The Howlet's House is located on the North Bank of Loganlea Reservoir (1851) in the Pentland Hills, West of Castle Law hillfort.
The Howlet's House, Looking East
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The exact meaning of this placename, although obscure, is most likely to be derived from Scots. Howlet or howlett is a less common spelling of the Scots word hoolat or howlat, meaning "owl". However, what the significance of owls in the context of this building might be is rather obscure. It may or may not also be of note that the area on the Western end of Loganlea Reservoir now occupied by a modern house is known as The Howe, where howe is Scots for "hollow" in a topographical context. Equally, the placename may derive from Howlet as a person's surname, possibly someone who owned the building at some stage in history.
The Howlet's House, Looking North
The primary remains on this site are a roughly 15 foot high wall with a lintelled window which leans somewhat precipitously at the top on the Northern side of a rectangular structure.
The Northern Wall
Window in The Northern Wall
Heavy Weathering on The Northern Wall
Additionally, opposite this are the much reduced remains of the Southern wall.
The Southern Wall
Immediately to the South there are clear indications of two adjacent rectangular structures set at an angle from the main remains, the foundations of these walls now heavily obscured by ferns.
Further Wall Foundations
According to the nineteenth century antiquarian and Lothian specialist, F.R. Coles, the Howlet's House may have been a medieval chapel, with the main remaining structure representing a priest's house.[1] Equally, his contemporary, Kerr, claimed that a stone basin (a font?) was originally built into the Eastern wall of the surviving building.[2] However, very little is known about this building, and if it was indeed a medieval chapel, nothing seems to be known about its dedication or ecclesiastical ties.
footnotes
[1] Frederick Coles, "Antiquarian Notes on Various Sites in the Neighbourhood of Edinburgh", in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1898-9, pp.330-4.
[2] A. Kerr, "Glencorse and its Old Buildings", in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1878-9, pp.134-6.