Cavers Castle

Last updated

Cavers Castle
Cavers, Scottish Borders, Scotland
Castles Castle exterior.jpg
Ruins of Cavers House, which incorporates parts of former castle.
Coordinates 55°25′51″N2°43′39″W / 55.43085°N 2.72739°W / 55.43085; -2.72739
Site information
ConditionRuined

Cavers Castle, also known as Cavers House, is a ruined tower house located at Cavers, Scottish Borders, Scotland. [1] Cavers Castle was a much extended tower house of the Douglas family dating back to the 15th or 16th century, and built upon the site of an earlier stronghold of the Balliols. It was repeatedly attacked during the 16th century wars with England, and substantially remodelled in the 17th century to form a mansion house, itself extended and remodelled in baronial style by Peddie and McKay in the 1890s. It was eventually deroofed and partially demolished in the 1950s, and was sold most recently in 2019. There are developing plans to restore the building, which is a listed building. [2]

Contents

History

The lay lands and barony of Cavers first appear in the hands of the Balliol family in 1268, when Alexander de Balliol of Cavers is first mentioned in documents. [3] The church lands of Cavers, by comparison, were held by Jedburgh Abbey from early in the reign of King William the Lion. [4]

During the Scottish Wars of Independence, Alexander Balliol of Cavers was captured – perhaps at Dunbar in 1296, and in return for his release fought for King Edward I of England from 1297, [5] although the English kept his son in the Tower of London as insurance for his good behaviour. [6] In 1311 the castle was occupied by an English garrison, [7] but there are no mentions of it after the fall of Jedburgh Castle to the Scots in 1314. The English presentation of a priest to Cavers church in 1319 suggests the area remained subject to English authority. [8] A safe conduct was issued at Cavers by James Douglas in 1321 to permit a group of English cavalry to enter Scotland, but the castle is not specifically mentioned. [9] In 1358 Cavers was held by the Earl of Mar, [10] the Balliols having been forfeited of their estates for their opposition to the regime of Robert the Bruce. [11] In 1368 the Earl of Douglas, elsewhere at this date styled lord of the barony of Cavers [12] was granted lands in the barony of Cavers in a document signed there, [13] indicating that the buildings of a baronial centre of sorts had been erected there by this date. In 1397, Cavers was in the hands of Isabel, Countess of Mar, [14] the niece of Earl Thomas, and in the early 15th century, she granted the lands and barony of Cavers to her nephew, Archibald Douglas, [15] the younger of the two illegitimate sons of James, Earl of Douglas. [16] This was disputed by King Robert III, who granted them to Sir David Fleming of Biggar, [17] as well as by George Douglas, Earl of Angus, [17] who had been granted the rights of Cavers held by Sir James Sandilands. [17] Archibald had his grant confirmed by King James I in 1412, [18] and became heritable Sheriff of Roxburgh/Teviotdale [19] – these two titles were used interchangeably.

Mid-13th-century piscina at the castle Cavers Castle piscina.jpg
Mid-13th-century piscina at the castle

Given the general context of baronial castle building in Scotland and the Borders at this time, and the wealth and status of the Balliols, one might expect a ditched manorial centre, which may have been built, and defended, partially in timber. [20] However, nothing remains today of the castle which can be conclusively identified as pre-dating the Douglas period of ownership. Although a mid-13th-century piscina [21] has been built into the tower, it was set in place with cement, dating this event firmly to the late 19th or early 20th century.

