List of oldest buildings in Scotland

This article lists the oldest extant freestanding buildings in Scotland. In order to qualify for the list a structure must:

be a recognisable building ;
incorporate features of building work from the claimed date to at least in height and/or be a listed building.

This consciously excludes ruins of limited height, roads and statues. Bridges may be included if they otherwise fulfill the above criteria. Dates for many of the oldest structures have been arrived at by radiocarbon dating and should be considered approximate.
The main chronological list includes buildings that date from no later than 1199 AD. Although the oldest building on the list is the Neolithic farmhouse at Knap of Howar, the earliest period is dominated by chambered cairns, numerous examples of which can be found from the 4th millennium BC through to the early Bronze Age.
Estimates of the number of broch sites throughout the country, which date from the Iron Age, range from just over 100 to over 500. However, only a small percentage are sufficiently well preserved for them to be included here and some of those that could be remain undated.
As there are relatively few structures from the latter half of the first millennium AD and a significant number from the 12th century, the latter group is placed in a sub-list. There are larger numbers of extant qualifying structures from 1200 onwards and separate lists for 13th-century castles and religious buildings are provided. As the oldest buildings in many of the council areas in the more urbanised Central Belt date from after the 14th century, a separate list showing oldest buildings by council area is provided.
There is also a supplementary list of qualifying structures for which no confirmed date of construction is available and a short listing of substantial prehistoric structures that are not buildings as defined above.

Main list

12th century

Building	Image	Location	Council area	First built	Use	Notes
St Fillan's Church		Aberdour	Fife	1123	Church	The nave and chancel date from 1123. It was enlarged in the 15th century by the addition of a side aisle, and in the 17th by the small transeptual aisle. The church fell into disrepair in the 18th century and was restored in 1926.
St Rule's Tower		St Andrews	Fife	1123	Priory	Constructed by the Culdees prior to the granting of the church to the Augustinian order.
Inchcolm Abbey		Inchcolm	Fife	Founded 1123	Abbey	The substantial ruins date "from the 12th century" onwards.
Holyrood Abbey		Holyrood Palace	Edinburgh	c. 1130	Abbey	Founded in 1128 by David I but all that remains above ground of the original structure is the ruined nave. The rest of the building was replaced by the mid 13th century.
St Margaret's Chapel		Edinburgh Castle	Edinburgh	1130	Chapel	The oldest building in Edinburgh.
Cubbie Roo's Castle		Wyre	Orkney	c. 1145	Castle	The ruins include a small square keep still extant to in height.
Castle Sween		Knapdale	Argyll and Bute	c. 1150	Castle	The main structure is a mid-12th-century quadrangle with later towers.
St Serf's Inch Priory		St Serf's Inch	Perth and Kinross	Post 1150	Priory	The remaining oblong structure dates from 12th century.
Jedburgh Abbey		Jedburgh	Scottish Borders	Post 1150	Abbey	The choir dates to the second quarter of the 12th century and the church was complete by the middle of the 13th century.
St. Magnus Cathedral		Kirkwall	Orkney	Commenced 1167	Cathedral	The building was raised in honour of Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney by Earl Rögnvald Kali.
Bishop's Palace, Kirkwall		Kirkwall	Orkney	c. 1167	Residence	Built for William the Old, Bishop of Orkney, Haakon IV of Norway died here in 1263.
Kilwinning Abbey		Kilwinning	North Ayrshire	1190	Abbey	An arch has a Norman style capital bearing two carved figures.
St Magnus Church		Egilsay	Orkney	Late 12th century	Church	A church existed here in 1116, but the current building, with its distinctive round tower, may date from later that century.
Kildalton Chapel		Islay	Argyll and Bute	Late 12th century	Church	The churchyard has a collection of grave slabs and contains the 8th-century Kildalton Cross.
St Blane's Church, Kingarth		Kingarth	Argyll and Bute	12th century	Church	A "12th-century Romanesque building consisting of a nave and chancel", the enclosing wall and parts of the church may be pre-Norse.

13th century

Castles

Building	Image	Location	Council Area	First Built	Use	Notes
Aberdour Castle		Aberdour	Fife		Castle	Base of a late-12th- or early-13th-century hall house incorporated into later buildings.
Dirleton Castle		Dirleton	East Lothian		Castle	The de Vaux towers are the oldest extant structures.
Kildrummy Castle		Kildrummy	Aberdeenshire		Castle	Built mid 13th century, possibly by Gilbert de Moravia and fell under siege in 1306 during the Wars of Independence.
Dunstaffnage Castle		Dunbeg, near Oban	Argyll and Bute		Castle	Built by Clan MacDougall on an older site.
Duart Castle		Craignure, Mull	Argyll and Bute		Castle	Part of a chain of castles that line the Sound of Mull.
Lauriston Castle		St Cyrus	Aberdeenshire		Castle	The charter dates from c. 1243, and some of the 13th-century structure is incorporated in later building works. Captured by Edward III of England in 1336.
Goblin Ha'		Gifford	East Lothian		Undercroft	Part of Yester Castle built by Sir Hugo de Gifford, reputedly a "wizard".

