Scotland South-West, Dumfries & Galloway

Home , Auchen Castle, Bonshaw Tower, Buittle, Buittle Castle, Caerlaverock Castle, Cardoness Castle

Castles – Scotland South-West, Dumfries & Galloway

‘Build Date’ refers to the oldest surviving significant elements In column 1; DF ≡ Dumfriesshire, GW ≡ Galloway

Build Occupation DF Castle Location Configuration Current Remains Date Status

1 Auchen NY 063 035 Enclosure 13th C Empty, c1600 Fragments of curtain wall

2 Blacket House NY 243 743 Tower 1584 Empty, 18th C High ruin, mainly of south wall

3 Bonshaw NY 243 721 Tower + barmkin c1560 Occupied Tower, entire but only traces otherwise

4 Caerlaverock NY 026 656 Enclosure Late-13th C Empty, 17th C Extensive ruins

5 Closeburn NX 907 921 Tower + barmkin 14th C Occupied Rather stolid tower, entire

6 Comlongon NY 079 690 Tower c1500 Empty, 20th C Entire, attached to mansion now a hotel

7 Hoddon NY 157 730 Tower/Courtyard Mid-16th C Empty, 20th C Entire, attached buildings occupied

8 Isle NY 028 689 Tower c1565 Empty, 17th C High ruin, but only 1 wall near-complete

9 Lag NX 880 862 Tower + barmkin Early-15th C Empty, 17th C Ruin with most of lower storeys

10 Langholm NY 361 849 Tower c1520 Empty, 18th C Truncated ruin of part of tower

11 Lochhouse NT 082 034 Tower Mid-16th C Occupied Deserted,18th C, restored & modified, 20th C

12 Lochmaben NY 082 822 Enclosure c1300 Empty, 1700 Scattered, incoherent ruins

13 Lochwood NY 085 968 Tower + barmkin Late-15th C Empty, 1710 Mainly extensive low ruins

14 Morton NX 891 992 Courtyard c1300 Empty, 18th C Substantial ruin of hall block

15 Sanquhar NS 785 093 Enclosure 1360 Empty, 1700 Extensive unstable ruins

16 Stapleton NY 234 688 Tower c1570 Empty, 20th C Now a shell with modern windows

17 Torthorwald NY 033 783 Motte & bailey c1320 Empty, 18th C Ruins of tower & earthworks

18 Woodhouse NY 251 715 Tower 1570s Empty, 18th C Ruin of part of tower

1 Auchenskeoch NX 917 588 Z-plan tower 16th C Empty, 19th C Part-ruin of tower & main block

2 Buittle NX 819 616 Enclosure 13th C Empty, 16th C Fragments, but restored 16th C tower

3 Cardoness NX 591 552 Tower + barmkin Late-15th C Empty, late-17th C Tower roofless, nearly complete

4 Carsluith NX 495 542 Tower c1500 Empty, mid-18th C Tower, high ruin

6 Castle of Park NX 189 571 Tower Mid-16th C Occupied Entire

7 Castle Stewart NX 379 691 Tower c1500 Empty, 18th C High ruin, perimeter incomplete

8 Corsewall NW 991 715 Tower 15th C Empty, 17th C Ruin mainly of lowest floor

9 Cruggleton NX 484 428 Enclosure 13/14th C Empty, 17th C Fragment on clifftop

10 Drumcoltran NX 869 684 Tower c1550 Empty, 20th C Entire, save for upper floors internally

11 Dunskey NX 004 534 Tower + barmkin Early-16th C Empty, 17th C High roofless shell

12 Edingham NX 839 626 Tower c1570 Empty, 19th C Reduced height ruin

13 Galdenoch NW 974 633 Tower c1540 Empty, 18th C? High, roofless shell

14 Hills Tower NX 912 726 Tower + barmkin 16th C Empty, 20th C Entire, with gateway

15 MacLellans NX 683 511 Fortified house 1582 Empty, 18th C Roofless, but otherwise nearly complete

16 Orchardton NX 817 551 Round tower c1460 Empty, 1760s Well maintained, but floors collapsed

17 Plunton NX 605 507 Tower 15th C Empty, 18th C High ruined shell

18 Rusco NX 584 605 Tower Early-15th C Occupied Short period unoccupied, mid-20th C

19 Sorbie NX 451 471 Tower c1590 Empty, 1748 High roofless ruins

20 Stranraer NX 061 608 Tower + barmkin c1510 Occupied Tower entire externally, only remains

21 Threave NX 739 623 Tower + barmkin 1370s Empty, 19th C Roofless tower, low ruins of barmkin

Notes;

1. A total of 39 castles have been identified in South-West Scotland, in Dumfries and Galloway. My selection philosophy has been to include the majority of those I have already visited and such others as I think interesting, usually with the proviso that coherent masonry survives; I have usually excluded those which have benefitted from a modern reconstruction which could be described as a rebuild but of course this is a subjective judgement. I could probably have considered many more castles in the counties concerned, not least because my arbitrary cut-off date of 1600 is arbitrary, and a surprising number were built between 1590 and 1610 of which few appear here. So, my gazetteer is best regarded as a sample, albeit quite a large one, and any tentative conclusions I draw need to be seen in that light.

2. To-date, I have visited 33 of the 39 castles on my list.

3. 30 of the castles are towers, 9 of which definitely had barmkins, though there may have been more which have not left significant traces. There are 7 enclosure castles of various types, distinguished from barmkins by such features as scale, and mural towers. There is only 1 motte and bailey with masonry remains, though it is known that the area is well populated with mottes without stonework, which I do not list, and there is 1 fortified house which I could not squeeze into another category.

