Designating Carsethorn Pier

From 7 to 28 April 2022, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) sought views on our proposal to designate Carsethorn pier as a scheduled monument.

The site is a nationally important monument that was found to meet our criteria for designation: Criteria. Carsethorn Pier is an archaeological feature that makes a significant contribution to our understanding and appreciation of the maritime heritage of southwest Scotland, and its contribution to the history of 19th century emigration.

Further details can be accessed on our Heritage Portal: Carsethorn Pier - Portal.

We received 13 responses which contributed to our knowledge of the monument and also provided insight into how the pier is valued.

All of the responses were in favour of designating Carsethorn Pier as a scheduled monument. Each question related to our assessment of the monument in intrinsic, contextual and associative aspects were scored as "strongly agree" by 10 responses and "agree" by the remaining 3 responses.

We received additional comments, all supportive of the proposal and recognising the importance of the pier. Some comments from respondents include:

•  "It gives a physical link into both emigration and maritime trade in the 19th Century."
•  "Unique Solway feature makes the Carse beach instantly recognisable. Such strong history of shipping and emigration."
• "It is important to keep relics of the past when Carsethorn was a trading centre."
• "The pier is a striking visual component of the beach in front of the village today giving it context with a changing landscape."
• "Basically the visual site of the jetty is a memory to the thousands who left for the New World. It is also a constant reminder of a seafaring/fishing history that mustn’t be lost."
   

After considering the comments received during the consultation, we have now scheduled Carsethorn Pier as a nationally important monument.

Download the Report of Handling from our Heritage Portal: Carsethorn Pier - Designation.