Religious buildings

Building	Image	Location	Council Area	First Built	Use	Notes
Iona Nunnery		Iona	Argyll and Bute		Nunnery	"The remains, substantial and, at least in part, original were repaired in 1923".
Iona Abbey		Iona	Argyll and Bute		Monastery	The north transept "is the only part of this early church to survive reasonably intact".
Pluscarden Abbey		Elgin	Moray		Monastery	Originally Valliscaulian, now a Benedictine House.
Ardchattan Priory		Ardchattan	Argyll and Bute		Monastery	Also Valliscaulian, and dedicated to St May and St John the Baptist. Now ruined.
Fortrose Cathedral		Fortrose	Highland		Undercroft	The undercroft of the chapter house is only structure remaining from this date.
Inchmahome Priory		Inchmahome	Stirling		Priory	"Much of the 13th-century building remains."
Nave Island Chapel		Islay	Argyll and Bute		Church	The site is within an enclosure that is likely to be several centuries older, The chimney is an 18th-century addition made by kelp harvesters.
Kelso Abbey		Kelso	Scottish Borders		Abbey	Suffered significant damage during "The Rough Wooing".
Arbroath Abbey		Arbroath	Angus		Abbey	The tower dates from the 13th century.
Crossraguel Abbey		Maybole	South Ayrshire		Abbey
Beauly Priory		Beauly	Highland		Monastery	Described by the monks as Prioratus de Bello Loco in 1230.
Sweetheart Abbey		New Abbey	Dumfries and Galloway		Abbey	A Cistercian monastery founded in 1275 by Dervorguilla of Galloway.
Dunstaffnage Chapel		Oban	Argyll and Bute		Chapel	Adjacent to Dunstaffnage Castle.
Balmerino Abbey		Balmerino	Fife		Abbey	Founded in 1231, badly damaged in the 16th century.
Culross Abbey		Culross	Fife		Abbey	Founded before 1217, parts of the nave are early-13th-century, but most of the original structures are c. 1300.

By council area

The following are amongst the oldest buildings in each council area of Scotland.

