Torwood Castle is a ruined 16th-century L-plan castle near the village of Torwood, in the Falkirk Council area of central Scotland. It was designated as a Category A listed building in 1979. [1] The Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland originally listed its level of risk as low, but raised that level to moderate in mid-2019 after seeing signs of continued neglect. [2]
The estate was held originally by the Foresters of Garden, who were the foresters responsible for the nearby Royal Forest of Tor Wood from the second half of the 15th century until the mid-17th century. Based on the date found on a carved stone panel found not far from the castle in 1918, [3] the castle has been estimated as being built around 1566 for Sir Alexander Forrester. It passed to Clan Baillie in the early 16th century [4] and then to George, 1st Lord Forrester in 1635. The castle was captured prefatory to taking Stirling Castle during the 1585 successful rebellion of the Earls of Mar and Angus.
The castle was purchased by Gordon Millar in 1957, who began to restore it, but he was only able to stabilise the stonework. He set up the Torwood Castle Charitable Trust before his death in 1998, in order to continue the work. [4] The Trust did all they could to protect the castle under the Will and Constitutional Document left to protect the castle, which had been agreed by the law lords of Scotland at Edinburgh's High Court of Justiciary.
Owing to both retirement and death of trustees only one ex-officio trustee was left to secure the castle's future: Mr Andrew Bryce.
In 2017 local councillor Niall Coleman asked Mr Andrew Bryce (in his capacity as a former trustee) to again become a standard trustee to save the castle, in lines with the constitutional document but Mr Bryce at this time declined in order to look after his wife.
In September 2018, Mr Gary Grant, a local man from Denny, moved into the castle, in order to protect it from vandalism, as it was not secured.
Mr Grant was unaware of the trust's position and thought the trust had creased. Not known what else to do or who to contact to secure the Castle's future in any other way. Stayed there and continued with maintaining the castle as best as he could in honour of this friend Gordon Miller that helped as a child to put some of the castle back together.
On 24 March 2021 Andrew Bryce resurrected his position as ex officio trustee and added Mr Grant as standard trustee , Steven Kelly was added as 3rd Trustee on 19th March 2022 and then Andrew Bain was added as the 4th Trustee in March 2023
The trust are now in the process of securing the Castle's future in lines with the constitutional document, to go alongside trusteeships and seeking a new secretary position and assistance from all professionals that can help Torwood Castle survive as the only castle left in Falkirk district council area.
The roofless castle is three storeys tall and comprises a vaulted ground floor, a first floor and an attic. The short wing housed the staircase and has gables at its north and south ends. It had a cobbled courtyard enclosed by three ranges of buildings, although little remains of them. Two rooms of the north range were excavated in 1999, revealing a kitchen and a well room. [3]
The Castle of Mey is located in Caithness, on the north coast of Scotland, about 6 miles (10 km) west of John o' Groats. In fine weather there are views from the castle north to the Orkney Islands.
The Union Canal, full name the Edinburgh and Glasgow Union Canal, is a canal in Scotland, running from Falkirk to Edinburgh, constructed to bring minerals, especially coal, to the capital. It was opened in 1822 and was initially successful, but the construction of railways, particularly the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, which opened in 1842, diminished its value as a transport medium. It fell into slow commercial decline and was closed to commercial traffic in 1933. It was officially closed in 1965. The canal is listed as three individual scheduled monuments by Historic Scotland according to the three former counties, Midlothian, West Lothian and Stirlingshire, through which it flows.
Corstorphine is an area of the Scottish capital city of Edinburgh. Formerly a separate village and parish to the west of Edinburgh, it is now a suburb of the city, having been formally incorporated into it in 1920.
Portencross Castle, also known historically as Portincross Castle, is situated in Portencross, on the west coast of Scotland, about 3 km from West Kilbride. The site has been fortified since the 11th Century. The present tower castle is thought to date from the mid-14th Century and later. It remained in use until it was unroofed by a great storm in 1739 and gradually became ruinous. The castle was designated as a scheduled ancient monument in 1955.
Callendar House is a mansion set within the grounds of Callendar Park in Falkirk, central Scotland. During the 19th century, it was redesigned and extended in the style of a French Renaissance château fused with elements of Scottish baronial architecture. However, the core of the building is a 14th-century tower house.
Blackness is a small village and harbour at Blackness Bay, an inlet of the Firth of Forth in Scotland. It lies 3.4 mi (5.5 km) east-southeast of Bo'ness, 5.0 mi (8.0 km) west-northwest of South Queensferry and 3.8 mi (6.1 km) north-east of Linlithgow, within the council area of Falkirk. It was formerly part of the historic county of West Lothian.
The Falkirk Steeple is a landmark which dominates the skyline of Falkirk in central Scotland. The present structure on the High Street was built in 1814, and replaced an earlier steeple dating from the late 17th century, which itself replaced a still earlier structure. The Falkirk Steeple is protected as a category A listed building. A stylised image of the steeple appears on the crest of Falkirk Football Club.
The Forresters are an ancient and noble clan of the Scottish Lowlands.
Amhuinnsuidhe Castle is a large 19th-century private country house on Harris, one of the Western Isles of Scotland. It was designated as a Category A listed building in 1971 and is now operated as a hotel and shooting estate.
Torwood is a small village located 2 miles (3.2 km) north-northwest of Larbert, 4 miles (6.4 km) north-west of Falkirk and 6 miles (9.7 km) south-southeast of Stirling. Torwood lies within the Falkirk Council area of Scotland. The population recorded in the 2011 UK Census was 245.
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.
Dunachton is an estate on the north-west shore of Loch Insh in Badenoch and Strathspey, in the Highlands of Scotland. It occupies land immediately to the north of the A9 road and General Wade's Military Road.
Breachacha Castle is either of two structures on the shore of Loch Breachacha, on the Inner Hebridean island of Coll, Scotland. The earlier is a 15th-century tower house that was a stronghold of the Macleans of Coll, the island having been granted to John Maclean in 1431. This castle was superseded by a new dwelling in 1750 but continued to be occupied for a time, falling into a ruinous state only in the mid-19th century. Although work was performed in the 1930s to prevent further dilapidation, the castle was restored to livable condition only in the 1960s, by Nicholas MacLean-Bristol and his wife Lavinia. It is a Category A listed building.
Sorn Castle is located by the River Ayr just outside the village of Sorn in East Ayrshire, Scotland. The castle comprises a medieval tower house, which was extended over the years, and remodelled in the Scots Baronial style by David Bryce in the 1860s. The castle is protected as a category A listed building.
Elphinstone Tower, also known as Dunmore Tower or Airth Tower, is a ruined tower house on the Dunmore Estate in central Scotland. It is located 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) north-west of Airth and 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) east of Stirling in the Falkirk council area. The 16th-century ruin is protected as a category C(S) listed building.
Blackcraig Castle is a Baronial mansion house dating from 1856 in Perthshire, Scotland, close to the towns of Ballintuim and Blairgowrie on the banks of the River Ardle. It was built in 1856 by Patrick Allan Fraser, a prominent Scottish artist and architect, and is designated as a Class B-listed building, with its walled garden A-listed. It has undergone extensive renovations/modernisation in recent years to return it to its full former glory and remains one of the finest examples of Baronial architecture in Scotland.
David Seton of Parbroath was a Scottish courtier and administrator.
Mauldslie Castle, part of the Mauldslie Estate, was located in Dalserf, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.
