Field Visit
Date 14 November 1975
Event ID 1107308
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1107308
Occupying the level summit of Castle Hill (name verified), a natural knoll under pasture, are the tenuous remains of a stone-built castle. The main castle building is situated at the S extremity of the summit; the remains comprise five separate blocks of mortared wall core up to 2.0m high. No architectural features survive and the plan of the structure is uncertain; it appears to have been largely quarried away. Its position guarding an obvious entrance causeway up the S slopes of the hill suggests an enlarged gatehouse. Extending from the NW corner of the castle along the W edge of the summit are the turf-covered footings of a curtain wall, partly destroyed by quarrying. There is no evidence of it on the N and E sides. The summit measures circa 90.0m N-S by 40.0m; apart from the aforementioned castle, no other structure survives in the enclosed area though rank grass and nettle growth suggests buried foundations.
The castle has been further defended by a series of terraces cut into the side of the hill (see section). The lowest terrace on the N side may have been for cultivation as it is wider than the others, it does not form a cohesive part of the outer defences, and it is parallel with rig-and-furrow to the N at the base of the hill.
The building remains are indicative of a 13th c castle of enceinte. It was probably constructed on an earlier motte.
Resurveyed at 1:2500.
Visited by OS (NKB) 14 November 1975