4. 10 of the castles date to the 14th century or earlier, which is surprising given the Scottish policy at that time of destroying castles to prevent their occupation by the English. 17 of the castles date to the 16th century and as indicated earlier, that number could have been boosted by including some built around 1600.

5. Only 6 are occupied, (remembering that I have excluded a number which came close to being rebuilt before re-occupation), though 5 were deserted as recently as the 20th century; surprisingly only 2 were deserted before 1600, a marked contrast with other regions.

DF1. Auchen Castle is a short distance south of a hotel of that name, west of the M74, and 6km south-west of Moffat. It was an enclosure castle, 34m square with northern corner towers, 9m in diameter, and southern corner towers, 4.5m in diameter, on curtain walls up to 4m thick, surrounded by a ditch, and is thought to date from the late 13th century. It was sleighted during the Scottish Wars of Independence, presumably by the Scots, but was repaired later, at which time a barbican was probably added to the gateway in the north wall. The castle was held by the Kirkpatrick family in the early 14th century; they were supporters of Robert the Bruce, and implicated in the murder of John Comyn in 1306. The castle passed to Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, and then to the Douglases, becoming a possession of the Maitlands in the late-15th century. They retained it until it became ruinous, probably in c1600, judging by its greatly reduced state, and by the fact that there are no remains of buildings in the enclosure, suggesting that the accommodation may not have progressed much beyond wooden lean-to buildings, or cramped small towers. The photograph shows the fragmentary ruins of the curtain wall.

DF2. Blacket House Tower is west of the village of Eaglesfield, and 10½km north- west of Gretna. The ruin in the grounds of a guesthouse is cautiously date to 1584, and attributed to a member of the Bell family. The rectangular tower had dimensions, 8.3 X 7.2m above walls 1.2m thick, and had 3 storeys. The ground floor was vaulted and it can be assumed that the lay-out was conventional, with cellars below a hall and with private rooms above; the ground floor and a substantial portion of the south wall of the ruin appear to date from the original construction. A stair wing is likely to date to the early 17th century, forming an L-plan and superseding the original entrance with an unusual double rebate for an iron yett and wooden door and also a substantial drawbar slot. It is likely that the tower was enlarged in 1663, but only part of the south wall of the extension remains, set at an angle to the west corner. The tower was sold in 1775 and changed hands on a number of occasions subsequently; by the time Blacket House was built to its immediate south-west in 1835, it was described as ruinous, so had probably been deserted in the late-18th century. It was then converted into a folly and later a dovecot. The photograph is a view from the south, showing that it has become rather too overgrown.

DF3. Bonshaw Castle is on a cliff above the right bank of the Kirtle Water, 7km north-east of Annan; the top of the building is visible looking west from the B7076, as shown in the upper photograph. It was probably built in c1560 by the Irving family as a replacement for a predecessor burnt by the English in 1544. Thereafter, the castle seems to have resisted attacks by the Maxwells who were at feud with the superiors of the Irvings, the Johnstones, for the remainder of the 16th century. The castle is still occupied by descendants of the founding family, and together with the 18th century mansion alongside doubles as a private residence and a wedding venue. The tower has dimensions, 11 X 8m and is of height 10.5m to the wall walk. The lay-out is conventional with a vaulted basement containing a prison as well as store-rooms, a hall above, and 2 floors with private rooms at the top. There are traces of a barmkin wall, and there must have been ancillary buildings, given that the main block contained no kitchen. The lower photograph is of the east face and the gun loops and scarcity of windows make it clear that defence was at the forefront of the minds of its builders.

DF4. Caerlaverock Castle is on the left bank of the estuary of the River Nith, 12km south-east of Dumfries. The present castle was preceded by several fortifications in the area, including a Roman fort, a British hillfort, and a castle built in the first half of the 13th century by Sir John Maxwell. The 1st version of the present castle was completed in 1270 as the caput of the Maxwell family, but it was in the firing line when the Scottish Wars of Independence started in response to the plans of conquest of King Edward I, and fell to him in 1300 when he brought a large army to Scotland. The Maxwells shifted their allegiance to the English and got back their castle, but then embraced the Scottish cause in 1312; the castle withstood a siege but was then dismantled to prevent English occupation. It was rebuilt in the 1330s, but the Maxwells then embraced the cause of Edward Balliol, an English pawn; the Scots recaptured the castle in 1357 and again dismantled it. The Maxwells, this time on the Scottish side, regained and rebuilt it in the late 14th century and did further work a century later, but it fell into English hands again in the 1540s, was recaptured, and then wrecked by English forces in 1570 during a Scottish civil war. Once again rebuilt by the Maxwells over the next half century, the Civil War finally did for the castle when after a hard fought siege it was taken by Covenanters and sleighted. An uninhabited ruin since then, it was taken into state care in 1945. The aerial photograph taken from the south shows the main features of the castle, which through its frequent rebuilds retained the form of a moated triangular enclosure of sides, c40m, and with a curtain wall 2m thick. There are towers at the south-east and south-west corners and a large twin-towered gatehouse, expanded in the 15th century to provide a fairly palatial residence, is at the northern apex. The large block along the east wall dates to the early 17th century, while blocks containing a hall against the south wall, and guest apartments on the west wall, date to earlier rebuilds. Few ruined castles are as picturesque as Caerlaverock, viewed as an entity, and few have a history involving as much conflict, destruction and rebuilding.