Building	Image	Location	Council area	Year built	Use	Notes
St Machar's Cathedral		Old Aberdeen	Aberdeen City		Church	The nave and its two western towers were built between 1422 and 1440.
Kildrummy Castle		Kildrummy	Aberdeenshire		Castle	Built mid 13th century, possibly by Gilbert de Moravia and fell under siege in 1306 during the Wars of Independence.
Brechin Cathedral Round Tower		Brechin	Angus		Round Tower	The tower probably predates the cathedral itself.
Glebe cairn		Kilmartin Glen	Argyll and Bute		Tomb	An early Bronze Age structure with two stone cists.
Clackmannan Tower		Clackmannan	Clackmannanshire		Tower house	L-plan tower house extended in the 15th century.
Sweetheart Abbey		New Abbey	Dumfries and Galloway		Abbey	A Cistercian monastery founded in 1275 by Dervorguilla of Galloway.
St Mary's Tower		Nethergate	Dundee City		Church	Also known as "The Old Steeple" and described as "the oldest surviving building in Dundee".
Mauchline Castle		Mauchline	East Ayrshire		Former grange	Built by Andrew Hunter, abbot of Melrose Abbey.
Bardowie Castle		Bardowie, between Bearsden, Milngavie, and Torrance	East Dunbartonshire		Castle	16th-century tower with later additions.
Dirleton Castle		Dirleton	East Lothian		Castle	The de Vaux towers are the oldest extant structures.
Mearns Castle		Newton Mearns	East Renfrewshire		Tower house	Restored and now used by a local church.
St Margaret's Chapel		Edinburgh Castle	City of Edinburgh		Chapel
Tappoch Broch		Torwood	Falkirk		Broch	Likely post dates Roman occupation of nearby Antonine Wall.
St Rule's Tower		St Andrews	Fife		Priory	Constructed by the Culdees prior to the granting of the church to the Augustinian order.
Glasgow Cathedral		Glasgow	Glasgow		Cathedral
Grey Cairns of Camster		Upper Camster	Highland		Tomb	A group of three cairns.
Newark Castle		Port Glasgow	Inverclyde		Castle	The original castle had a tower house within a barmkin entered through a large gatehouse.
Crichton Castle		Crichton	Midlothian		Tower house	The tower is the oldest section, with later additions.
Pluscarden Abbey		Elgin	Moray		Monastery	Originally Valliscaulian, now a Benedictine House.
Barpa Langass		North Uist	Na h-Eileanan Siar		Tomb	The best preserved chambered cairn in the Hebrides.
Kilwinning Abbey		Kilwinning	North Ayrshire		Abbey	An arch has a Norman style capital bearing two carved figures.
Dalzell House		Motherwell	North Lanarkshire		Tower house	Substantial later additions.
Knap of Howar		Papa Westray	Orkney		House	Oldest preserved stone house in north west Europe.
Abernethy Round Tower		Abernethy	Perth and Kinross		Tower	The tower is high.
Paisley Abbey		Paisley	Renfrewshire		Abbey	The main structure is a restoration of an earlier building destroyed in 1307, although a late-12th-century and a 13th-century doorway remain.
Jedburgh Abbey		Jedburgh	Scottish Borders		Abbey	The choir dates to the second quarter of the 12th century and the church was complete by the middle of the 13th century.
Old Scatness		Sumburgh	Shetland		Broch and wheelhouse	Like Jarlshof the site was occupied by Iron Age peoples, Picts, and Vikings.
Crossraguel Abbey		Maybole	South Ayrshire		Abbey
Bothwell Parish Church		Bothwell	South Lanarkshire		Church	Formerly St Brides Collegiate Church. The oldest visible structure is the choir, which dates from the 14th century.
Inchmahome Priory		Inchmahome	Stirling		Priory	"Much of the 13th-century building remains."
Glencairn House		Dumbarton	West Dunbartonshire		Tenement	Built for the Earl of Glencairn, now owned by the Council and described as "oldest building in West Dunbartonshire".
Torphichen Preceptory		Torphichen	West Lothian		Church	The only house of the Knights Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem in Scotland.

Other structures

Undated buildings

The following are very old buildings that meet the qualifying criteria but for which no reliable date of construction has emerged.

Building	Image	Location	Council Area	First Built	Use	Notes
Calf of Eday cairns		Calf of Eday	Orkney	Neolithic and built in two phases.	Tomb	There are two preserved chambered tombs close together on this Orkney islet and a third in a ruinous state.
Huntersquoy cairn		Eday	Orkney	Neolithic	Tomb	A Bookan type cairn with an upper and lower storey.
Broch of Culswick		Sandsting	Shetland	Iron Age	Broch	Until the 18th century this was Shetland's second most complete broch, after Mousa.
Burra Ness Broch		Yell	Shetland	Iron Age	Broch	The wall still stands 14' high in places.
Burroughston Broch		Shapinsay	Orkney	Iron Age	Settlement	Likely to "have been seen by seafaring Romans about two millennia ago."
Carn Liath		Golspie	Highland	Iron Age	Broch
Clachtoll broch		Stoer	Highland	Iron Age	Broch
Dun Dornaigil		South of Ben Hope	Highland	Iron Age	Broch
Dun Hallin		Waternish, Skye	Highland	Iron Age	Broch
Dun Grugaig		Glenelg	Highland	Iron Age	Semi-broch
Kintradwell broch		Brora	Highland	Iron Age	Broch
Sallachy broch		Lairg	Highland	Iron Age	Broch
Stairhaven		Luce Bay	Dumfries and Galloway	Probable Iron Age	Possible broch	Also known as Crow's Neith and Broken Castle.
Tirefour Castle		Lismore	Argyll and Bute	Iron Age	Broch	The walls have an average thickness of enclosing a court about in diameter. The wall still stands high.
Burghead Well		Burghead	Moray	Dark Age?	Baptistery?	This underground structure is unique in a Scottish context and is probably of Dark Age origin, although it may be older.
Restenneth Priory		Forfar	Angus		Monastery	Probably built on a much earlier site and the date of the extant structures is not clear.

Other prehistoric constructions

The following are very old human constructions that do not fit the above criteria for a building.

Building	Image	Location	Council area	First built	Use	Notes
Funzie Girt		Fetlar	Shetland	Possibly Neolithic	Wall	The wall ran for over and once divided the island in two. "Its date and precise purpose are unknown, but a considerable degree of antiquity is suggested."
Dwarfie Stane		Hoy	Orkney	3rd millennium BC	Tomb	A megalithic chambered tomb carved out of a titanic block of Devonian Old Red Sandstone.