| Isle Tower | |
|---|---|
| Bankend, Dumfries and Galloway | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 55°00′20″N3°31′17″W / 55.005688°N 3.521313°W |
| Type | Tower house |
| Site history | |
| Built | c. 1565 |
| In use | Until 1667 |
Isle Tower also known as Lochar Tower and Bankend Tower is a 16th-century ruined tower house located in the north of Bankend in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. [1] It was a property of the Maxwell family. [2]
The building is mentioned in a 1560s English report and was built around 1565 at which time William Maxwell was resident. [3] Lord Scrope burned the tower in 1570. [4] William's successor Edward Maxwell of Isle reconstructed the building in 1622, with a stair wing being added to its north east side. It appears to have been abandoned soon after the death of Robert Maxwell, 2nd Earl of Nithsdale in 1667. [5]
The building is in a state of complete ruin, a considerable part of the south west wall having fallen, but the corners as yet remain nearly of their original height. The interior is choked with debris almost as high as the first floor. The castle measures about 29 feet 2 inches by 22 feet, with a staircase tower projecting from the north-west front about 9 feet 4 inches. The doorway is in the re-entering angle, and has the usual bar-hole, with the recess for lamp adjoining. The walls are about 3 feet 4 inches thick, and on the ground floor (which appears to have been vaulted) are pierced with shot-holes on all sides except towards the Lochar Water, where there is a window about 18 inches wide. The shot-holes measure on the exterior 19 inches wide by 6 inches high. The doorway was defended by a hoarding, the corbels for supporting which still remain. [6] [7]
Most of the south east end of the tower had collapsed by the end of the 19th century and the stair wing fell in 1969.
Broch of Mousa is a preserved Iron Age broch or round tower. It is on the island of Mousa in Shetland, Scotland. It is the tallest broch still standing and amongst the best-preserved prehistoric buildings in Europe. It is thought to have been constructed c. 300 BC, and is one of more than 500 brochs built in Scotland. The site is managed by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument.
Orchardton Tower is a ruined tower house in Kirkcudbrightshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located four miles south of Dalbeattie, and one mile south of Palnackie, in Buittle parish. It is remarkable as the only cylindrical tower house in Scotland. Orchardton Tower is in the care of Historic Environment Scotland as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
MacLellan's Castle in the town of Kirkcudbright, in Galloway, Scotland, was built in the late 16th century. It stands in the centre of Kirkcudbright, on the south side of the River Dee which flows into the Solway Firth. The L-plan castle was the residence of the MacLellan family from whom it derived its name. The family sold the castle in 1752, and from 1782 to 1912 it was held by the Earls of Selkirk. Today, the site is curated by Historic Environment Scotland.
Carsluith Castle is a ruined tower house, dating largely to the 16th century. It is located beside Wigtown Bay in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Galloway, Scotland, around 4.8 kilometres (3.0 mi) south east of Creetown.
Gilnockie Tower is a 16th-century tower house, located at the hamlet of Hollows, 2.3 km north of Canonbie, in Dumfriesshire, south-west Scotland. The tower is situated on the west bank of the River Esk. It was originally known as Hollows Tower.
Greenknowe Tower is a 16th-century tower house, located just west of the village of Gordon, in the Scottish Borders. Although a roofless ruin, the stonework of the tower is well preserved, and represents a fine example of a later tower house, built more as a residence rather than as a place of defence. The building is located at NT639428, beside the A6105 road. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and is in the care of Historic Scotland.
Torthorwald Castle is a large ruined rectangular tower at the centre of the village of Torthorwald just outside Dumfries in south west Scotland.
Wester Kames Castle is located near Kames Bay near Port Bannatyne, Isle of Bute, Scotland. Dating from around 1700, the castle was rebuilt around 1900 from a ruined state.
Castlehill Tower, also known as Castle Hill of Manor, is a ruined oblong tower house dating from the end of the 15th century, situated in the parish of Manor, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Kirkton Manor, Scottish Borders, Scotland.
House of Schivas is an L-plan tower house, dating from the 16th century, about three miles east of Methlick, in the valley of the River Ythan, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Blairfindy Castle is an L-plan tower house, dating from the 16th century, around 6.5 miles (10.5 km) north of Tomintoul, and west of the River Livet. The tower was a hunting seat of the earls of Huntly.
Dalcross Castle is a restored 17th century tower house, about 1+1⁄2 miles southwest of Croy, Highland, Scotland, and about 7 miles northeast of Inverness. The castle stands on a ridge.
Lochwood Tower, also known as Lochwood Castle, is a ruined 16th-century L-plan tower house situated in Annandale about 6 miles (9.7 km) south of the town of Moffat in the modern county of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It was the seat of the Clan Johnstone.
Plunton Castle is a ruined L-plan tower house between Kirkandrews and Gatehouse of Fleet in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Built around 1575 for the Lennoxes of Plunton, it passed by marriage to the Murrays of Broughton in the late 17th century. It was still inhabited in 1684, when it was described by Reverend Symson in his Large Description of Galloway as "a good strong house", but by 1838, when it was painted by George Colomb, it had been abandoned and had fallen into a ruinous condition.
Hills Tower is a sixteenth-century square tower house, with an adjoining eighteenth-century wing, near Dumfries in Scotland. Originally built around 1527 for Edward Maxwell, who had purchased the estate from James Douglas of Drumlanrig, it was improved in the later sixteenth century by his grandson, also Edward Maxwell. In 1721, another Edward Maxwell had a two-storey Georgian wing added to the tower's east side, using stone taken from older buildings nearby, and incorporating armorial panels celebrating members of the Maxwell family.
Posso Tower is a 16th-century tower house, about 6.0 miles (9.7 km) south and west of Peebles, Scottish Borders, Scotland, and west of Manor Water.
Bankend is a village in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located near Lochar Water, the civil parish Caerlaverock and the villages of Blackshaw, Glencaple and Shearington. In 1961 it had a population of 79.
Lochar Water is a small river located in Dumfries and Galloway. It flows for about 10 miles or 16 km, mainly in a southerly direction, roughly parallel to the River Nith to the west and the River Annan to the east. It is formed by the confluence of Park Burn and Amisfield Burn, and skirts the eastern side of the town of Dumfries, and flows through an extensive low-lying area and former raised peat land known as Lochar Moss, before flowing into the Solway Firth. Bankend Bridge, part of the B725 road, crosses Lochar Water on the east side of Bankend village. The tidal limit is about 1 km below that. It shares its name with an electoral ward of the Dumfries and Galloway council
Earlstoun Castle, sometimes spelled Earlston Castle, is a derelict tower house near St John's Town of Dalry in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Built in the late sixteenth century, it was home to members of the Gordon family, including William Gordon of Earlston who was killed at the battle of Bothwell Bridge. It is unusual for a tower house of its age for its lack of defensive arrangements: it has no gun loops, its roof is without a parapet or corner turrets, and it lies in open ground without natural defences.
