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Nether Shiels enclosure is a post-medieval field structure situated 350 metres north-west of Nether Shiels in Midlothian, Scotland. The site lies on bedrock of the Gala Group, a sedimentary formation of wacke deposited during the Telychian period of the Silurian. This durable metamorphic stone provided ready material for local building works and would have influenced both the landscape's agricultural capacity and the construction methods employed at the enclosure.
The enclosure represents the practical approach to land management and livestock control typical of post-medieval rural Scotland. Such structures served essential functions in organising stock and protecting cultivated ground from grazing animals, forming part of the wider pattern of field systems that characterised the Scottish lowlands and upland margins during this period.
The site is protected under the Historic Environment Scotland Schedule with reference SM1178, reflecting its significance as evidence of post-medieval settlement and land-use practices in the Midlothian region. The survival of field enclosures such as this provides valuable information about the organisation of agricultural activity and the use of stone as a building material in rural communities of this era.
Nether Shiels, enclosure 350m NW of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1178. View the official record →
Nether Shiels enclosure is a post-medieval field structure situated 350 metres north-west of Nether Shiels in Midlothian, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1178.
Nether Shiels, enclosure 350m NW of dates from the post-medieval period, and is classified as a enclosure. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Nether Shiels, enclosure 350m NW 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 SM1178.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Our Lady's Chapel,chapel 350m N of Torsonce (5.3 km), Stow,old bridge (5.3 km), Bow Castle,broch 1000m E of Bow (7.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Nether Shiels, enclosure 350m NW 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.
Nether Shiels, enclosure 350m NW of stands on Gala Group, bedrock that formed in the Telychian. The rock here is wacke.