Again, given the general context, it is likely that Archibald (last mentioned in 1455) was the builder of the tower house which formed the core of the castle up until its demolition in the 1950s. On the basis of general style, the tower is dated to the 15th or early 16th century, and the “castrum” of Cavers is first mentioned in a charter of 1511. [21]

William Douglas of Cavers was "well-beloved" by James III, and he and his followers fought for James III at the battle of Sauchieburn on 11 June 1488, St Barnabas day. They were forgiven by his victorious son James IV. [22] A charter of 1509 mentions that William Douglas of Cavers had been killed resisting the English. [23] James IV made the castle and lands of Cavers a free barony in August 1511 for Sir James Douglas (d. 1545). [24] In 1523 Teviotdale was attacked by the English with its strongholds described as overthrown, [25] and again in 1542. [26]

Cavers was burnt in June 1542 by English raiders led by Jak of Musgay and Little John Heron, who burnt lands and stole goods on the Caill Water and in Teviotdale. [27] In March 1543 Regent Arran forgave Walter Scott of Branxholme who had been accused in 1535 of burning Cavers and Denholm with the English border warden Lord Dacre and Christopher Dacre. [28]

During the war known as the Rough Wooing the tower of Cavers or its farm was burnt by Lord Hertford in September 1545. [29] In 1547, after the battle of battle of Pinkie, William Douglas of Cavers (the sixth laird) swore allegiance to King Edward VI along with the Kerr lairds of Ferniehirst and Cessford. [30] The English journalist of the war, William Patten, wrote that the Laird of Cavers gave his oath of assurance to the Duke of Somerset on 23 September 1547 at Roxburgh Castle, with many other lairds of Teviotdale and the marches. [31]

The lairds of Cavers are not prominent in records at this time, being overshadowed by the Kerr Wardens of the Middle March, whose authority was military and cross-border. The domestic authority of the sheriff was perhaps less important. The tower house remained a significant building, being depicted as a tall tower, barmkin wall and ancillary courtyard buildings on Pont's map of 1590 – 1600. [32] From the disbanding of the guard on the border by King James VI in 1621, [33] any remaining military function the castle may have had ceased, and from this date onwards it served primarily as the residence of the Douglas lairds.

In January 1570 Richard Norton and his son Francis, English exiles from Naworth after the Rising of the North found a refuge at Cavers. [34] In the 1580s, Robert Douglas of Cavers was Gentleman of Horse to Archibald Douglas, 8th Earl of Angus. [35] James VI and I made a return visit to Scotland in 1617. He rode from Dunglass Castle to Cavers on 14 May 1617. [36] While the king was at Cavers, he knighted William Fenwick of Northumberland. [37]

Sir William Douglas, ninth laird of Cavers, surrendered his hereditary office of Sheriff of Roxburghshire to the crown in 1626 for £20,000 Scots. [38] He was a supporter of the National Covenant, [39] and the Hawick Covenant, which he signed in 1638, was kept at Cavers. [40] Development of the castle after 1603 is as yet unclear, but it is clear that the estate, like many others suffered financially during the latter 17th and first half of the 18th century. The family also failed to flourish, with the 12th, 14th, 15th, and 16th lairds all being succeeded by brothers, and the 17th laird by a cousin. [41] The last of the direct male Douglas line died in 1878. [42] The military map drawn up by General William Roy of c1750 shows that the house was the centre of a large estate, but was not surrounded by much in the way of formal gardens. [43] The earliest photographs of Cavers House show that it had been much extended by the late 19th century, when the Palmer Douglas family had become lairds, [42] and domesticized to have the appearance of a large house, the old tower being completely subsumed. At this time the house was often leased out to guests along with shooting rights, [44] the family themselves preferring to reside at Midgard House from 1863. [44] Amongst people known to have worked at the house during the 19th century was the botanist John Scott, who served his horticultural apprenticeship at Cavers. [45]

In the 1890s, the house was remodelled in grand baronial style, [21] which was undoubtedly a further burden to a struggling estate, but the impact of both World Wars was substantial, and according to family records Archibald Palmer Douglas returned to Cavers House from Midgard in the 1940s, which was provided with electricity in 1946 for the first time. [44] He died the following year, and his son James factored the estate on behalf of his grandmother until 1949. [44] Death duties resulted in the estate being broken up, and although James attempted to sell the house, he could not find a buyer, and after being deroofed, the house was used for explosives practice in 1954 [21] before being sold off along with the rest of the broken-up estate. The old tower survives as a shell along with part of the attached mansion.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton</span> Regent of Scotland during the minority of King James VI

James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton was a Scottish nobleman. He played a leading role in the murders of Queen Mary's confidant, David Rizzio, and king Henry Darnley. He was one of the last of the four regents of Scotland during the minority of James VI and I. He was in some ways the most successful of the four, since he won the civil war that had been dragging on with the supporters of the exiled Mary, Queen of Scots. However, he came to an unfortunate end, executed by means of the Maiden, a predecessor of the guillotine.

