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Forse House is a post-medieval settlement located in Caithness, Scotland, protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland. The site comprises not only the house itself but also an associated field system, burnt mounds and cairns, representing layers of human activity across an extended landscape. This clustering of monument types demonstrates the integration of domestic, agricultural and ritual or funerary elements typical of settlements in the far north of Scotland during this period.
The settlement sits on bedrock of Middle Old Red Sandstone, a conglomerate and sedimentary formation dating to the Middle Devonian. This geology would have influenced the immediate building materials available and the drainage characteristics of the surrounding land, shaping both construction practices and agricultural potential. The Caithness landscape, with its moorland and peat soils overlying this ancient bedrock, presents particular challenges for preservation and farming that would have confronted the inhabitants.
The burnt mounds scattered across the site represent a specific tradition of heated stone use, evidence of activities such as cooking or bathing that extended occupation across generations. The presence of cairns suggests either burial or territorial marking practices. Together, these monuments provide insight into the settlement pattern and daily life of post-medieval Caithness, where domestic activity, food preparation, field management and commemoration of the dead occupied the same working landscape.
Forse House, settlement, field system, burnt mounds and cairns WSW of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM7242. View the official record →
Forse House is a post-medieval settlement located in Caithness, Scotland, protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM7242.
Forse House, settlement, field system, burnt mounds and cairns WSW of dates from the post-medieval period, and is classified as a settlement, field system, burnt mounds and cairns. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Forse House, settlement, field system, burnt mounds and cairns WSW 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 SM7242.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Latheronwheel House,promontory fort 1100m SE of (3.3 km), Latheronwheel House, long cairn 850m SE of (3.4 km), Latheronwheel House,chambered cairn 580m SE of (3.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Forse House, settlement, field system, burnt mounds and cairns WSW 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.
Forse House, settlement, field system, burnt mounds and cairns WSW of stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.