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West Mains is a post-medieval enclosure located 500 metres west-north-west of West Mains in East Lothian, Scotland. The site sits upon bedrock of unnamed extrusive rocks from the Dinantian period, comprising felsic lava and felsic tuff formed during the Mississippian epoch. This volcanic geology is characteristic of the Midland Valley region of Scotland and would have offered relatively stable ground suitable for settlement and agricultural management during the post-medieval period.
The enclosure represents a field system of a type commonly established from the sixteenth century onwards, reflecting the reorganisation of agricultural land and pastoral management across lowland Scotland. Such enclosures typically defined working areas for livestock or crop cultivation, with boundaries often created through the construction of stone walls or dykes, a practical approach given the abundance of stone in the local landscape.
The monument is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5993, recognising its significance as evidence of post-medieval land use and settlement patterns in East Lothian. The site contributes to the wider understanding of how rural communities organised their landscape during a period of increasing agricultural intensification and social change.
West Mains,enclosure 500m WNW of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5993. View the official record →
West Mains is a post-medieval enclosure located 500 metres west-north-west of West Mains in East Lothian, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5993.
West Mains,enclosure 500m WNW 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.
West Mains,enclosure 500m WNW 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 SM5993.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Park,fort 900m SSE of (7.4 km), Quarryford House,enclosures,souterrain and pit alignment SW of (7.6 km), Longyester,palisaded enclosures and pit alignments 600m SE of (7.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of West Mains,enclosure 500m WNW 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.
West Mains,enclosure 500m WNW of stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Dinantian, bedrock that formed in the Mississippian. The rock here is felsic lava and felsic tuff.