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Kemp's Castle is a post-medieval settlement complex located in Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. The site comprises a fortified structure alongside contemporary field systems and occupation evidence, situated 600 metres west-south-west of the main settlement focus. The castle occupies bedrock of the Hawick Group, a wacke formation deposited during the Wenlock period, which here provides a foundation of indurated sedimentary stone typical of this geologically rich region. This stone would have been available for local quarrying and building throughout the post-medieval period.
The settlement pattern reflects the agricultural economy of early modern Scotland, with the fortified residence integrated into an organised landscape of fields and enclosures. Such defensive domestic structures were commonplace in the Borders during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, responding to the region's turbulent history of raiding and conflict. The field systems surrounding the castle provide evidence of pastoral and arable management supporting the settlement.
The site is protected as a scheduled monument under Historic Environment Scotland reference SM4422, recognising its archaeological and historical significance as a tangible record of post-medieval life and land use in the Scottish Borders. The survival of both the fortified structure and its associated field systems offers important insights into domestic settlement, subsistence practices and landscape organisation during this transformative period in Scottish rural history.
Kemp's Castle,settlements & field system & settlement 600m WSW of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4422. View the official record →
Kemp's Castle is a post-medieval settlement complex located in Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4422.
Kemp's Castle,settlements & field system & settlement 600m WSW of dates from the post-medieval period, and is classified as a settlements & field system & settlement. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Kemp's Castle,settlements & field system & settlement 600m 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 SM4422.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Birny Knowe,earthwork (7.8 km), Teindside Lodge,cairn 50m N of (8.6 km), North House Cottages,cairn 200m SW of (9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Kemp's Castle,settlements & field system & settlement 600m 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.
Kemp's Castle,settlements & field system & settlement 600m WSW of stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.