The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Battle over road to history
Could the dualling of the A9 put the Killiecrankie battlefield at risk?
Soldiers of Killiecrankie including James Rattray are flying the flag for the Perthshire battlefield site which they fear will be destroyed by plans to dual the A9. Picture: Angus Findlay.
It was the bloodiest battle in the Jacobite uprisings which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 600 Jacobite and 1,500 Scottish government soldiers.
But could the site of the Killiecrankie battlefield in Perthshire be irretrievably destroyed by plans to dual the A9?
That’s the fear of local history and events group Soldiers of Killiecrankie, which has formally commented on the proposals through a Transport Scotland public consultation that closes today.
Campaigners – including descendants of some of those who fought in the battle – told The Courier they do not believe the transport authority has “properly thought through how best to route the new carriageway through the battlefield”.
However, Transport Scotland says it has “carefully developed” its plans to dual the route from Killiecrankie to Glen Garry, taking into account available research and specialist advice.
The Battle of Killiecrankie – which took place on July 27 1689 – was fought between a combined Scottish and Irish Jacobite force loyal to King James VII and II and Government troops supporting the Protestant King William.
The Jacobites, led by Bonnie Dundee, were mainly Highland Scots, gathered by the clan chief Cameron of Lochiel, while the Government troops under the command of the Highlander General Hugh Mackay of Scourie, were mostly Lowland Scots.
The Jacobites achieved a stunning victory but suffered heavy casualties, including their leader.
The battlefield has been included in the Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland and protected by Historic Scotland under the Scottish Historical Environment Policy of 2009. But according to Killiecrankie man James Rattray and his brother Rulzion – whose six-times great-grandfather James Rattray fought at Killiecrankie and whose four-times great-grandfather, also called James Rattray, fought at Culloden in 1746 – that heritage is now under threat.
Mr Rattray and his brother, whose ancestors moved to India after the Jacobites’ defeat at Culloden, have been mapping out the Killiecrankie battlefield with flags around Urrard House, south of the A9. Most of the killing took place on the government line here. But very little archaeological excavation has taken place and they fear the site will be lost.
“Despite the A9 passing through the battlefield in the late 1970s, Killiecrankie battlefield remains one of the best-preserved Scottish battlefields and still contains a lot of information yet to be discovered,” said James, 66, a visitor guide publisher who lives on the battlefield.
“I’m not against the A9 – the dualling has got to happen – but the concerns I have now are that I don’t think the route has been properly thought through. Why not widen the road into the field on the north side that was already disturbed in the 1970s?
“Killiecrankie has the potential to become like another Culloden site, with a proper visitor centre. But once the site has gone there is no bringing back the (site as it was before the) destruction.”
A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “As the existing A9 already runs through the site of the battlefield, any of the dual carriageway widening options – for example, widening the existing road on its northbound side or widening the existing road on its southbound side – will have some impact on the battlefield. We have therefore carefully developed our plans to dual the route between Killiecrankie to Glen Garry taking into account available research and specialist advice, including consultation with Historic Environment Scotland.
“This has also included consultation with locals (stretching) back to 2012. As part of the design work, we conducted a metal detecting survey of the battlefield in 2015 to support the specialist advice we had received and help inform the design and manage the impacts.
“As part of our A9 dualling programme we identified the preferred route for this section in March 2016 and are now taking forward the next stage of design with the draft road orders published for formal comment in November 2017 and public exhibitions held for locals and road users on December 13 and 14 2017.
“Anyone can comment and the deadline is January 23. We will then consider all comments received as we further develop our plans. The route through the battlefield has been developed using the available interpretation of the battle. We would be happy to discuss any additional information or advice the group have received to support their concerns.”
A spokesman for the National Trust for Scotland, which runs the nearby Killiecrankie Visitor Centre, said: “We have been in discussions with Transport Scotland and have raised our concerns and opinions and are confident, given the constructive stance they have adopted so far, that they will take these on board.
“It is our view that further quality archaeological work be undertaken, allowing for further evaluation and mitigation.”