William Sinclair (1410–1480), 1st Earl of Caithness (1455–1476), last Earl (Jarl) of Orkney, 2nd Lord Sinclair and 11th Baron of Roslin was a Norwegian and Scottish nobleman and the builder of Rosslyn Chapel, in Midlothian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl of Morton</span> Scottish peerage title

The title Earl of Morton was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1458 for James Douglas of Dalkeith. Along with it, the title Lord Aberdour was granted. This latter title is the courtesy title for the eldest son and heir to the Earl of Morton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl of Angus</span> Scottish peerage

The Mormaer or Earl of Angus was the ruler of the medieval Scottish province of Angus. The title, in the Peerage of Scotland, is held by the Duke of Hamilton, and is used as a courtesy title for the eldest son of the Duke's eldest son.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus</span> Scottish nobleman

Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus was a Scottish nobleman, peer, politician, and magnate. Tradition has accorded him the nickname Archibald 'Bell-the-Cat' due to his association with the 1482 rebellion against James III of Scotland. He became one of the most powerful nobleman in Scotland through his influential position on the Scottish Marches, and a willingness to be involved in multiple rebellions in the reigns of James III and James IV of Scotland.

Sir James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas and Mar was an influential and powerful magnate in the Kingdom of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl of Douglas</span> Scottish title

This page is concerned with the holders of the forfeit title Earl of Douglas and the preceding feudal barons of Douglas, South Lanarkshire. The title was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1358 for William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, son of Sir Archibald Douglas, Guardian of Scotland. The Earldom was forfeited by James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas, in 1455.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Erskine, Earl of Mar (died 1572)</span> Scottish noble

John Erskine, 1st Earl of Mar was a Scottish aristocrat and politician. He was the custodian of the infant James VI of Scotland and Regent of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Sutherland</span> Highland Scottish clan

Clan Sutherland also known as House of Sutherland is a Highland Scottish clan whose traditional territory is the shire of Sutherland in the far north of Scotland. The chief of the clan was also the powerful Earl of Sutherland, however in the early 16th century this title passed through marriage to a younger son of the chief of Clan Gordon. The current chief is Alistair Sutherland who holds the title Earl of Sutherland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Sinclair</span> Highland Scottish clan

Clan Sinclair is a Highland Scottish clan which holds the lands of Caithness, the Orkney Islands, and the Lothians. The chiefs of the clan were the Barons of Roslin and later the Earls of Orkney and Earls of Caithness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Murray</span> Highland Scottish clan

Clan Murray is a Highland Scottish clan. The chief of the Clan Murray holds the title of Duke of Atholl. Their ancestors were the Morays of Bothwell who established the family in Scotland in the 12th century. In the 16th century, descendants of the Morays of Bothwell, the Murrays of Tullibardine, secured the chiefship of the clan and were created Earls of Tullibardine in 1606. The first Earl of Tullibardine married the heiress to the Stewart earldom of Atholl and Atholl therefore became a Murray earldom in 1626. The Murray Earl of Atholl was created Marquess of Atholl in 1676 and in 1703 it became a dukedom. The marquess of Tullibardine title has continued as a subsidiary title, being bestowed on elder sons of the chief until they succeed him as Duke of Atholl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archibald Douglas, 3rd Earl of Douglas</span> Medieval Scottish nobleman from the House of Douglas

Archibald Douglas, Earl of Douglas and Wigtown, Lord of Galloway, Douglas and Bothwell, called Archibald the Grim or Black Archibald, was a late medieval Scottish nobleman. Archibald was the bastard son of Sir James "the Black" Douglas, Robert I's trusted lieutenant, and an unknown mother. A first cousin of William 1st Earl of Douglas, he inherited the earldom of Douglas and its entailed estates as the third earl following the death without legitimate issue of James 2nd Earl of Douglas at the Battle of Otterburn.

