Historic Buildings in Scotland

Early structures - Burial Mounds; Stone Circles. Other buildings or structures, such as crannogs (man-made islands) or brochs, were probably built for defence.

Throughout Scotland there are also a number of Memorial Cairns - usually in the form of a carefully constructed pile of rocks. This is believed to have started from an old Highland custom - when clansmen were summoned for a battle each brought a stone with him which was placed in a pile where they gathered. Afterwards each survivor removed one stone and any that were left were built into a memorial cairn.

Another feature throughout Scotland is the doocot (or dovecot as it is also known).

Two organisations are responsible for looking after a number of buildings and monuments throughout Scotland:

• Historic Scotland (HS) safeguards the nation's built heritage and promotes its understanding and enjoyment on behalf of Scottish Ministers.
• The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) is the conservation charity that protects and promotes Scotland's natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations to enjoy.

Where applicable these are marked in the lists on the relevant pages. Many historic buildings are also supposed to be haunted or have other strange phenomenon associated with them. These are also marked (h) where appropriate.

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