Nether Horsburgh Castle
| Nether Horsburgh Castle | ||
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 Nether Horsburgh Castle from the east |
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| Creation time : | 16th Century | |
| Castle type : | Niederungsburg (Tower House) | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Standing position : | Scottish nobility | |
| Construction: | Quarry stone | |
| Place: | Peebles | |
| Geographical location | 55 ° 38 '41 .6 " N , 3 ° 6' 26.6" W | |
| Height: | 158 m ASLTemplate: height / unknown reference | |
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Nether Horsburgh Castle is the ruin of a tower house near the village of Cardrona in the Scottish county of Peeblesshire (now part of the Scottish Borders administrative division ). It is at the back of a farm about 5.6 km southwest of Peebles on the A72 trunk road .
history
The Borders family Horsburgh had the castle built and lived in it. It was later sold to Sir Robert Stewart of Shillingshaws because the family could no longer afford it.
Peebleshire has other castles that belonged to the Horsburgh family. Less than a mile west of Nether Horsburgh Castle are the remains of a small L-shaped tower house on a grassy hill. This is Horsburgh Castle , also from the 16th century. Just north of Peebles, up on the slope of Mailingsland Hill , are the remains of Hutchinfield Tower . This is a badly dilapidated, rectangular block, also from the 16th century.
description
The remains of Nether Horsburgh Castle are the ruins of a rectangular tower house from the 16th century at the foot of a valley above the Tweed . The Hope Burn flows past the ruins just a few meters east. Originally there was a courtyard next to the tower with a number of buildings, traces of which can still be seen north of the tower.
Only three walls of the tower remain today, reaching a height of up to 12 meters; the eastern wall has disappeared down to the foundation wall. The building covered a floor area of 10 × 8 meters; its walls were about four feet thick. It is thought that the tower reached a height of four stories; the entrance was on the ground floor on the northeast side. Through it one came into a camp cellar with a vaulted ceiling , which was equipped with loopholes . Evidence was found of a staircase on the east wall that led to the upper floors.
A series of buildings formed a small courtyard; they extended from the tower about 14 meters to the east and then about 22 meters to the north. Of all these buildings, only a small fragment has been preserved on the north side, which today forms part of a field wall.
Nether Horsburgh Castle is a Scheduled Monument .
Photos of the ruins
Southeast view
Northwest view
The castle ruins can be seen to the left of the farm.
Individual evidence
Web links and sources
- Entry on Nether Horsburgh Castle in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland database
- Mike Salter: Discovering Scottish Castles . Shire Publications, 1985. ISBN 0-85263-749-7 .