Magdalenehall Farm, Mertoun House Estate, St Boswells: Historic Building Recording and Watching Brief

Addyman Archaeology undertook Historic Building Recording and an archaeological Watching Brief at Magdalenehall Farm, Mertoun Estate, Scottish Borders between August and November 2019. This work was carried out in advance of the demolition of the farmhouse and the conversion of the steading. The work followed an earlier Desk-based Assessment and Historic Building Assessment on the site. The Historic Building Recording included a detailed photographic survey of the farmhouse prior to and during demolition. The steading buildings were also recorded photographically. A detailed survey of all the buildings was produced and these elevation drawings and plans were marked up to show changes in phasing, building materials and architectural details. The farmhouse was found to be of two main phases, both pre-dating the first edition Ordnance Survey. Originally a simple 3-bay house with central stair and attic rooms, it was extended by almost a third at its east end. The associated farm steading has undergone more extensive demolition and re-building into the mid-20th century. All that remains of the 19th century steading is a stand-alone cart shed and parts of the west and north range. Two site visits were conducted as part of the watching brief. The first was undertaken after the discovery of a well on site. This was recorded and further stripping on site was also monitored, which revealed a small square cut of modern date but no other archaeological features. A second site visit monitored further stripping of the area for the new dwelling. Undisturbed natural clay subsoil was exposed over most of the area; a small area of made ground was not removed. No archaeological features or finds were present.