Publication Account
Date 1986
Event ID 1017424
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1017424
The earliest Bruce castle is a motte which now does service as the 14th tee on the golf-course south-west of the town. Its summit is unusually large and oval on plan, and is partly surrounded by a ditch. Artefacts recovered from the site are in Nithsdale District Museum, Dumfries.
It was superseded in the later 13th or 14th century by the stone castle which occupies a promontory at the southern end of Castle Loch, a stretch of water that has always been renowned for its fish. Immediately to the south of the castle, an earthen platform marks the position of a moated and timber-palisaded enclosure (a peel) built by Edward I of England in 1298. Peel and stone castle were protected by outer ditches and ramparts.
The most remarkable feature of the stone castle is a 6.1m wide canal which fronts the south curtain-wall. The canal is spanned by tall wing-walls which are arched, probably to accommodate boats when the level of the loch was higher. Some curtain-walls survive almost to their original heights, but are mainly reduced to rubble core; ashlar masonry can be seen around the edges of the canal. The counterweight pit for a drawbridge is clearly visible in the centre of the south wall. This gateway was backed by a passage running beneath what was possibly a gatehouse and great hall range, of which only the foundations now survive.
From 1298 until the Union of Crowns in 1603 Lochmaben was of vital strategic importance in the ebb and flow of Anglo-Scottish warfare. For much of the 14th century it was in English hands, and in 1373-6 extensive repairs and additions were made. It was eventually surrendered to the Scots under the Earl of Douglas in 1384 and became a royal castle, King James IV later residing here from time to time. During his reign a great hall was built, and the castle was later described as 'the king's own house and of the greatest strength of any in this west border of Scotland'. From 1524 until 1588 keepership was vested in the Lords Maxwell, but the castle suffered because of their feud with the Johnstones and their Catholic sympathies. Although steps were taken to maintain the castle in 1624-5, its days as a garrisoned military stronghold had effectively passed in 1603.
Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: Dumfries and Galloway’, (1986).
