Type of AtA project: AtA taster sessions
Size of AtA group: 3 young people
Age range of group: 17 – 19 years
Dates of project: December 2020
Location of project: Site of Bothwell Castle, Hardgate, Haddington
Heritage Hero Award: Participants achieved Heritage Explorer Awards
Aim of project:
Use archaeological research and recording techniques to explore the site and history of Bothwell Castle. Locate and record any surviving features. Use historic maps and plans, alongside information from previous archaeological excavations, to mark out the footprint of the building on the ground.
Investigate the Site
Background to the site
Bothwell Castle is thought to have been built over 400 years ago, in the late 16th century. It was located on Hardgate in Haddington, on a piece of land between the road and the River Tyne. The ‘castle’, which was actually more a wealthy town house, had a round tower at the south-west corner and two ‘wings’ with an open courtyard between them which extended eastwards towards the river. By 1955 Bothwell Castle was in such a poor state of repair that it was demolished. The area is now a public park.
Workshop 1
We began the first workshop researching a variety of historical documentary sources to get a better understanding of the site.
The first map we considered was Armstrong’s 1773 plan of Haddington from his map of the three Lothians. Participants were able to locate Hardgate on this 250 year old map and discuss how the town has changed over time.
We then went on to look for evidence of the castle on historic Ordnance Survey maps, architectural plans and historic photographs.
Historic Building Recording
Having explored all the documentary evidence, the group set off to look for evidence of the building ‘on the ground’. The site is now a public park with no information about the castle and no obvious surviving remains. However, using the plans and maps to orientate themselves the group did locate what may have been the south wall of the building with the partial remains of the tower in the south-west corner.
Participants were given some training in historic building recording and, with the support of Archaeology Scotland staff, recorded the wall by completing Elevation Recording Forms, sketching the elevation and taking photographs with scale.
Understanding Archaeological Excavation
Workshop 2 began with an introduction to the principles of archaeological excavation including an explanation of stratigraphy.
We discussed the results of the excavation carried out by Connolly Heritage Consultancy in 2013. This excavation uncovered the south wall of the kitchen and remains of its vaulted ceiling. Also uncovered was the west wall of the rear courtyard. A second trench to the east of the house perimeter wall located the kitchen/courtyard drain.
The group studied photographs and plans from the excavation report and located the main excavation trench on the ground – noticing changes in ground levels and the height and colour of the grass. After handling a selection of archaeological finds, similar to those found during the excavation, participants considered what artefacts can tell us about a site and the people who once lived/worked there.
Heritage Interpretation
During this final session we thought about the stories the site could tell and how we might share these stories with other visitors to the site.
We decided it would be helpful to mark out the floor plan of the house, on the ground. Using the 1870 plan of the building and scale rulers, participants calculated the original size of the building. Tape measures were used to measure out the floor plan, then string and flags to mark the corners and walls. This gave us a real sense of the size of the building and the rooms within it – far smaller than we had expected.
Seeing the floor plan laid out made us think about who had lived in the ‘castle’ and what had happened to the building. We went back to the documentary sources to look for evidence. We started by comparing OS maps from 1948 and 1957. These maps clearly show that the building was demolished sometime between these years.
Who lived in Bothwell Castle in the 19th century? Census records from 1881 and 1891 were studied along with other documentary sources such as valuation rolls for the property from 1866 and 1886. These sources gave us information about the inhabitants of Bothwell Castle in the mid to late nineteenth century.
| Name | Age | Occupation |
| Margaret Liddell | 79 | Former outworker |
| Agnes Tait | 74 | Knitter (yarn) |
| Catherine Sinclair | 82 | House (domestic) |
| Ellen Guild | 16 | Milliner |
| Janet Guild | 51 | Seamstress |
| Jane Bayne | 74 | Former laundress |
All these women were listed as ‘head’ of their households apart from Ellen Guild who was the niece of Janet Guild.
Why were six women, four of whom were elderly, living in Bothwell Castle in the late 19th century? There’s still lots to find out about this intriguing site, plenty of scope for further investigation
Feedback from participants
“I enjoyed learning about something I didn’t know before and I also enjoyed gaining new skills, and trying something I didn’t do before.”
“Learning about the buildings history & recording & learning about the equipment used to record History.”
Learning Outcomes and Skills
By engaging with this project participants:
- gained an understanding of archaeology and how archaeologists study the human past
- learned that we can find out about the past by looking at different types of evidence, historical and archaeological
- were able to interpret different types of historical and archaeological evidence
- understand the principles of building recording and why it is important
- are able to identify and record archaeological features using historic building recording techniques
- are able to identify key architectural features on a plan
- can use scale rulers to scale up a building plan and measure it out on the ground
- have gained new knowledge and understanding of their local area, its history and archaeology.
Participants also developed a number of transferable workplace skills:
- Timekeeping- arriving on time and completing tasks on time
- Completing a task when asked
- Problem Solving- participants are able to consider and discuss why features/elevations are the way they are, the initial purpose of a building/feature, what has changed and why.
- Good observational skills – noticing changes in buildings, elevations and on the ground and discussing what these changes tell us
- An understanding of health and safety issues – site and tools/equipment
- Working individually and as a team to complete tasks