Monument record 377 - GRESS LODGE, LEWIS

NB44SE 4 4938 4185.
(NB 4938 4185) Earth House (NR) (site of)
OS 1:10,000 map, (1974)

This souterrain (published as 'Cave' on OS 6'map, Ross-shire, 2nd ed., 1898) under the lawn in front of Gress Lodge, was revealed by a collapse of roof. The entrance was on the beach just above high water mark, 38 yards from the house. A slightly curved passage, 2ft wide, led to a circular chamber, 9ft in diameter, whose roof of flags was supported by a central pillar of unmortared masonry. Just before reaching the chamber the passage had a recess of 2 1/2ft on each side.
From this first chamber a narrow passage ran 40ft to 50ft NW towards Gress Lodge, to a second circular chamber. From this, a passage branched off to NE forming an angle of less than 90 with the entrance gallery and leading to a third circular chamber. The whole was filled with blown sand, but yielded shells, split animal bones, querns and (from the last chamber) a staghorn pick. It was covered with sand in 1914.
P Liddel 1875; D MacRitchie 1917; RCAHMS 1928.

When Dr Greig arrived in 1949 the site was marked by an area of sand and tufty grass. This has now been cleaned up and no remains of the souterrain are visible. Dr Greig has a photo of an etching made in 1874 and sent to him by the late Dr D Macdonald, showing an entrance in the cliff. The cliff is sandy and crumbling and the entrance cannot now be traced. Site confirmed on information from Dr Greig.
Visited by OS (A L F R) assistent archaeology officer, 20 April 1964.

About thirty sherds of typical Iron Age 'wheelhouse' pottery, perhaps of the early centuries AD, were recovered from this site, presumably from the midden, by a local resident, and were submitted to the NMAS for identification in 1976. The midden, sectioned and clearly stratified, is under threat of destruction by the sea, which has also exposed what appears from the photographs to be the entrance to the earth-house. Information contained in letter to J Close-Brooks (NMAS) 2 March 1976 and from J Close-Brooks to OS 9 March 1976.

Erosion of midden material in area of souterrain. Finds include antler, a bone tool and Iron Age pottery sherds.
M MacRae 1983.

The monument is a souterrain situated below the gardens of Gress Lodge on the E. coast of Lewis. The site has been recorded since the late 19th century, and excavation took place during that period. The entrance was marked as a 'cave' on the earliest 6' OS map.

Nothing remains visible of the monument apart from two piles of stones in the garden of the lodge. The present occupiers (who have been resident since 1949) have, prior to scheduling, landscaped over the souterrain to create the present garden, which is planted with lawn, flower-beds and mature shrubs and trees.

The SE boundary of the site has been subject to severe coastal erosion which has obliterated the entrance to the souterrain and resulted in the loss of several metres of land. In recent years the local authority has had sea-defence works carried out along some 100m of the frontage. These consist of a 3m high wall of rock armour backfilled with rubble and shingle, some of which has been taken from the beach itself, exacerbating the problem. The rock armour is breached in two places, allowing the backfill to be scoured out by wave action. The presence of quite substantial water-courses flowing out at each end of the site adds to the erosion potential.
D. Murdie, HS Monument Warden, September 1999

'The monument...comprises a large and complex souterrain, an undergroound storehouse of Iron Age date, and associated deposits. The area to be scheduled is irregular in plan, bounded by the high-water mark of the shore on the SE, by the stream Abhainn Mhor on the NE, by the N edge of the access track to the shore on the SW and by the S edge of the track leading to the SE side of Gress Lodge on the NW. The area has maximum dimensions of 135m NE-SW by 43m NW-SE.'
HS Scheduling Document 19 July 1993.

P Liddel, 1872-4, Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 741 (Bibliographic reference). SWE4047.

D MacRitchie, 1916-17, Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 189-90 plan (Bibliographic reference). SWE5040.

RCAHMS, 1928, The RCAHMCS 9th Report & Inventory: Outer Hebrides, Skye and the Small Isles, 17, No. 58 (Bibliographic reference). SWE5587.

E W MacKie, 1964-6a, Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 199-203 (Bibliographic reference). SWE4640.

PSAS, 1976-7, Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 385 (Bibliographic reference). SWE8441.

M MacRae, 1983b, Discovery and Excavation, Scotland, 40 (Bibliographic reference). SWE14588.

Donald Murdie, Historic Scotland, 1998 -, Monument Warden's Report (Unpublished document). SWE41013.