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<< Our Photo Pages >> The Howie of The Manse - Broch or Nuraghe in Scotland in Orkney

Submitted by howar on Sunday, 28 March 2004  Page Views: 7199

Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: The Howie of The Manse Alternative Name: Loch of Tankerness
Country: Scotland County: Orkney Type: Broch or Nuraghe
Nearest Town: Kirkwall
Map Ref: HY514090  Landranger Map Number: 6
Latitude: 58.965408N  Longitude: 2.846795W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
1 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
1 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
1 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
3

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The Howie of the Manse
The Howie of the Manse submitted by howar : view from Whitecleat hill Orkney HY514090 (Vote or comment on this photo)
Broch in Orkney

This broch sits on a small headland jutting out into the lower end of the Loch of Tankerness.Two ways to reach the site, neither straightforward and both requiring boots. One is to follow the mill stream and step on and over the wall where the stream comes to the loch shore, then follow the shoreline to your right. This way is very marshy and somewhat treacherous. An interesting feature of the wall is that ( on the one side of the stream at least ) it is formed of two courses of thin slabs set on end - this I would associate with the builders of the 19thC Mill as it looks rather out of place in Orkney to me .Over the stream is a most curious construction . Following the shoreline there are places where stones appear placed by the hand of man. Alternatively go up the hill from the Tankerness Mill and just round the road from Northwood House the sound of doves comes from Glebe . Go to the field that is directly behind this then downfield to the shore. It tends to be rather suckily muddy in many places. I would suggest going down the left-hand as the wall does a few strange things - there are two standing stones built into walls, one inside aligned with a wall and another at right angles to a wall ending it but lacking holes or other indications of having been a gatepost. Down at the bottom of this field there are a few 'sets' of large stones that would seem to represent former structures here ( in my opinion at least ) - I may be wrong but would note that at the Hall of Tankerness junction smack in the middle of a field stands a solitary standing stone with packing that does not appear on CANMORE either. To get to the headland requires going through a barbed wire fence, which fortunately has plenty of give in it or I'd never have managed it. It is one of the least prepossessing brochs I have seen, though at the seaward end it stands rather higher than the likes of Oxtro. At first sight I thought that there was nothing. Going towards it you can certainly feel plenty of apparently isolated stones hidden beneath the grass but no sense of stucture that I could tell. Coming to the highpoint and taking the line around you certainly get a strong feel for where the inner and outer walls were, going by the turf. Then I reached the top and there was a roughly rectangular depression. Looking on the inner side I made out several slabs in a non-radial line . So I did some rooting about and tearing off of the overhanging grass. Definitely a straight wall, remaining about six foot long and a foot or so high. The other side is less well defined, a few loose stones as far as I could tell and not so obviously slabs. If you go poking about then gloves are a necessity - the place is covered in almost invisibly short nettles. CANMORE mention several shallow sun- and rectangular banks S and W, and defensive remains 27m and 42m from the centre.
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The Howie of The Manse
The Howie of The Manse submitted by howar : The 1931 cist? (Vote or comment on this photo)

The Howie of The Manse
The Howie of The Manse submitted by howar : wall of ?entrance passage Going into Finstown is the road to Evie. Go out of town and you can't miss the pillbox. This sits on The Hillock (RCAHMS NMRS Record no.HY31SE 4). I spent two seasons based just outwith, whilst working on The Howe outside Stromness, and I never realised I had a broch practically on my doorstep. At the near end is a space going down to the shore. To the left is a square m... (2 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

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Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
HY5109 : Drowned Fence, Tankerness by Adam Ward
by Adam Ward
©2008(licence)
HY5108 : Derelict house and rookery near Mill of Tankerness by Oliver Dixon
by Oliver Dixon
©2015(licence)
HY5109 : Loch of Tankerness by Adam Ward
by Adam Ward
©2008(licence)
HY5108 : Curious Coo by Adam Ward
by Adam Ward
©2008(licence)
HY5108 : Mill Sand near Toab by C Michael Hogan
by C Michael Hogan
©2009(licence)

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 582m SSW 210° Whitecleat* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (HY511085)
 797m E 89° Grieves Cottage* Standing Stone (Menhir) (HY522090)
 852m ENE 69° Loch of Tankerness* Ancient Village or Settlement (HY522093)
 1.0km S 185° Mill Sand* Standing Stones (HY513080)
 1.4km NNW 336° Yinstay* Ancient Village or Settlement (HY50841031)
 1.8km SSE 163° Loch of Messigate* Standing Stones (HY519073)
 1.8km E 85° Taing of Beeman* Ancient Village or Settlement (HY53210914)
 2.3km SSW 195° Nearhouse* Ancient Village or Settlement (HY508068)
 2.3km S 172° Muckle Crofty* Stone Fort or Dun (HY517067)
 2.5km S 184° Hawell Burnt Mound* Round Barrow(s) (HY512065)
 2.8km S 187° Stem Howe* Round Barrow(s) (HY510062)
 2.9km S 183° Longhowe Cairn (HY512061)
 3.0km S 186° Mine Howe* Chambered Cairn (HY5106406023)
 3.0km S 189° Long Howe* Long Barrow (HY509060)
 3.1km SSE 168° Breck Farm* Standing Stones (HY520060)
 3.1km SW 227° Craw Howe* Cairn (HY491069)
 3.1km S 191° Round Howe* Broch or Nuraghe (HY50780591)
 3.2km SSW 192° Burn of Langskaill* Ancient Village or Settlement (HY507059)
 3.2km SSW 199° Brymer* Round Barrow(s) (HY503060)
 3.3km ENE 70° The Brough* Ancient Village or Settlement (HY545101)
 3.3km ENE 68° Castle of Hangie Bay* Stone Fort or Dun (HY54461022)
 3.7km SW 236° Staneloof* Cairn (HY48330698)
 4.0km WNW 284° Berstane Broch* Broch or Nuraghe (HY475100)
 4.1km SE 130° Hurnip's Point* Chambered Cairn (HY54480634)
 4.1km W 262° Grimsquoy* Round Barrow(s) (HY473085)
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"The Howie of The Manse" | Login/Create an Account | 2 News and Comments
  
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Re: The Howie of The Manse by howar on Saturday, 20 January 2007
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In 1931 a cist and prehistoric fragments were excavated by Hugh Marwick on the Little Howie of The Glebe [photograph location looks correct for the structure I snapped]. Unfortunately "The Orkney Herald" did not keep up with the excavations.
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Re: The Howie of The Manse by howar on Tuesday, 15 August 2006
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The 1798 and 1842 Statistical Accounts describe this as semi-circular and 140 yards across, having walls 12' high and 9' thick. If there were internal compartments these were filled with rubbish at that time. Unfortunately the site was heavily 'quarried' for stone in order to make the glebe wall i.e. that around the minister's land. They believed the site might have once been used in part for burials. There were further walls on the outside of the "great wall". In the various compartments were found "peat ashes" along with animal bones (including deer horn), shells and small bone rings.
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