Sir Archibald Douglas was a Scottish nobleman, Guardian of Scotland, and military leader. He is sometimes given the epithet "Tyneman", but this may be a reference to his great-nephew Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas. He fought and died at the Battle of Halidon Hill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William the Hardy, Lord of Douglas</span> Scottish nobleman and soldier

Sir William Douglas "le Hardi", Lord of Douglas was a Scottish nobleman and soldier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Haldane</span> Lowland Scottish clan

Clan Haldane is a Lowland Scottish clan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Douglas, Lord of Liddesdale</span> Scottish nobleman and soldier

Sir William Douglas, Lord of Liddesdale, also known as the Knight of Liddesdale and the Flower of Chivalry, was a Scottish nobleman and soldier active during the Second War of Scottish Independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Bailloch</span> Earl of Menteith jure uxoris

Walter Bailloch, also known as Walter Bailloch Stewart, was distinguished by the sobriquet Bailloch or Balloch, a Gaelic nickname roughly translated as "the freckled". He was the Earl of Menteith jure uxoris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cavers, Scottish Borders</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Cavers is a parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the former county of Roxburghshire, south and east of Hawick. The largest village in the parish is Denholm.

Sir Archibald Douglas of Kilspindie, also known as Greysteil, was a Scottish nobleman and courtier, who served as Treasurer of Scotland, and was three times Provost of Edinburgh.

John Erskine, 3rd Earl of Mar was a Scottish landowner.

