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Castles in Dumfries and Galloway

Amisfield Tower

Amisfield Tower is a well-preserved tower house near Tinwald, about 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Dumfries, in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. The castle has also been known as Hempisfield Tower.

Annan Castle

Annan Castle was the home of the Lords of Annandale, the de Brus family (later known as the Bruce family), before they moved to Lochmaben Castle. The move occurred after the River Annan flooded and damaged the motte and bailey castle’s foundations. The move is thought to have taken place during the time of Robert de Brus, 2nd Lord of Annandale (Born 1138 – Died 1189 or 1194) and there is a legend attached to it.

Abbot’s Tower

Abbot’s Tower was originally a mid 16th century stone structure, founded by Cuthbert Brown. Built on church land which was sold to him in 1541, by his brother John Brown, abbot of Sweetheart Abbey. This structure was then converted into kitchens, when Cuthbert’s son John founded the L-plan tower house in the 1580s. Of three storeys and a garret, the stair-wing is crowned by a caphouse and the entrance and an upper corbelled-out stair-turret, are in the re-entrant angle. Originally to the west was a walled barmkin, with a courtyard paved with granite slabs but sadly there are no standing remains. With a first floor hall, above a basement, the fortress fell into disuse after it was sold out of the family in 1627 and in the 1990s, the ruined tower was restored, to make a stunning dwelling house. Nearby is Kirkconnel House.

Auchen Castle

Auchen Castle is a historic Scottish castle wedding destination in Moffat, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The castle has hosted celebrity guests such as the Beatles, Barbara Cartland and the King of Norway, and is a wedding venue which has attracted several celebrity weddings in recent years.[1] The 26 bedroom Castle has a private lake and falconry school.

The original castle dates back to 1220, built by Sir Humphrey de Kirkpatrick when he was Senestal of Annandale.The Kirkpatrick family was a close ally of Robert the Bruce and King Robert would have been entertained at Auchen Castle often.

Auchenrivock Tower

Auchenrivock Tower is a ruined late 16th Century tower house situated near Langholm, Dumfries and Galloway. The remains of the tower, which rise 8 feet at their highest, are currently built into a garden wall.An earlier stronghold of the Irvings of Eskdale, called Stakehugh, lay near the current site.

Auchenskeoch Castle

Auchenskeoch Tower is a 17th-century tower house situated in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. It is near Dalbeattie in the civil parish of Colvend and Southwick, in the county of Kirkcudbrightshire. It is thought to be built on a Z-plan, making it the only such tower in Galloway. Dalswinton Tower in Dumfriesshire is the only other example in Dumfries and Galloway. The remains of the tower are within the modern Castle Farm.

Baldoon Castle

Baldoon, located in The Macars, Wigtonshire, was amongst the Douglas properties forfeited to the crown when James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas, 3rd Earl of Avondale (1426–1488) was attainted in 1455. In 1533, a grant was made of a fue of the king’s grange of Baldoon to the sitting tenant, Archibald Dunbar, probably on the instigation of his brother, Archbishop Gavin Dunbar, the Chancellor.The ivy-covered ruins of Baldoon Castle lay just beyond the old gate(1). This historic castle was owned by the Dunbars of Westfield from 1533 to about 1800. Although the ruins are now deserted, you can still feel a heaviness of heart as you walk onto the castle grounds. The ghost of Janet Dalrymple Dunbar is reported to haunt the castle.

Balmangan Tower

Set in rural Kirkcudbright, Balmangan is a simple, ruinous 16th century tower house. It survives to first floor level though a century ago it stood higher.

A doorway leads to a vaulted basement; the upper levels accessed by a wheel staircase. The walls are of typical Galloway whinstone and would have been harled as was universal practice. There is a single horizontal dumb-bell gun loop.

