Scheduled MonumentsScotlandHanging Stanes,gallows bases,Braid Road
Gallows bases,braid road

Hanging Stanes,gallows bases,Braid Road

Scotland
HES SM5884
Site type
Gallows bases,braid road
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Hanging Stanes is a pair of stone bases located on Braid Road in Midlothian, Scotland, that formerly supported a gallows structure used for public execution. These foundation stones represent the material remains of judicial apparatus from the early modern period, when such monuments served both as instruments of law enforcement and public deterrents. The bases survive as substantial stone blocks embedded in the landscape, marking the location where capital punishment was carried out in this region. The site reflects the role of summary justice and execution in Scottish rural communities during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Hanging Stanes,gallows bases,Braid Road is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5884. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Hanging Stanes,gallows bases,Braid Road?

Hanging Stanes is a pair of stone bases located on Braid Road in Midlothian, Scotland, that formerly supported a gallows structure used for public execution. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5884.

Who is responsible for protecting Hanging Stanes,gallows bases,Braid Road?

Hanging Stanes,gallows bases,Braid Road 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 SM5884.

What other scheduled monuments are near Hanging Stanes,gallows bases,Braid Road?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Mountmarle,cairn 260m SW of (7.7 km), Rosslyn Chapel, burial ground, buried remains of nave and remains of St Matthew's Church, Roslin (8.1 km), Wallace's Cave, cave and rock carvings (8.2 km).

Aubrey Research

Generate a full report for this location

Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any address in Britain — drawing on scheduled monument data, Domesday records, Roman heritage, PAS finds and medieval history to reveal the complete story of a landscape.

Research the area around Hanging Stanes,gallows bases,Braid Road