Amazing Antiquarian #5: Henry Dryden

History can take all forms, shapes and sizes; some history is in your face, some history is less obvious, and some is, unfortunately, lost to time.

The Broch is a piece of history that, against all odds, has remained in that second category. In Caithness especially, brochs are everywhere, with around 200 sites, giving Caithness the highest concentration of Iron Age structures anywhere else in Scotland. Despite this, the broch's true purpose still eludes us.

You, me and people from hundreds of years ago all share something in common: curiosity.

Sir Henry Dryden (1819-1899) was a Victorian antiquarian, architectural historian, and surveyor. Today, you could think of him as a very early Archaeological Recorder. He spent his time travelling around Britain- and elsewhere- measuring, sketching, surveying and documenting ancient building and archaeological sites.

Dryden’s passion for recording led him to Caithness, where he took particular interest in Brochs. Arguably, Dryden’s most notable work is his Notice of the Burg of Mousa in Shetland in 1862, where he describes the broch and argues that, without proper intervention, it would fall into ruin. That same year, the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland appointed a committee to ensure the broch's maintenance. The broch still stands in Shetland today; for a deeper dive, see Peter’s blog on the Mousa broch.

In Caithness, however, Dryden’s work gives us a remarkable window into the past through the Crosskirk broch. In 1871, Dryden was exploring Caithness when he came across the Crosskirk broch. As Dryden did, he took measurements, sketches and recordings of the broch. However, over the years, coastal erosion eventually destroyed the broch, and in the 1960s and 70s it was excavated and bulldozed.

Because of Dryden’s work, we not only have evidence of the size of a broch that no longer exists, but we also have a surviving drawing from the period with St Mary’s Chapel in the background. To me, Dryden’s work shows us two very important things. From a historical standpoint, his work shows us the importance of preserving and keeping records.

Without Dryden’s records on the Crosskirk broch, we would not have half as much insight into it as we do today. Work like Dryden’s keeps Brochs like the Crosskirk broch from slipping into the third category I mentioned earlier: being lost to time.

However, I think Dryden’s work has a more potent message: Curiosity. As far as the evidence suggests, much of Dryden’s work was driven by his own fascination with the past. His curiosity produced records that continue to contribute to our understanding of Caithness and its history. More than 150 years later, his work is still valuable.

What I find particularly touching about Dryden’s story is that despite the enormous differences between his and our lives, we share something amazingly simple. When Dryden looked at Crosskirk Broch in 1871, he saw what had fascinated countless people before him. He wondered who built it, how they lived, and why they built the broch. Today, we ask the same question.

And perhaps, that is what makes history so special. We may never know who built the broch or fully understand their purpose, but our curiosity about them has survived for centuries.

The Caithness Broch Project, in a way, extends Dryden’s curiosity. Where he sought to record and preserve, we look to extend that by bringing the past back to life.

People change. Time passes. But curiosity remains.