Barclosh Castle

Baarclosh Castle

Part of the tower-house still survives, but in a fragmentary condition. Possibly associated with the McFergus or Maxwell families

Barclosh Castle is a ruined 16th-century tower house situated near Dalbeattie, Dumfries and Galloway. There remains a section of wall 4 feet thick and 27 feet high.

Barholm Castle

Barholm Castle is a traditional Scottish tower house situated 95m.(312 ft.) above sea level on a hillside overlooking Wigtown Bay and the Machars of Wigtownshire. It may have been constructed in several stages and consists of a rectangular tower with its earliest origins probably dating from the late 15th century and a later stair tower built on the NE side, probably late in the 16th century.While its history is not well documented, it is known that it was a stronghold of the local McCulloch family. It is reputed briefly to have been a hiding place in 1566 of the well known figure of the Scottish reformation John Knox (1514-1572).The castle fell into disuse and disrepair in the mid-18th century.

Barjarg Tower

Barjarg Tower is an L-plan tower house probably dating from 1680, four miles south-east of Penpont, Dumfriesshire, Scotland. It is attached to a 19th-century mansion.

The land appears to have been given to Thomas Grierson by the Earl of Morton in 1587. His son John Grierson and his wife Grizel Kilpatrick built the tower. Subsequent owners included the judge Lord Tinwald and the minister Andrew Hunter

Barscobe Castle

Barscobe Castle is a 17th-century tower house in Balmaclellan, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. It is a typical house of a country laird, and according to a panel above the entrance, was built in 1648. The L-plan tower was constructed using stone taken from Threave Castle. The main block is three storeys high with the stair wing one storey higher. The gables have a modification of crowsteps found only in Galloway. It is a fine example of a mid-17th-century house which was unoccupied for many years until 1971 when it was restored. It has a modern byre (barn) attached, which has been converted into a garage. Barscobe Castle is a category A listed building.[

Blackethouse Tower

Blacket-House, a ruined tower in Middlebie parish, Dumfriesshire, with the date 1404 and the initials W[illiam] B[ell] above its outer doorway. A Bell of Blacket-House was the rejected suitor and the murderer of ‘Fair Helen of Kirkconnel Lee.’

Blacklaw Tower

Blacklaw Tower is a ruinous oblong plan tower house near Moffat, Dumfriesshire, of which little remains to be seen.Latterly held by the Douglases of Fingland, one of whom wrote ‘Annie Laurie’.

Bonshaw Tower

Bonshaw Tower – the seat of the Irving family for nearly 900 years. A magnificent example of a Scottish Border Peel Tower built in the 16th Century.

Boreland Tower

Boreland Tower is in the parish of Eddleston and the county of Peeblesshire.

Breckonside Pele

Pele tower, Late 16th or early 17th century, Ruined, Near Moniaive

Breckonside Tower

Brekonside Tower

Breconside Tower is in the parish of Moffat and the county of Dumfriesshire.

Brydekirk Tower

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Buittle Castle

Amisfield Tower

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Caerlaverock Castle

Langholm Castle<

Langholm Castle sits in the fields across from here. It is owned by the Scotts of Buccleuch, but is cared for by the Clan Armstrong Trust. It was probably built by an Armstrong laird and it played a strategic role in keeping order in Eskdale. To their enemies, the reivers were robbers and raiders; to local rulers, they were often invaluable law enforcers. In 1544 Langholm castle was occupied by the English during the ‘Rough Wooing’, when Henry VIII of England tried to force a marriage between his son and Mary Queen of Scots. It was later retaken by the Scots after the firing of just seven shots.
‘On the border was the Armestronges – able men, somewhat unruly,
and very ill tae tame!’

Lochar Tower

Ruined tower near Bankend village (also known as Lochar Tower) probably built in the 17th Century. Three walls still stand and you can get a good view of the inside of what was once a fortified tower house. It is surrounded on 3 sides by Lochar Water but on unstable ground. Probably rebuilt 1622

Lochhouse Tower

Lochhouse Tower is a mid-16th-century tower house situated near Moffat, Dumfries and Galloway. It was restored in the late 1970s and is now used as a private residence.

