotland. The earthwork rises from bedrock of the Hawick Group, a formation of wacke dating to the Wenlock period, which has weathered into the rolling upland landscape characteristic of this region. The motte's posi…

Standing Stone of Bagbie, standing stone
Standing Stone of Bagbie, standing stone
Scheduled monument · Bronze Age · ~1.9 mi

Standing Stone of Bagbie is a Bronze Age standing stone located in Kirkcudbrightshire in south-western Scotland. The monument consists of a single upright stone, typical of ritual or territorial markers erected during the Bronze Age. The stone stands within a landscape of Hawick Group wacke bedro…

High Auchenlarie, cairn 800m NW of
Scheduled monument · ~1 miles
Kirkclaugh, cross-slab 20m E of
Scheduled monument · ~1.2 miles
In the same landscape

Battles near Cairnholy

Glenquicken Moor
~3 miles away
Wigtown, Baldoon Airfield, Battle H.Q.
~5.6 miles away
Claycrop
~6.8 miles away
Roland of Galloway Suppresses Gille Brigte's Supporters, 1185
1185
~7 miles away
Aubrey Research

Explore the landscape around this battlefield

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Sources
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