Scheduled MonumentsScotlandDry Slack,farmstead and enclosure
Post-Medieval · Farmstead and enclosure

Dry Slack,farmstead and enclosure

Scotland
HES SM5234
Period
Post-Medieval
Site type
Farmstead and enclosure
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland

Overview

History & significance

Dry Slack is a post-medieval farmstead and enclosure located in Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. The site occupies land underlain by pyroclastic rock from an unnamed igneous intrusion that formed during the Early Devonian period, some 400 million years ago. This volcanic geology would have influenced both the landscape and the quality of land available for cultivation and settlement in this border region.

The farmstead represents occupation and agricultural use during the post-medieval period, when farming practices and settlement patterns across the Borders were adapting to changing economic conditions and social structures. The associated enclosure indicates organised land management and livestock husbandry typical of the era, with boundaries deliberately constructed to define and control agricultural space around the working farmstead.

The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5234, recognising its significance as evidence of post-medieval rural settlement and land use in Roxburghshire. Such farmsteads contribute to understanding how communities managed the distinctive landscapes of the Scottish Borders across the early modern period.

Dry Slack,farmstead and enclosure is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5234. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Dry Slack,farmstead and enclosure?

Dry Slack is a post-medieval farmstead and enclosure located in Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5234.

What period does Dry Slack,farmstead and enclosure date from?

Dry Slack,farmstead and enclosure dates from the post-medieval period, and is classified as a farmstead and enclosure. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Dry Slack,farmstead and enclosure?

Dry Slack,farmstead and enclosure is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM5234.

What other scheduled monuments are near Dry Slack,farmstead and enclosure?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Unenclosed round house, 200m north of Barrow Cleugh (6.2 km), Round cairn 420m north-east of Blindburn Bridge (7.9 km), Round cairn on Shillhope Law (8.5 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Dry Slack,farmstead and enclosure

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Dry Slack,farmstead and enclosure's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

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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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Dry Slack,farmstead and enclosure

Dry Slack,farmstead and enclosure stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Late Silurian To Early Devonian, bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is pyroclastic-rock.