DF5. Closeburn Castle is south-east of Thornhill, and 17km north-west of Dumfries. The estate was a possession of the Kirkpatricks by 1232, but the tower house and a stone barmkin were probably built in the 14th century, succeeding a wooden structure on a peninsula jutting into a now-drained lochan. The castle was held until the estate was sold in 1783. The rectangular tower is of dimensions 14.5 m by 10.5 m, over walls up to 3m thick, and rises 15 m to a flush parapet. Inside, a vaulted basement incorporated a prison; the hall above is also vaulted, with a third vault at roof level enclosing 3 upper floors of private rooms. In the 17th century the Kirkpatricks moved out of Closeburn Castle to an adjacent, newly built manor house. However, this burned down in 1748, and the castle sustained some damage. Renovations were made to the castle, and the family moved back in, before the estate was finally sold in 1783. It has had a number of owners since, and has been modified a few times, but the basic lay-out is as it was 700 years ago and it remains a private residence, though recently it may have become a holiday rental.

DF6. Comlongon Castle is entered from the B724, at the northern edge of the village of Clarencefield, 12km west of Annan. The property was passed by Thomas, Earl of Randolph to a member of his family, bearing the name Murray in the early 14th century. The existing tower was built in 1501, but captured by the English in 1547, though soon retaken. Murrays remained in occupation until the 1980s when the building, by then expanded by the addition of an early-20th century mansion was sold and became a hotel. The castle tower is unoccupied. It is rectangular, of dimensions 15 X 13m, and of height 18m, with walls 3.2m thick which house several mural chambers at different levels. The lowest floor, which contained a prison is vaulted, with a mezzanine, above is a hall and kitchen, and above that, private rooms and a chapel. The photograph is a view from the south.

DF7. Hoddom Castle is near the right bank of the River Annan, 4km south-west of Ecclefechan. The estate belonged to the Herries family, but passed to the Maxwells in the mid-16th century by marriage. At the core of the castle is an L-plan tower house, built then, for Sir John Maxwell. In the aftermath of the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots, the Regent Moray besieged Hoddom, which capitulated after only one day. It was briefly the base of the Warden of the Scottish West March, but was recaptured in 1569 by supporters of Queen Mary. The following year it was attacked by the English under Lord Scroop, who captured and allegedly blew up the tower, though the damage may have been limited. At any rate, it was repaired and expanded in the 17th century to form a courtyard castle. It had many owners thereafter and was variously modified and expanded, especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The castle was requisitioned by the military during the 2nd World War, and was not reoccupied afterwards, so that the tower at its centre is derelict. The L-shaped tower had a stair wing 8.4m wide projecting 4.6m from the west wall of a main block of dimensions 15.5 X 10.5m with walls up to 2.7m thick. The lowest floor is vaulted, there was a prison, and corbelling around the building carries the parapet. The aerial view, from the west, shows the extensive ancillary buildings around the tower, while the photograph below also taken from the west is of the tower.

DF8. Isle Tower is close to the right bank of the Lochar Water, just north of the village of Bankend which is 9km south-east of Dumfries. The tower which is sometimes named for either the nearby village or stream, was built by the Maxwells in c1565, and then refurbished early in the 17th century. It housed the Earl of Nithsdale for a period after that, but seems to have been deserted later in that century. A major collapse in 1969, reduced it to the state shown in the photograph taken from the south-west, with only the north-east wall standing to near full-height. As built it was of dimensions 9 X 6.6m, and had 3 storeys; the walls were hardly 1m thick, though there were gun loops. The basement was not vaulted. A wing, housing an entrance and stairway was built onto the north-east wall during the 17th century refurbishment. A moat on the west side connected to the loop of the Lochar Water gave added protection.

DF9. Lag Tower is beside a farm steading in a hilly region, 14km north-west of Dumfries. The tower was built by the Grierson family, probably in the early 15th century. The family lived in the tower until the late 17th century, when they moved to another of their properties, Rock Hall, and the tower thereafter decayed. A preservation society, formed by members of Clan Grierson, is currently trying to purchase the building. The ruin stands on a knoll beside a minor road, and is an oblong building of approximate dimensions, 9 X 7.7m, with walls up to 1.8m thick; there is an un-vaulted basement, and 2 floors survive above, one probably containing a hall. The south-east corner where the stair was located has collapsed. Low remains of a barmkin survive, and there are traces of ancillary buildings inside its walls. The photograph is a view from the north.

DF10. Langholm Tower is in the small town of that name, 34km south-west of Hawick; the tower is close to the left bank of the River Esk, just upstream of the confluence with the Ewes Water. The ruined building, to be seen amongst trees, as in the photograph taken from the south- east, was probably built in the 1520s, by the 5th Lord Maxwell, though it probably had a predecessor. It had a torrid time in the 16th century, being captured by an English force in 1544 but retaken by the Scots in 1547, and thereafter changed hands often, during local disputes involving the Maxwells. In the late-17th century it was acquired by the Dukes of Buccleuch, and soon after a short interlude in the hands of the Jacobites in 1715, it was dismantled and quarried. The remains are of the south-end of a tower of dimensions, 12.6 X 9m and survive to a height of 2 storeys. There are no other traces above-ground but resistivity surveys have shown that there were ancillary buildings, probably enclosed by a wall.