Lochinch Castle

The second Lochmaben Castle was completed some time in the early 1300s, leaving Lochmaben Old Castle abandoned, and probably already stripped of much of its stone to help build its successor. Today only the motte of the old castle remains, as one of the greens of a golf course.

When completed the new Lochmaben Castle occupied a rectangular area some 170m long and 90m broad. This was raised a little above the rest of the promontory, much of which would have been covered by the loch. The castle design was complex and in some ways unique, and is very difficult to disentangle from the remains you see on the ground today.

Old Lochmaben Castle

MacLellan’s Castle is named after Sir Thomas MacLellan of Bombie (d. 1597). Sir Thomas was provost of Kirkcudbright and a powerful man in local politics. Following the Protestant Reformation in 1560, he acquired the site and buildings of the convent of Greyfriars, established in the town by James II in 1449, and set about building himself a new residence in its place. By 1582, MacLellan’s Castle was sufficiently complete for him to move in. Five years later, he and his second wife, Grissel, entertained their sovereign, James VI, in this spacious house.

Mellingshaw Tower

Amisfield Tower

Mellingshaw Tower is in the parish of Moffat and the county of Dumfriesshire.

Amisfield Tower

This most attractive example of a late 16th century Scottish tower house lies between Kirkcudbright and Gatehouse of Fleet on an isolated spot near the shores of Wigtown Bay in beautiful Galloway.

The castle is of typical L-plan, 3 storeys and an attic in height, vaulted, gun looped and with a wheel staircase in wing. It is built of random rubble with dressed openings. Attractive, corbelled rounds (or studies)

Raecleugh Tower

Amisfield Tower

Raecleugh Tower is in the parish of Moffat and the county of Dumfriesshire.

Repentance Tower

Standing on Trailtrow Hill, Repentance Tower formed part of a chain of defense posts which warned against English raiding parties who crossed the border.

This three-storey tower house was founded by Sir John Maxwell of Terregles in the mid 16th century.

In 1548 an English force challenged the Douglases at Durisdeer, who were under the charge of Sir John. The night before the battle, he had been bribed to change sides in exchange for the hand of Agnes Herries and the title Lord Herries. His treachery, however, cost the lives of 12 of his kinsmen, who had been held at Carlisle Castle as hostages, one of which was his 12-year-old nephew. Maxwell was said to have built the tower as a sign of his remorse.

Another version of the tale has it that Repentance Tower was so-called because Lord Herries built Hoddom Castle out of stones from Trailtrow Chapel.

Find out more about Repentance Tower >

Robgill Tower

Amisfield Tower

Robgill Tower is a romantic Scottish tower house near Lockerbie in Scotland dating from 1430 which has been ‘sympathetically maintained over the last six centuries’. The property is Category B listed, and has been refurbished, offering some outstanding accommodation there are wonderful period features throughout.

Rusko Castle

Amisfield Tower

Standing on a tree-clad hillside, Rusko Castle is an altered 15th century keep, to which has been added a long and lower 17th century wing, which was ruinous and has been demolished. The rectangular keep rises to three main storeys and a garret within a corbelled-out parapet. There is a gabled caphouse at one corner.

The entrance, through a lobby, leads to the turnpike stair and to the vaulted basement. The hall on the first floor is a large chamber with a fine moulded fireplace.

The property was held by the Cairns, but passed by marriage to the Gordons of Lochinvar early in the 16th century and they held it until the 20th century. The castle was inhabited until around 1930, but then it became roofless. It was restored in the 1970′s and is occupied.

Sanquhar Castle

Amisfield Tower

The remains of Sanquhar Castle lie on the southern edge of the town of Sanquhar, a couple of hundred yards south west of the A76 and close to a residential street. You can see the castle from the main road, and the ruins are also passed by the Southern Upland Way long distance path en route into the town.

