© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland
Halcro Manse is a broch situated 640 metres south of Halcro in Caithness, northern Scotland. This Iron Age stone tower is one of Scotland's most distinctive prehistoric monuments, built during the first and second centuries AD when such fortified roundhouses served elite families across the north. The broch stands on bedrock of Middle Old Red Sandstone, a Devonian formation of conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone that provided readily available building stone for its hollow-walled construction. This geology is characteristic of much of Caithness, where such durable local stone enabled the construction of increasingly sophisticated defensive structures during the Iron Age.
The broch form represents a remarkable engineering achievement of its era, featuring a circular stone wall of considerable height with chambers and galleries built within the thickness of the walls themselves. The site's landscape position in Caithness, overlooking fertile low ground, reflects the strategic positioning typical of these structures, which commanded local territory and resources.
Halcro Manse broch is protected as a Scheduled Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM556, ensuring the preservation of this important Iron Age site and its contribution to understanding settlement patterns and social organisation in Iron Age northern Britain.
Halcro Manse,broch 640m S of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM556. View the official record →
Halcro Manse is a broch situated 640 metres south of Halcro in Caithness, northern Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM556.
Halcro Manse,broch 640m S of dates from the iron age period, and is classified as a broch. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Halcro Manse,broch 640m S 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 SM556.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Oslie, chambered cairn 250m S of Lynegar House (4.5 km), Scottag Cairn (4.6 km), Grey Cairn, broch 475m SE of Lynegar (4.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Halcro Manse,broch 640m S 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.
Halcro Manse,broch 640m S of stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.