Auchen Castle
Auchen Castle is a ruined castle near Moffat in the Scottish administrative division of Dumfries and Galloway .
history
The original castle was probably built around 1220 at the behest of Sir Humphrey de Kirkpatrick , when this was Senestal of Annandale .
The castle had the shape of a courtyard with unusually solid drum towers at the gatehouse and at the corners of the complex. Sometime at the beginning of the 14th century, the towers were rebuilt as hollow tourelles with internal stairs.
Sir Roger de Kirkpatrick appears to have been a reliable partner in the conflict with England . Possibly it was his son who was involved in the murder of John Comyn as a young man without accolade , although 150 years passed before an assassin was named.
The castle was later in the hands of the Douglases of Morton before falling to the Maitlands in the 15th century .
Over the centuries that followed, massive curtain walls and obscure, subterranean passages and chambers were built, which after their discovery by archaeologists created a lot of confusion. A wooden country house with eight chimneys was also built and was used to entertain the hunting guests.
Today the castle ruins stand near the Auchen Castle Hotel .
Web links and sources
- Auchen Castle . Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
- Scheduled Monument - entry . In: Historic Scotland .
Coordinates: 55 ° 19 ′ 1.4 " N , 3 ° 28 ′ 33.1" W.