Sanquhar Castle is a sad and neglected place, but also a strangely fascinating one. There are no direction signs showing you how to get there, and no information on view once you arrive. Some of the stonework seems only vaguely attached to the rest, and what looks like fresh rubble suggests that bits do fall off from time to time. There are also a number of unprotected precipices, especially near the spiral staircase in the keep.

Sorbie Tower

Sorbie Tower lies in Wigtownshire, about a mile out of the village of Sorbie on the Garlieston road (B7052). It is situated close to an artificial defensive mound, known as the “Sorbie Motte” which was the site of an earlier pictish wooden fort dating from the 1100′s. It is hidden in heavy tree cover and is easy to miss. The visitor approaches the tower up an unmade track through damp, marshy ground (wear strong boots!), hence the origins of the ‘Sorbie’ name (” a dwelling amongst swamps…”). The tower certainly is an imposing sight when it appears around the corner at the last moment.
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Threave Castle

Amisfield Tower

On an island in the River Dee stands Threave Castle, a massive 14th century tower built by Archibald the Grim, Lord of Galloway.

The stronghold of the Black Douglases, it has at its base an artillery fortification built before 1455 when James II besieged the castle.

Tibber’s Castle or Mote de Tibris

Amisfield Tower

The ruins of Tibber’s Castle lie on the west bank of the River Nith, within the estate of Drumlanrig Castle. The site is 2 miles north of Thornhill, Dumfries and Galloway, south west Scotland. It occupied a key site, defending Nithsdale, one of the main potential invasion routes into Scotland, and as such played an important role in the Scottish Wars of Independence. The remains of Roman roads and temporary camps lie nearby, suggesting that the strategic importance of Nithsdale had been long recognised.

The castle was begun by Sir Richard Siward, Sheriff of Dumfries in the late 13th century. It was built on an earlier motte, known as “Mote de Tibris”. In the 1290s the Siwards supported Edward I of England in his invasion of Scotland. Edward himself stayed here in 1298 following his victory at the Battle of Falkirk, and in 1302 he granted £100 for strengthening works to the castle.

Torthorwald Castle

Amisfield Tower

Torthorwald Castle is a 12th century earthwork motte and bailey fortress, founded by the de Torthorwald family. In the late 14th or early 15th century, William de Carleil founded the stone castle when crowning the motte with a rectangular keep. The basement and first floor hall of the keep are vaulted and in south-west and north-east corners are spiral stairs that give access between the floors. The motte is encased by ramparts and wet ditches and a curtain wall formed an enceinte, which was flanked on the south-west angle by a round tower. The castle was still bring occupied in the early 18th century and to the south is a plough damaged, trapezoidal bailey. 5 miles south-west is Dumfries Castle and 5 miles north-east is Lochmaben Castle.

Wigtown Castle

Amisfield Tower

Wigtown Castle was a royal castle that was located on the banks of the River Bladnoch, south of Wigtown in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.

A castle was built in the 12th century. Robert de Brus, 5th Lord of Annandale captured the castle in 1286. The castle was handed over to King Edward I of England in 1291 by Sir Walter de Corrie, the governor of the castle. Richard Siward became the governor of the castle in 1292, being replaced by Henry de Percy in 1296, and John de Hodlest in 1297. The castle was captured by Sir William Wallace in 1297. Adam Gordon became the governor in 1297. King Robert the Bruce captured the castle after 1313 and it appears to have been demolished.

Wreaths Tower

Amisfield Tower

A much-ruined tower house situated at the roadside a quarter-mile (0.5 km) southeast of Mainsriddle and 8 miles (13 km) east southeast of Dalbeattie in S Dumfries and Galloway, Wreaths Tower was built in the 16th century for the Earls of Morton. Only the southeast corner of the structure survives, although the walls still rise to a considerable height and show the remains of a turnpike stair.