DF11. Lochhouse Tower is almost hidden behind trees, beside the junction of the A701, and M74, 2km south of Moffat. It was built by a branch of the Johnstone clan in the mid-16th century, but little is known of its history before it became ruinous in c1800. It was restored first a century later, and then again, in c1980 as a private residence, though now at least part of the building serves as a holiday let. The tower was of dimensions 11.1 X 8.1m, with walls 1.8m thick, and of conventional layout with a vaulted basement, a hall above, and private rooms in the 2 upper storeys. The roof has been altered, so there is now no parapet or walkway, and the internal configuration has also been changed so that there are smaller rooms than before. The hillock on which the castle stands was given some protection on 2 sides by a loch, now drained, but there is no mention anywhere of a barmkin. The photograph was taken from a minor road to the south, and it may be that the castle has been restored too heavily to warrant consideration here, but for the moment I shall not remove it.

DF12. Lochmaben Castle is on the south bank of Castle Loch which separates it from the village of the same name, which is 10½km west of Lockerbie. It had a predecessor which was built in the 1160s by the Bruce family, the Lords of Annandale. It was situated on top of a motte on the neck of land separating Castle Loch, to the south of today's Lochmaben, and had Kirk Loch, to its west. This castle originally had a wooden keep, which had probably been replaced by stone by the time the castle was captured by King Edward I in1298. He had a new castle, built over the next few years, using stone from the earlier castle which survives only as an earthwork on the local golf course. The new castle had a turbulent existence; it was captured by the Scots in 1306, retaken by the English, and then surrendered to the Scots in 1314. The English returned in 1333, holding the castle until Archibald the Grim, 3rd Earl of Douglas and Lord of Galloway, took it in 1385. Control was taken by King James II when he destroyed the Black Douglases in 1455, and the castle last saw action in 1588 when King James VI bombarded and captured it from the Maxwell family who were in revolt. The castle is not thought to have been inhabited after the 17th century, and quarrying as well as decay reduced it to its present state. Referring to the aerial view of the inner ward in which the north/south axis is from bottom left to top right, the only recognisable features are the south wall with a gateway in front of the ditch, called a canal, bridged by extensions from the said wall. The outer ward was further south but did not contain stone buildings and may have been protected only by a palisade. It is thought that King James IV had a hall block built just north of the wall, but it has left few traces. The lower photograph is a view from the north-east of the south wall and other remnants.

DF13. Lochwood Castle is just west of the B7020, 8km south of Moffat. The Johnstones may have held the property from the 12th century, and had a castle probably a motte and bailey, from then, but the tower dates from the late 15th century. It was held by the English in the 1540s, and then burnt by the Maxwells who were at feud with the owners in 1585, but was repaired in the next 2 decades. The Johnstones became Earls of Annandale in the 17th century but moved from the castle at that time, and it was fully abandoned after a fire in 1710. The dimensions of the main part of the tower were 13 X 10.3, with walls up to 2.3m thick; the wing on the north side contained a staircase and the entrance. The basement was vaulted, and subdivided into rooms including a prison. The 2nd floor comprised 2 separate private rooms; to the north was a separate hall block of dimensions 18 X 9m, with the hall itself above storerooms and a kitchen. There were other ancillary buildings in courtyards further north, protected by a barmkin wall. Curiously, a motte dating to the earliest days of the castle, but now tree covered, survives to the north of all this, and must have dominated the site, but it seems to have been undefended. The photograph, taken from the road to the east, shows the tower on the left, with the barmkin wall running away to the north (right).

DF14. Morton Castle sits on a small bluff protruding north into a small loch, in an isolated spot 3½km north-east of Thornhill; it is reachable by way of minor roads from the A702. It is thought that the site was first fortified in the 12th century, but the remains to be seen now are usually dated to c1300, when the owner was Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray. However that castle may have been at least partially destroyed as part of the treaty arrangements which released King David II from English captivity in 1357. Hence some authorities date the main part of Morton Castle to the late 14th or even the early 15th century. At any rate, it had by then passed into the hands of the James Douglas of Dalkeith, and the family took the title of Earl of Morton shortly afterwards. The castle passed to the Maxwell family after the attainder of the 4th Earl in 1581, but was regained by his successor after it had been burnt in 1588, by King James VI during a campaign against the Maxwells. It seems to have remained habitable until the early 18th century. Afterwards there was some quarrying but it was stabilised in the 1890s. The triangular court was bounded on two sides by the steep banks down to the loch, and cut off on the third by a large hall block with a twin towered gatehouse at its west end. The main block has dimensions of 34 X 9.9m, with walls up to 2.2m thick which survive to a height of 8m. A round tower survives at the south-east corner, and part of the gatehouse to the west. The upper photograph is a view from the south, while the lower shows the inside viewed from the west; stores and a kitchen were on the ground floor with the hall above.

DF15. Sanquhar Castle is on the south-eastern outskirts of Sanquhar, beside the A76. Construction was begun by the Crichton family in 1360, in a strong location, above the River Nith to the west and the Townfoot Burn to the north. There was also a ditch cut around the east and south of the site. The enclosure castle was added to over the following 2 centuries, to comprise a rectangular curtain wall, within which were 4 ranges of buildings. To the north of the main castle was a walled outer courtyard which contained service buildings. At the south west corner was a 4-storey keep that contained the Crichtons' private rooms. In 1639 the Crichtons, by then the Earls of Dumfries, sold the property to Sir William Douglas of Drumlanrig, who later became the 1st Duke of Queensberry. He built Drumlanrig Castle nearby, but after spending just one night there, he returned to Sanquhar Castle, for the rest of his life. After his death the family moved to Drumlanrig and left Sanquhar Castle to begin its slow decline from c1700. In 1895 John Crichton-Stewart, the 3rd Marquis of Bute, acquired Sanquhar Castle and began restoration work, but he died in 1900 leaving a ruin with a mix of original and restored stonework. The tower in the southern corner built in 1360 is 7m square, and has 4 floors, the bottom one vaulted, while the curtain wall was intended to be accessible from its top. Referencing the schematic, the hall block added to the north-east in 1400 has left few traces, but the tower come gatehouse added to the north in 1450 remains as a high ruin, and there are ruins of a kitchen block to the south-west. The photograph taken from the east, shows the keep on the left and the gatehouse tower on the right.

