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Clatchard CraigClatchard Craig A quarry is all that remains of what was a large whinstone promintary overlooking the Tay at Newburgh at the eastern most end of the Ochil Hills. The name Clatchard Craig simply meant the Craig of the High Stone. This was a purely descriptive name as there once arose at this point a detached pillar of rock standing 90' high x 25' wide leaning towards the east. Thomas the Rhymer made a prophecy concerning this pillar which he said "would stand till it fell on a white horse that never was born". It was in fact demolished by one charge of dynamite to make way for the railway, and its steam propelled engines, so the Rhymer was not far astray in his prophecy. On the craig itself was an iron age fort, which was probably Pictish in origin. It consisted of a fort, a concentric series of ramparts and a large enclosure for cattle. Before the quarry, which now occupies this site, was opened, several archeological diggings were made and an ancient stone ball was found. It was carved with leaves and thought to have been used in a game, but has since been lost without trace. A stone quern dating from 200BC which was used for grinding grain to make bread was also unearthed. The early fortifications are believed to have been destroyed by the Romans under Martius, Commander of the Thracian Cohorts under the Emperor Commodus. The diggings showed that the fort was occupied on at least two other different periods in time. A timber-laced rampart from the 6th century and other rampart from the 8th century which used dressed stones with mortar was exposed, indicating they may have been acquired from a nearby abandoned Roman fort. Also on the craig was the 'Bluidy Well', where William Wallace and his men washed their swords in 1298 after routing the English led by the Earl of Pembroke in the battle of Black Earnside nearby. A sheltered ledge of rock, within the old ramparts, close to the well, was known as Wallace's bed and it is easy to imagine the great patriot resting here with his men after the battle. Just after the Second World War, in 1946, the quarry was permitted to remove the hill and for years it supplied concrete aggregate by ship for the re-construction work in Germany, crushed stone for roads and ballast to the Scottish rail system. Aerial photographs taken prior to the quarry being extended show Clatchard to have been an outstanding example of a Pictish fort and today, the fort and the links to William Wallace would have been an obvious attraction for visitors.
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