Castle of The Month: Morton Castle

[endlessrarities]

I've now finished my bike run, and while 17 miles still counts as pathetic in my book, at least it's an improvement on last week's total.  My gardening quota's completed for the day, so now I can settle down to a bit of writing.  Hoorah!!

But before I disappear, it's Castle of the Month time. 

For the past couple of months, my chosen castles have represented the small, the obscure, the somewhat dilapidated.  They have also been local...  Unfortunately, I haven't gone actively exploring any castles in the last month, so I'm going to resort to trawling the archives.  This has its advantages, as it gives me the opportunity to feature something that's big, and grand and in yer face.  Though my choice today is still rather obscure, compared to better known Scots castles like Eilean Donan, Urquhart, etcetera, etcetera....

Morton Castle sits in a remote part of Dumfries and Galloway, and is accessed along a tiny little farm road.  It's a Guardianship Monument, maintained by Historic Scotland, and as such it's open to the public:-

It was heavily restored in recent times, but the restorers helpfully added a row of tiles to show where the ancient fabric ended and the modern work begins.  A comprehensive summary of the site can be found in the Dumfries & Galloway volume in the Exploring Scotland's Heritage Series (HMSO, 1996) by Geoffrey Stell, who describes Morton Castle as follows:-

'Its position, purpose, style and its date are all open to question, yet it is one of those rare buildings that still manages to convey the mystical aura of the Age of Chivalry.' (Stell, 1996, 120)

With its trapezoidal plan and high curtain wall, it certainly seems to be more closely aligned to the 'real' medieval castle-building tradition as epitomised by earlier structures like Bothwell and Caerlaverock than the later Scottish tower-house tradition.  I particularly like the way in which the lower portion of the wall features a pronounced batter: this thickened masonry both helps to stabilise the structure, and to protect it from attack:-
 

Though despite its defensive appearance, Stell argues that its location hasn't little to recommend it, as it sits fairly low within the surrounding landscape.

It forms the seat of the Lordship of Morton, which is first recorded in the 1170s, though according to Stell, the current structure has its origins in the 14th century.  In the late 14th century, after a brief spell in English possession, it passed into the hands of the Douglas family, in which capacity Stell suggests it probably functioned as 'a country retreat or a hunting lodge (Stell, 1996, 121).  Despite their fall from grace in the late 15th century, Morton Castle appears to have remained in their keeping throughout much of recent history. 

And you've got to admit, the backdrop of the stark, bleak Dumfriesshire landscape only adds to its character.

As always, I've included a link to the appropriate entry in the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Scotland website, so you can find out more and see some views of the interior:-

http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/65143/details/morton+castle/

And if you're ever heading up north to Scotland on the M74, do try and take a little detour in the vicinity of Wanlockhead and Lockerbie and pay the place a visit.  It's well worth checking out - even if the approach road is a wee bit tortuous!
 

Comments

[technophobe1975.livejournal.com]

What sort of size is it and how many people would have been staying there?

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

According to our friends at RCAHMS, it measures 34 x 10m in extent internally.

It would easily have housed a family and their extended household - bearing in mind that originally the stone keep would probably have had a number of ancillary structures (probably built from timber) like stables, etc. which have now vanished. It would have been occupied permanently by a caretaker or steward and his family, and probably visited on an occasional basis by the actual lord and his family/retainers, who had a number of residences to sustain them throughout the entire year. Perhaps they'd have visited this place in the summer when the weather was suitable for hunting deer in the hills.

[kishenehn.livejournal.com]

Oh, man ... you have such great stuff to look at.

[xjenavivex.livejournal.com]

thank you

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

How wonderful that it's only accessible by a small road--it gives it an out-of-the-way feel and makes the adventure of visiting it all the better, I'm guessing.

And it's gorgeous, and to see it as you write place names like Dumfries and Galloway and family names like Douglas just gets me hearing a thousand ballads! I bet if you press your ear to the masonry you can hear some.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, this one hasn't accumulated any associated folktales in the way that Hermitage Castle has - supposedly, one of the Douglas boys left the Sherrif of Liddesdale locked in the pit prison there where he starved to death...

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Yikes! Not that I'm surprised.... people got up to (and continue to get up to) all sorts of horrors....

[clairehawthorn.livejournal.com]

I love how it doesn't look "heavily restored" from those photos. It just looks how a ruined Scottish castle should look - situated on the edge of a loch with the soft hills around it.....I really enjoy looking at the photos from your "bus man's holidays".

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

It took me years to get around to visiting this one, even though it's fairly easy to reach because of its close proximity to the motorway.