DF16. Stapleton Castle is 4km north-east of Annan, surrounded by trees, near but not visible from the B6357. It is thought to have been built in c1570, by a family called Irvine. It came into the possession of a Fergus Graham in the early 17th century, and after some dispute, the Irvines lived there as tenants until the end of that century. The history of the building is obscure for the next 2 centuries, but in the 19th century it was incorporated in a mansion, which was demolished in the 1950s leaving the tower as an empty, roofless shell. Its dimensions were 13 X 8.3m, with walls over 3m thick, and it had 4 storeys. The layout seems to have been conventional, with a vaulted basement, a hall above that, and private rooms on the upper floors, accessed by a spiral stair. The windows look like later additions, and the parapet relates to the building of the mansion in the 19th century. I was able to view it, behind trees at some distance from a minor road, but the obscuration and prominence of telegraph wires in my photograph render it unusable, so I have used one taken from the internet.

DF17. Torthorwald Castle is beside the A709, on the west side of the village of that name, 6½km north-east of Dumfries. The property was originally owned by Sir David Torthorwald in the 13th Century, but the castle may have been built by a Kirkpatrick in c1320; since then the castle has been owned by Carlyles, after 1418, and Douglases from 1609. A family feud was carried to unusual heights when in 1544 the castle was sacked by a Lord Carlyle when in the possession of his sister-in-law. It was abandoned during the first half of the 18th century, and probably quarried thereafter, hence its current state. Torthorwald Castle was of motte and bailey type, with originally a tower of dimensions 14 X 11.8m crowning the former, which was surrounded by ramparts and wet ditches and a curtain wall. As built, the tower was of conventional design, if an early example; entry was at 1st floor level, with access to the vaulted store below given by a spiral staircase. Above would have been a hall and above it 2 floors of private rooms, but later in the 14th century it was decided to create a vaulted hall which meant doing away with one of the upper floors. At the same time the building was lengthened to 17m, providing space for replacement private rooms. The two phases exhibit different kinds of construction; the walls at the base are thick but are surmounted by thinner walls and there are very noticeable seams. The bailey was trapezoidal, but there are no traces of any buildings by which it may have been occupied. The photograph is a view from a south-westerly direction.

DF18. Woodhouse Tower is one of 3 towers built close together by the Irving family, 7km north-east of Annan, in the 16th century; the others are Bonshaw Tower, described by its own sheet, and Robgill Tower which survives only as part of a basement of an L-shaped house, and is not considered separately here. All are on private land but can be seen in part from nearby roads. Woodhouse Tower, on the right bank of the Kirtle Water, probably dates from the 1570s, and seems to have led a less torrid time in the years following than its neighbour, Bonshaw Castle. However it probably ceased to be occupied in the 18th century, and a large part of it collapsed in 1831; the remains were stabilised, 40 years later. The rectangular tower had dimensions 9.6 X 7m, with walls up to 1.7m thick. The layout was conventional with a vaulted basement below a hall, and there were two floors with private rooms above that. Footings of a barmkin wall can be seen. The photograph, taken from the south-east, shows the surviving north wall, with short adjuncts at its east and west corners.

GW1. Auchenskeoch Castle is in a farm steading beside the B793, 9 km south-east of Dalbeattie. The castle was built in the later years of the 16th century, by the Lindsays, and passed to various families, before it was demolished in the 19th century. From what remains, it seems likely to have been Z-shaped, with round towers at diagonally opposite corners. The one to the north-west which is shown in the photograph, is 4.4m in diameter and survives to a height of 6.5m. The wall shown in the photograph was along the north side of the main block, and is still 11.2m long; there was probably a hall and chamber above cellars, and maybe a kitchen, with chambers in the roof space. Unfortunately the view obtainable from the nearby road is poor.

GW2. Buittle Castle is 1½km west of Dalbeattie, across the River Urr on its right bank. The first castle built in the early 13th century succeeded one on the Motte of Urr a kilometre to the north; it may have been started by Alan, Lord of Galloway or Devorgilla, one of his 3 daughters who married John de Balliol. On the ditched mound at the south-east of the site, their stone castle was a rectangle of dimensions 45 X 35m with a curtain wall; there was a large bailey to the north-west. At each corner, and midway along the long sides of the enclosure was a round tower, and there was an arched gateway protected by towers of diameter, 8m, and a drawbridge, next to the northernmost riverside tower. Their son became King of Scotland in 1292, but was overthrown 4 years later because of his subservience to King Edward I of England. This placed the castle in the front line, and it was destroyed, rebuilt and destroyed again, during the wars which followed. After the death of King Robert the Bruce, Edward Balliol, grandson of Devorgilla claimed the crown but as a vassal of the King of England, and came very close to gaining it on a number of occasions in the next 25 years. He was able to base himself at Buittle, and probably erected buildings in the castle bailey. Eventually the castle was taken by the Douglases, and then given to the Maxwells; in the late-16th century, a tower was erected to the west of the old site but it fell into disrepair in the 18th century and although it has been `restored it now bears little resemblance to its original form, so is not considered here. The aerial photograph locates the motte on the upper left with the bailey below, while the restored tower is on the right, the lower photograph show fragments of the 13th century castle which have survived.

