Dundee, Mauchline Tower
Tower House (Medieval)
Site Name Dundee, Mauchline Tower
Classification Tower House (Medieval)
Canmore ID 33471
Site Number NO43SW 15
NGR NO 4037 3042
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/33471
- Council Dundee, City Of
- Parish Dundee (Dundee, City Of)
- Former Region Tayside
- Former District City Of Dundee
- Former County Angus
NO43SW 15 4037 3042.
(NO 4037 3042) Site of Mauchline Tower (NR)
OS 1:500 plan, Dundee, Forfarshire, (1871)
The site of Mauchline Tower which was demolished about 1812. Thomson (1874) says it was one of the towers of the Town Wall (NO43SW 12) but the Ordnance Survey Name Book (ONB)'s authorities (1858) remembered the building and implied that it had been a privately occupied structure, and there is no evidence that the Town Wall ever ran through the site. The site is occupied by modern buildings.
Name Book 1858; J Thomson 1874; Visited by OS (J L D) 22 April 1958.
Publication Account (1988)
The Mauchline Tower was claimed by Thomson (1874, 185-6) to be one of the towers of the town wall of Dundee. There is, however, no evidence whatsoever that the town wall approached this site during any period of its existence. This building was demolished in 1812, and there is now no detailed record of its appearance. The Name Book (ONB, 1858, bk 28, 23), implied that it had functioned as a private residence.
The widening of Murraygate and the opening of Commercial Street led to substantial alterations at the old High Street/Murraygate junction. The site of the Mauchline Tower was rebuilt between 1876-92 with 73-87 Commercial Street and 2 Murraygate. Enquiries suggest no cellarage is attached to these properties, although adjacent buildings are so serviced, and disturbance of underlying levels may be minimal.
Information from ‘Historic Dundee: The Archaeological Implications of Development’ (1988).