Scheduled MonumentsScotlandMoorfoot Chapel,monastic grange and chapel
Medieval · Monastic grange and chapel

Moorfoot Chapel,monastic grange and chapel

Scotland
HES SM5976
Period
Medieval
Site type
Monastic grange and chapel
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Moorfoot Chapel is a medieval monastic grange and chapel located in Midlothian, Scotland. The site represents an important example of rural monastic economy, where religious communities established outlying agricultural estates to generate income and resources. The chapel served both as a place of worship for those working the grange and as a focal point for the spiritual life of the community. Such granges were characteristic of the medieval Church's extensive landholdings across central Scotland during the twelfth to sixteenth centuries.

The monument sits upon sandstone, siltstone and mudstone of the Inverclyde Group, sedimentary rocks formed during the Osagean period. This geology would have provided good quality stone for building the chapel and associated structures. The bedrock and surrounding landscape also supported agricultural activity essential to the grange's function. The site benefits from statutory protection by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5976, acknowledging its significance as a surviving medieval monastic settlement.

Moorfoot Chapel,monastic grange and chapel is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5976. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Moorfoot Chapel,monastic grange and chapel?

Moorfoot Chapel is a medieval monastic grange and chapel located in Midlothian, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5976.

What period does Moorfoot Chapel,monastic grange and chapel date from?

Moorfoot Chapel,monastic grange and chapel dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a monastic grange and chapel. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Moorfoot Chapel,monastic grange and chapel?

Moorfoot Chapel,monastic grange and chapel 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 SM5976.

What other scheduled monuments are near Moorfoot Chapel,monastic grange and chapel?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Hirendean Castle (1 km), Jeffries Corse,cairn (3.2 km), Dundreich,cairn (4 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Moorfoot Chapel,monastic grange and chapel

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Moorfoot Chapel,monastic grange and chapel's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Moorfoot Chapel,monastic grange and chapel

Moorfoot Chapel,monastic grange and chapel stands on Inverclyde Group, bedrock that formed in the Osagean. The rock here is sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.