GW3. Cardoness Castle is on a rocky outcrop north of the A75, on the southern outskirts of Gatehouse of Fleet. The castle was built by a family called McCulloch in the late 15th century. They held the property until the early 17th century, but then had to mortgage it to a family by the name of Gordon. Later in the century, a feud between the two parties led to the shooting of a Gordon, and the execution of the guilty McCulloch in 1697. By then it seems that the castle was deserted, and it decayed until the 1920s when its then owners gave it into state care. The tower, viewed from the east in the photograph, is rectangular of dimensions 13.1 X 9.7m, and had 6 storeys including an attic, and there was a wall- walk. The lowest floor was, as normal used for storage, but among other rooms was a prison on the 2nd floor, the hall was above that, and there were bedrooms on the floors above. It seems that cellars hinted at in the photograph were added to the south and west creating a platform on which there was at one stage a barmkin, but only the railed platform survives now.

GW4. Carsluith Castle is between the A75 and the Solway Firth, 10½km south-west of Gatehouse of Fleet. The lands of Carsluith were held by the Cairns family until 1460, when they passed to James Lindsay of Fairgirth, who was probably the builder of the main tower at Carsluith in c1500.The castle then passed, to the Browns of Carsluith who added to the castle, building the stair tower on the north side in the 1560s. The family emigrated to India in 1748, and the castle has not been occupied since. In the early 19th century, new farm buildings were built on to the castle, forming a U-plan steading which remains. The castle comprises a main tower 9.8 X 7.6m, and a later stair tower, built on to the north east. The main tower is c10m high to the eaves, above are crow-step gables, with corbelled wall walks along the gable ends; 3 of the corners have round turrets. The vaulted basement is divided into two cellars, with gun loops in the walls. Above is the hall with windows and a fireplace. Another floor would have had bedrooms, with an attic at the wall walk level, although these floors have gone. The photograph was taken from the north.

GW6. Castle of Park is prominently situated overlooking the valley of the Water of Luce, 13½km south-east of Stranraer. At the time of the Reformation, the estate of Park was acquired by Thomas Hay, Commendator of Glenluce Abbey; the tower was built for his son in the mid-16th century. The estate remained with the family until 1875. In the 18th century wings were added to the north-east and south- east sides of the tower; these have now been removed, and later in the 20th century the tower was refurbished. It has dimensions 13.3 X 7.6m, with 4 storeys and a garret; the roof is slated, with crow- stepped gables. The stair tower to the south-east was added in 1590. The ground floor is subdivided into two barrel vaulted compartments and a kitchen, with a service corridor on the east. The 1st floor hall was served by a mural chamber on its north side, and a private stair led to the rooms on the floors above. The photograph is taken from the north-east.

GW7. Castle Stewart is beside the A714, 5km north-west of Newton Stewart. It dates from c1500, when the estate was named Calcruchie, and it acquired the present name, after being purchased by Colonel William Stewart in the 17th century; he also founded the town of Newton Stewart. In the 18th century the castle and estate were purchased by William Douglas, who changed the name of the nearby town to Newton Douglas. The name-change proved temporary, and the castle estate also returned to a Stewart in the 19th century. The tower house may have been deserted in the late 18th century, but ancillary buildings, including a kitchen, now reduced to traces, probably survived until replaced by a modern house. The tower has dimensions, 9.1 X 8.6m with walls 1.4m thick, and is 12m high up to the corbels which once supported a parapet. The basement was not vaulted, but otherwise the layout was conventional with a hall on the 2nd floor. The rather unsatisfactory photograph, taken from some distance to the east, does show the rounded north corner and the interior of the south-west wall.

GW8. Corsewall Castle is in a field near the northern tip of the Rhinns of Galloway peninsula, 13½km north-west of Stranraer. A branch of the Stewart clan owned the property from the 14th century, but the castle was built a century later. Little more than the vaulted basement remains, but from it the dimensions, 12.8 X 10.2m above walls 2.4m thick can be estimated. It may have had 3 storeys and was most likely ordered conventionally with a hall above the basement, and below private rooms. It has no known history, save that it was ruined by the late 17th century. The photograph is a view from the east.

GW9. Cruggleton Castle is on a clifftop promontory, 5km north-east of Whithorn. There are earthworks linked to Iron Age use of the site, when a timber round house occupied the highest point. A second phase of occupation dates to perhaps the 8th century, when a rectangular timber hall within a palisade were erected on the summit, and similar structures may have occupied the site until the 13th century. In 1235 Devorgilla, daughter of Alan , Lord of Galloway, and her husband John Balliol of Barnard Castle became rulers of the powerful lordship and refortified the castle with a stone curtain wall and tower of dimensions 15 X 9m. By 1289, when it was captured by King Edward I of England, there were reportedly 8 towers requiring lead for their roofs. In 1313 it was captured by King Robert the Bruce, and it is likely that the castle was destroyed by the Scots. In c1400, the Douglases refortified the castle with a vaulted stone tower of dimensions 9.4 x 8.6m; it is cellars of that tower which probably survive and are shown in the photograph, though earlier origins cannot be ruled out. A drawing of c1563 shows the tower, curtain wall, battlements, and buildings within, as well as a defence along the outer ditch causeway area; by this time it was held by Stewarts. After changing hands a few times more it was described as ruinous in 1680.

