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Although the Hidden Heritage Project has now ended, members of the Hidden Heritage team and Morlaggan Rural Settlement Group continue to delve into our local history and archaeology!
During a previous survey of the area, we became aware of a site marked as 'spitle of Inverernan' on a map by William Edgar in 1745. We were intrigued by this at the time - What exactly was a 'spitle'? Where was it? Were there still any signs of it?
William Edgar’s map, The Course of The King’s Road makeing betwixt Dumbarton and Inverary, surveyed in 1745. (Courtesy of West Dunbartonshire Council Arts & Heritage Service)
Frustratingly, we haven't managed to find any more mentions of a 'spitle' at Inverarnan in old documents or maps. However, a brief visit revealed some stones that we thought might indicate the remains of a building, and we drew a quick plan of the site. After a lull of several years, we thought it was time we tried to find out a bit more....
A very rough sketch plan of part of the site (ACFA has since produced a much better one, see link to the report below...)
Archaeologist Heather James visited the site with us and found the remains of several more buildings and enclosures, and a team from ACFA came out and very kindly surveyed all the remaining structures. We've also done a bit more digging through archives and census records etc., which have shed a little bit of light on what's going on here, though there's still a very long way to go!
Apparently the word 'spitle' or 'spittal' comes from Latin hospitalaria (a hostelry, guesthouse, or monastery), or hospitale, hospitalitas (an inn, guesthouse, or hospital), and is presumably also related to the Gaelic spideal, indicating a hospital or refuge. If you know anything about spitles in general or the spitle of Inverarnan in particular, or about the history of the current Drovers Inn at Inverarnan, we'd love to hear from you!
Following on from this, click here to download a copy of the report combining the results of ACFA's survey with our documentary research so far! This'll likely be revised as we aim to do a bit more searching through archives.... Huge thanks to Dougie MacInnes, Libby King, Margaret Gardiner, and Heather James for help with the survey and to Dougie for pulling together the report.
Keep an eye out here and on our Facebook page to find out more about the spitle at Inverarnan.....
With thanks to Garabal Estate for permission to survey the site.
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