Drochil Castle
Drochil Castle is a ruined castle in the Scottish Borders administrative division of Scotland . It lies over the Lyne Water , about 10 km northwest of Peebles and about 8 km south of West Linton .
history
James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton , the Scottish regent, began construction of Drochil Castle in 1578, three years before the execution of King James VI. When the king died, the castle was only half finished and construction was never finished.
In 1686 William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensbury , bought the castle and today the ruins belong to one of his descendants, the Duke of Buccleuch .
architecture
The castle, which had four full stories and an attic, was more of a palace than a castle , as Morton wanted to retire from his worldly business here. The castle is of exceptional interest because - unlike what was customary at the time - it was equipped with wide central corridors on all floors, continuous from one end to the other, on both sides of which the rooms were arranged. The castle has round towers , each with a diameter of 7.5 meters, at two diagonally opposite corners of the building. Each of the towers has two loopholes designed to keep enemies from approaching the walls. The knight's hall on the first floor was 15 meters by 6.6 meters.
The outer walls are made of hard, dark quarry stone from Bromlee Hill . They were clad with red sandstone . At the beginning of the 19th century, building blocks were removed from the ruins in order to build the adjacent farm.
Historic Scotland once listed the ruin as a Category A Historic Building, but the classification was lifted in 2015. The ruin is also classified as a Scheduled Monument .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
- ↑ Scheduled Monument - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
Web links
Coordinates: 55 ° 40 ′ 40 " N , 3 ° 20 ′ 3" W