GW10. Drumcoltran Tower is in a farm steading beside the A711, 13km south-west of Dumfries. It was built by Edward Maxwell, a younger son of Lord Maxwell, in the 1550s. In later centuries, the tower had various owners, and continued to be occupied until c1900, so remained roofed, though the upper floors collapsed, before it passed into state hands. The tower is rectangular with dimensions 10.2 X 8m, and is 12.5m high to a wall walk. The ground floor comprises a vaulted room originally used for storage and from the 1700s also home to the kitchen, complete with fireplace. The windows in the ground floor today would have compromised the defensive effectiveness of the tower house and were only added later in the tower's life. As originally built the first floor was a single room, used as the hall, though it was divided into three rooms in the 1800s. Though the second and third floors no longer exist, remains of the fireplaces on the higher levels of the wall show that the second floor was divided into two rooms. The castle was, for much of its life, physically connected to a house immediately to its south- west, but the connection was removed in 1990 when the house was reduced to a single storey shed. The photograph is a view from the south-east.

GW11. Dunskey Castle is on a steep- sided cliff-top promontory that juts out into the Irish Sea, 1km south of Portpatrick, and 9½km south-west of Stranraer in the Rhinns. The Adair family owned the land from the early 14th century, and they probably built the first castle here of which no trace remains saving perhaps a ditch cutting of the headland. This castle was attacked and burnt in 1489, but was rebuilt in the early-16th century by Ninian Adair. The new castle was a 3-storey L-plan tower house, with a main block of dimensions 11.2 X 6m over walls 1.3m thick. The layout was largely conventional with cellars and probably a kitchen below a hall with private rooms above and a stairway in the wing jutting out to the south-west. A barmkin (curtain wall) ran around the perimeter of the promontory enclosing all the ancillary buildings and included a watch tower. The castle was purchased by Hugh, Viscount Montgomery in 1620 and he extended the main block north-westwards by 16.6m by adding a 2-storey block containing a gateway with a gallery above. His grandson was a Royalist during the Civil Wars and lost this and other properties; his financial ruin allowing tenants called Blair to purchase the Dunskey property but they obtained others so the castle was abandoned soon afterwards and in 1684 it was reported as ruinous.

GW12. Edingham Castle is at the junction of the B793 with the A711, just north of Dalbeattie. The tower house was built by the Livingstones of Little Airds in c1570, and passed from them to the Afflecks in 1660. They reduced it in height from 4 to 3 storeys in the 18th century, and it probably became ruinous early in the next century. As built, it had dimensions 8.6 X 7.2m, with walls c1m thick; there was a vaulted basement, divided in 2, with a hall above. No doubt, the upper storeys were private rooms, and all floors were reached by an entrance at the north-west, and a spiral stair. The photograph was taken from the B793 to the south; the low wall is not an early structure.

GW13. Galdenoch Castle is beside a farm steading in the Rhinns, 9½km north-west of Stranraer. It is thought to have been built by Gilbert Agnew in the first half of the 16th century. It was a small L-shaped tower, with the main block of dimensions 6.95 X 4.4m over walls 1.15m thick, and had 3 principal storeys and a garret The layout was conventional with a vaulted ground floor, presumably a cellar, a chamber, small for a hall, above, and private rooms in the upper storey and garret. The entrance was in the re-entrant angle and gave access to each floor by a turnpike- stair rising within the wing, though a mural stair gave independent access to one of the 2nd-floor chambers. The tower was completed by crow-stepped gables, a corbelled bartizan and a cap-house, if there was a barmkin, no trace remains. It would seem unlikely from its condition that the castle was occupied beyond the 18th century though I believe it housed farm animals on the ground floor much more recently. The photograph was taken from the south-east.

GW14. Hills Tower is beside a farm steading, east of Lochrutton Loch, and 7km south-west of Dumfries. The tower was built by Edward Maxwell soon after 1528, and now adjoins a house built in 1721 adjoining it to the east, and replacing a wing built not long after the tower. To the north there is a barmkin with a mainly-modern wall, but with a small gateway built in the last years of the 16th century. The tower has dimensions of 9 X 7.4m with walls 1.3m thick, is of height 13.9m to the top of the parapet. As per normal there is a vaulted basement with a hall above and bedrooms on each of the top 2 floors. The hall seems to have been modified by replacing windows but otherwise left as built, and was probably occupied well into the 20th century though it is empty now, and some of the floors are in a dangerous condition. The photograph is a view from the south, while the drawing which shows the barmkin and gateway is of a view from the north- west.

GW15. MacLellan’s Castle is in the centre of Kirkcudbright. It was built on the site of a Franciscan Friary obtained by Sir Thomas McLellan in 1569, using stone from a predecessor castle in the town, though there is doubt as to whether it was completed. The family was impoverished by their participation in the Civil War, and although they continued to reside there for another century, decay set in. Eventually in 1752 it was sold and the roof was removed. It is probably surprising that it did not suffer further depredations, but it remained reasonably intact until taken into state care in 1912. In spite of its name it was never a true castle, but an L-shaped mansion, albeit that enough provision was made for its defence for it to be described as fortified. It had 4 storeys with the hall on the 1st floor of the larger arm to the north-west, a kitchen and storerooms below, and bedrooms above. The entrance was in the angle of the 2 arms, and there was also a tower containing private rooms at the south-east end of the larger arm. The photograph is a view from the west.