References

  1. ↑ Coventry, Martin (2015). The castles of Scotland : a comprehensive guide to more than 4,100 castles, towers, historic houses, stately homes and family lands (Fifth ed.). Prestonpans, Scotland. p. 28. ISBN   978-1-899874-55-2. OCLC   894611322.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "Cavers House (LB2051)".
  3. ↑ Dryburgh Liber, no 136
  4. ↑ RRS iii, no 150
  5. ↑ Brown, Michael (2004). The wars of Scotland, 1214–1371. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 193. ISBN   0-7486-1237-8. OCLC   55698013.
  6. ↑ Bain, Calendar (3); p25
  7. ↑ CDS iii, no 218
  8. ↑ Bain, Calendar (3); p123
  9. ↑ Bain, Calendar (3); p148
  10. ↑ Jack, Katy Samantha (2016). Decline and fall: the earls and earldom of Mar c.1281–1513 (PhD thesis). University of Stirling., chapter 7.
  11. ↑ Penman, Michael A. (2014). Robert the Bruce: King of Scots. New Haven. pp. 151–152. ISBN   978-0-300-14872-5. OCLC   871689437.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  12. ↑ Jack, Katy Samantha (2016). Decline and fall: the earls and earldom of Mar c.1281–1513 (PhD thesis). University of Stirling., p. 294, chapter 15.
  13. ↑ Robertson, Joseph; Grub, George (1847–1869). Illustrations of the topography and antiquities of the shires of Aberdeen and Banff. Vol. iv. Spalding Club. p. 160.
  14. ↑ Jack, Katy Samantha (2016). Decline and fall: the earls and earldom of Mar c.1281–1513 (PhD thesis). University of Stirling. p. 141.
  15. ↑ Jack, Katy Samantha (2016). Decline and fall: the earls and earldom of Mar c.1281-1513 (PhD thesis). University of Stirling., p. 174.
  16. ↑ Brown, Michael (1998). The Black Douglases : war and lordship in late Medieval Scotland, 1300–1455. East Linton, East Lothian, Scotland: Tuckwell Press. p. 109. ISBN   1-86232-036-5. OCLC   39914022.
  17. 1 2 3 Jack, Katy Samantha (2016). Decline and fall: the earls and earldom of Mar c.1281–1513 (PhD thesis). University of Stirling., p. 175.
  18. ↑ Historical Manuscripts Commission, 7th Report, 727
  19. ↑ Bannatyne Club (1850), Publications, issue 97, volume 1; p336
  20. ↑ Brown, Michael (2009). Scottish baronial castles, 1250–1450. Hook, Adam. Oxford: Osprey Pub. pp. 4–5. ISBN   978-1-84603-286-8. OCLC   233939494.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Historic Environment Scotland. "Cavers House (55298)". Canmore . Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  22. ↑ HMC 7th Report: J. Douglas (London, 1879), p. 729.
  23. ↑ Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1908), p. 285 no. 1862.
  24. ↑ HMC 7th Report: J. Douglas (London, 1879), p. 730.
  25. ↑ Morton, James (1832). The Monastic Annals of Teviotdale. p. 26.
  26. ↑ Morton, James (1832). The Monastic Annals of Teviotdale. p. 99.
  27. ↑ Robert Kerr Hannay, Acts of the Lords of Council, 1501 to 1554 (Edinburgh, 1932), p. 534.
  28. ↑ The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707, K.M. Brown et al eds (St Andrews, 2007–2021), 1543/12/44. Date accessed: 10 February 2021.
  29. ↑ David Laing, 'Account of the Earl of Hertford's Second Expedition to Scotland', PSAS, pp. 274, 277: Samuel Haynes, Collection of State Papers (London, 1740), p. 53.
  30. ↑ Douglas, George (1899). A History of the Border Counties. William Blackwood and Sons. p. 289.
  31. ↑ Albert Frederick Pollard, Tudor Tracts (London, 1903), p. 147.
  32. ↑ "[Nithsdale; part of Teviotdale] – Pont 35 – Maps of Scotland". maps.nls.uk. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  33. ↑ Groundwater, Anna (2010). "From Whitehall to Jedburgh: Patronage networks and the government of the Scottish Borders, 1603 to 1625". The Historical Journal. 53 (4): 871–893. doi:10.1017/S0018246X10000385. ISSN   0018-246X. S2CID   159825353.
  34. ↑ William Boyd, Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 3 (Edinburgh, 1903), pp. 49–50.
  35. ↑ David Reid, David Hume of Godscroft's History of the House of Angus, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 2005).
  36. ↑ William A. McNeill and Peter G. B. McNeill, 'The Scottish Progress of James VI, 1617', Scottish Historical Review, 75:99 part 1 (April 1996), pp. 35–51 at p. 35: Roger Green, 'The King Returns: The Muses Welcome', Steven J. Reid & David McOmish, Neo-Latin Literature and Literary Culture in Early Modern Scotland (Brill, 2017), pp. 129–130.
  37. ↑ John Nichols, Progresses of James the First, vol. 3 (London, 1828), p. 306.
  38. ↑ Charles Rogers, Earl of Stirling's Register of Royal Letters, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1885), p. 25.
  39. ↑ Stewart, Duncan (1908). Covenanters of Teviotdale and neighbouring district. p. 18.
  40. ↑ Stewart, Duncan (1908). Covenanters of Teviotdale and neighbouring district. p. 17.
  41. ↑ Johnston, G Harvey (1907). The Heraldry of the Douglases. p. 32.
  42. 1 2 Johnston, G Harvey (1907). The Heraldry of the Douglases. p. 34.
  43. ↑ "Explore georeferenced maps – Map images – National Library of Scotland". maps.nls.uk. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  44. 1 2 3 4 Private papers of the Palmer Douglas family, unpublished
  45. ↑ Murray, Katharine Maud Elisabeth. (2001). Caught in the web of words : James A.H. Murray and the Oxford English dictionary. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 17. ISBN   0-300-08919-8. OCLC   47079364.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.