Robgill Tower is a tower house near Kirkpatrick Fleming on the banks of the river Kirtle. It was one of a number of towers built along the border as protection against incursions by the English. [1]
The tower was owned for centuries by Clan Irvine, also spelled as Irving, but a report from 1834 indicates that it was owned by James Smail by that time. He had acquired it from Sir Emelius Irving. [2]
The name is from the Old English personal name Hreodbeorht (modern name Robert) and Old Norse gil "ravine". The name was recorded as Redbeilgill in 1125.
The tower was probably built circa 1540 by the Irvine family who also owned Bonshaw Tower, but some documents indicate that it was built in 1430. Robgill Tower was the "blue-print for Bonshaw Tower" (3/4 of a mile distant) which was built in the same era. [3]
The Robgill tower was modified extensively in the 19th century. It has been B-listed since 1971. The Listing indicated that the structure - a medium scale mansion ... [with] crenellated retaining wall" - was built in several phases primarily in the late 18th and early 19th century, although the nucleus was a 16th-century tower. [4]
A subsequent report at the time indicated that there was a "fine stable block dating from the later 19th C. and a sizeable walled garden with a large glasshouse. The stable block has gained a swimming pool and there is a large indoor equestrian arena". The stable block is also Category-B listed [5] [6] as are the Gate Lodge and Gate Peers. The Walled Garden is Category-C rated. [7]
An 1889 book about the architecture of Scotland states that about ten years earlier, the tower was modified: "wilfully pulled down to the level of the hall floor" to allow for a hall that would connect it to the new, adjoining, house that was being built. [8]
A 1973 summary of the property indicated that the current owner was a Mr. Shaw. [9]
A 2013 prospectus provided numerous diagrams, photographs and descriptions of each element of the property. [10] A 2019 summary stated that it had "six reception rooms, an indoor swimming pool, a games room, gym, indoor riding arena, a six-car garage and a separate two-bedroom gate lodge". The manor was restored recently and was said to have outstanding equestrian facilities". [11] [12]
Drum Castle is a castle near Drumoak in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. For centuries it was the seat of the chief of Clan Irvine. The place-name Drum is derived from Gaelic druim, 'ridge'. The site is located approximately 6+1⁄2 miles northeast of Banchory and 3 miles west of Peterculter. The property is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland and is open to the public.
Eaton Hall is the country house of the Duke of Westminster. It is 1 mile (2 km) south of the village of Eccleston, in Cheshire, England. The house is surrounded by its own formal gardens, parkland, farmland and woodland. The estate covers about 10,872 acres (4,400 ha).
Ampney Crucis is a village and civil parish in the Cotswolds, part of the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England.
Stanecastle was a medieval barony and estate in North Ayrshire, Scotland, first mentioned in 1363 and now part of the Irvine New Town project. Its nearest neighbours are Bourtreehill and Girdle Toll.
Cammo is a northwestern suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is south of A90, at the edge of the city, approximately 6 miles from the city centre.
Clan Irvine is a Scottish clan.
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.
Liberton Tower is a four-storey, square-plan tower house in the Edinburgh suburb of Liberton, on the east side of the Braid Hills.
Bingley St. Ives, or St. Ives Estate is a 550-acre (2.2 km2) country park and former estate between Bingley and Harden in West Yorkshire, England now owned by Bradford Council. The park has Grade II listing in the English Heritage National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Interest. The park has been given Accredited Country Park status by Natural England.
In the early 18th century the Oulton Estate was home to the Egerton family and comprised a manor house and a formal garden surrounded by farmland in Cheshire, England. Later in the century the farmland was converted into a park. The estate is now the site of the motor racing track called Oulton Park.
Eglinton Country Park is located on the grounds of the old Eglinton Castle estate in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland. Eglinton Park is situated in the parish of Kilwinning, part of the former district of Cunninghame, and covers an area of 400 ha ([98 acres ] of which are woodland. The central iconic feature of the country park is the ruined Eglinton Castle, once home to the Eglinton family and later the Montgomeries, Earls of Eglinton and chiefs of the Clan Montgomery. Eglinton Country Park is managed and maintained by North Ayrshire Council and its Ranger Service.
Lockerbie is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, south-western Scotland. It is about 120 km (75 mi) from Glasgow, and 25 km (16 mi) from the border with England. The 2001 Census recorded its population as 4,009. The town came to international attention in December 1988 when the wreckage of Pan Am Flight 103 crashed there following a terrorist bomb attack aboard the flight.
Bavelaw Castle is a historic house in the City of Edinburgh Council area, Scotland. It is north of Hare Hill in the Pentland Hills, four miles west of Penicuik, and two miles south of Balerno, above Threipmuir Reservoir. It was designated as a Category A listed building in 1971.
Ammerdown House in Kilmersdon, Somerset, England, was built in 1788. It has been designated as Grade I listed building.
Friars' Carse is a mansion house and estate situated 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) southeast of Auldgirth on the main road (A76) to Dumfries, Parish of Dunscore, Scotland. The property is located on the west bank of the River Nith and is known for its strong associations with Robert Burns who lived for a while at the nearby Ellisland farm. The mansion house is unlisted, however the stables and hermitage are Category B listed buildings.
Castlemilk House was a country house located in what is now the Castlemilk district of Glasgow, Scotland. The house was the ancestral home of the Stirling-Stuart family and was built around the 15th-century Cassiltoun Tower during the 18th and 19th centuries. The house and Castlemilk Estate were purchased by Glasgow Corporation in 1938, with the house serving as a children's home until it was closed in 1969 and demolished in 1972.
Brackenhill Tower is a peel tower, in the parish of Arthuret, in Cumbria, just north of the River Lyne. The site is about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Kirklinton and 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Longtown, or 10 miles (16 km) north of Carlisle and 8 miles (13 km) east of Gretna Green, and is a good defensive position, with ravines to the north and south. Extensions were added in the 18th and 19th centuries, but the original tower has had little alteration. It is the only remaining example of a Scottish tower house south of the border with England, and became a Grade II* listed building in 1957.
Bonshaw Tower is an oblong tower house, probably dating from the mid-16th century, one mile south of Kirtlebridge, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, above the Kirtle Water. It is adjacent to a 19th-century mansion. The tower was one of a number of structures built along the Scottish border in the 1500s as protection against incursions by the English.
Christopher Irvine of Bonshaw was a Scottish physician and surgeon who was the first medically qualified member of the Incorporation of Surgeons and Barbers of Edinburgh. A prolific author, he became historiographer to King Charles II and to King James II and VII.
Ampney Park is a 16th century manor house at Ampney Crucis, Gloucestershire, England. It is a Grade II listed building.
55°2′1″N3°10′39″W / 55.03361°N 3.17750°W
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