GW16. Orchardton Tower is beside a farm steading, 6km south-west of Dalbeattie. The round tower and its ancillary buildings were erected by John Cairns in c1460. A member of the Maxwell clan obtained possession in 1615, and descendants lived there until a new house was built nearby in the 1760s. The tower was maintained in good order externally, though floors collapsed, and the ancillary buildings to its east fell into ruin; it is now a Historic Scotland property. There is no other such round tower in Scotland. Its external diameter is 9m at the base tapering slightly over its height of 11m to the top of the corbel-supported parapet. The walls are thick, up to 2.7m thick at basement level, though only 1.5m thick at the top; a spiral staircase in the wall gave access to the 2 upper storeys and the roof walk. The vaulted basement is rectangular, but the other rooms are circular; obviously the space available is very limited. Ancillary buildings to the east comprised cellars below, and a hall above, though there is no evidence of a protective barmkin wall. The photograph was taken from the east, and shows the ruined ancillary buildings in front of the tower.

GW17. Plunton Castle is 3km north-west of the village of Borgue, and 7km west of Kirkcudbright. Though I was able to see it in the distance, confusion between minor roads meant that I was unable to get close enough to photograph it, so the view from the east, taken from the internet will have to suffice. It is normally attributed to the Lennox family in the middle of the 16th century, and was probably inhabited until the 18th century, after which it decayed to its present condition. Its dimensions were 9.1 X 6.4m, with walls 1m thick, and it is 10m high. There are 2 vaulted cellars in the basement, with a hall above, and living quarters in the upper 2 floors; there are traces of ancillary buildings which presumably included a kitchen.

GW18. Rusco Castle is beside the B796, 6km north of Gatehouse of Fleet. It was built by Robert Gordon in the early years of the 16th century, at around the time he succeeded to the Lordship of Lochinvar. The family remained in occupation until the 1940s, but the tower was then unroofed and began to decay before it was restored as a private residence in the 1980s. It has dimensions, 11.9 X 9.1m, and has 5 storeys, including an attic within the parapet carried on two rows of corbels. There is a vaulted basement, with a sleeping loft under its roof, a hall above, and with private rooms on the upper floors. An extension was added to the north in the 17th century, and ruins of it remain though they cannot be seen in the photograph taken from the south.

GW19. Sorbie Tower is on level ground c1.5km east of Sorbie village and 8km south of Wigtown. The name is said to denote a marsh, but there is little sign of that now. The castle, while possibly incorporating older work, dates mainly from c1590, and was built by Alexander Hannay. That family was much involved with feuds with neighbours which impoverished them and led to the sale of the property before 1670, to the Stewarts of Garlies. Their occupation ended in 1748, and the building was ruinous and ivy-covered until recent years when it was taken over by the Hannay clan body which began to refurbish it. Nearby is a mound which is thought to have been the motte of a much earlier castle, dated by pottery to c1250. The castle is an L-shaped building, with a main block of dimensions, 12.5 X 7.2m, rising to 3 storeys and with an attic. The wing is a storey higher, topped by a gabled watch-chamber, but there is neither parapet nor walk. A stair-turret rises from the entrance within the re-entrant angle to from 1st floor level upwards. The door was defended by three draw-bars, the deep sockets of which remain. The basement consists of 4 vaulted rooms, including the kitchen with a large fireplace. The hall was on the first floor, and above was the sleeping accommodation. The photograph is a view from the north.

GW20. Stranraer Castle in the centre of the town is also known as the Castle of St. John because it stands on land which once was owned by the Knights Hospitallers. It was constructed for Ninian Adair of Kilhurst in c1510, but the property passed to the Kennedy family in the late-16th century and soon after Stranraer became a Royal Burgh. The castle came into the possession of Sir John Dalrymple of Stair in 1677 when he purchased the Kennedy estate, but his Covenanting sympathies led to its seizure by the crown. Dalrymple recovered it after 1688, becoming Earl of Stair after his now- infamous term as Scottish Secretary at the time of the Glencoe Massacre. Never their principle residence, they acquired a separate town-house during the 18th century, and sold the castle to the burgh in 1815, and it was converted into a prison. This use ceased in the 20th century when the castle was used only for storage; its condition deteriorated until it was restored in 1988-89 and opened to the public in 1990. The original castle was a 4-storey tower house, of dimensions 10.6 X 8.6m with walls 1.7m thick. As was the norm for such a structure, the ground floor was vaulted and used for storage, a great hall was on the first floor and private rooms on the upper floors; above them was a wall walk. A barmkin enclosed associated buildings including stables, brew-house, bake-house and kitchen, and was walled to provide protection. The photograph is a view from the north.

GW21. Threave Castle is on an island in the River Dee, 2½km east of Castle Douglas. It was built in the 1370s by Sir Archibald Douglas, 'the Grim', later Earl of Douglas, after his elevation to the Lordship of Galloway in 1369. The castle remained with Archibald's descendants until 1455, when the then earl was exiled, and stripped of his Scottish properties by King James II; Threave Castle had been the last redoubt of the Douglases but was eventually captured and taken into crown ownership. It was granted to Lord Maxwell in 1526, but fell briefly into English hands in 1544, during the 'Rough Wooing' before being restored to the Maxwells, after the English defeat at the Battle of Ancrum Moor in 1545. The Maxwells remained Catholic during the Scottish Reformation and thereafter, and gave strong support to King Charles I in the lead-up to the Civil War; Threave Castle was besieged by a Covenanting force in 1640, and surrendered after a 13-week siege. It seems to have been sleighted but not rendered uninhabitable, because it was used as a prison in the Napoleonic War. However, it became ruinous over the next century, and was handed to the state in 1913. The tower house has dimensions,18.4 X12.1m with walls over 2m thick, and unusually the hall was on the 3rd floor with the kitchen, store rooms, and possibly a prison below, and private rooms on 2 floors above. The barmkin wall is close to the tower house, with towers at 3 corners, and part of it replaced an earlier hall block, and it protected a small harbour. The photograph is a view from the north.