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Earlshall enclosures and settlements is a post-medieval complex of field divisions and habitation sites located in Fife, Scotland, north-north-west of Earlshall. The monument comprises multiple enclosures and settlement features dating from the sixteenth century onwards, reflecting the agricultural reorganisation and domestic expansion that characterised rural Scotland during this period. The site lies on bedrock of the Stratheden Group, a Late Devonian formation of interbedded sandstone and conglomerate that would have provided stone for building and field boundaries typical of post-medieval settlement patterns.
The enclosures at Earlshall demonstrate the planned layout of farmland and domestic spaces characteristic of early modern rural development. Such complexes typically represent the consolidation of landholdings and the formalisation of settlement patterns as feudal tenures evolved into more defined agricultural units. The variety of enclosure sizes suggests mixed use for cultivation, stock management and residential purposes.
The site is protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument under reference SM6803, recognising its significance as an archaeological record of post-medieval rural settlement and land use in Fife. The survival of the enclosure patterns in the landscape provides evidence of how communities organised their immediate environment during a formative period of Scottish agricultural history.
Earlshall, enclosures and settlements NNW of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM6803. View the official record →
Earlshall enclosures and settlements is a post-medieval complex of field divisions and habitation sites located in Fife, Scotland, north-north-west of Earlshall. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM6803.
Earlshall, enclosures and settlements NNW of dates from the post-medieval period, and is classified as a enclosures and settlements. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Earlshall, enclosures and settlements NNW of 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 SM6803.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Southfield, cropmarks E and SE of (2.1 km), Pusk Farm Cottages, ring-ditch & enclosures 250m NE of (2.2 km), Pusk, enclosure 300m SSE of (2.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Earlshall, enclosures and settlements NNW of's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Earlshall, enclosures and settlements NNW of stands on Stratheden Group, bedrock that formed in the Late Devonian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.