Bedrule Castle

The course of the SW portion of the enclosing wall and the faint outline of a possible building within its south angle are the only determinate remains of Bedrule Castle. The approach road to the site is intermittent and not considered worthy of survey.

Surveyed at 1/2500.

Visited by OS (RD) 1 March 1967.

NT51NE 18 5980 1805.

Bedrule Castle. This castle stood on a bluff jutting W from the rising ground on the right bank of Rule Water (598180), 200 yds. NW, of the parish church (RCAHMS 1956, No.27). Here may be seen the last vestiges of a castle of enceinte, but the enclosure is incomplete as cultivation has destroyed all trace of building NE of a "head dyke" which cuts across the NE side from NW to SE. South-west of the dyke grassy mounds and heaps of debris are evidence of vanished structures, but give no clue to their date.

From the air, however, these fragments are seen to be components of a castle with an oval enceinte measuring approximately 200 ft. from NW to SE by 130 ft. transversely; from the curtain or enclosing wall there project a gatehouse on the NW, a circular tower on the SE and two intermediate circular towers on the W and SW. It is probable that two more towers, corresponding to the last, existed NE of the "head dyke", in the cultivated area. The enclosure has been divided unequally in two by a cross-wall running NE from the circular tower on the SW; between this tower and its neighbour on the W there has been a building bounded on two sides by the curtain and the cross-wall, while in the SE angle formed by the cross-wall and the "head dyke" there has been a second building. The gatehouse is approached by an old road, still traceable on the ground, which winds uphill from the river on the W.

The arrangement outlined above would suggest a date in the late 13th century. Bedrule then belonged to the Comyns and in 1298 was visited by Edward I (Gough); in 1315-21, following the death of Sir John Comyn, it was granted by Robert I to Sir James of Douglas (Reg Magni Sig Reg Scot 1984). In the following century it belonged to the Turnbulls, with whom it remained throughout the Stewart reigns.

RCAHMS 1956, visited 1946

Information from Ordnance Survey Index Card.

NT 5980 1805 A geophysical survey was carried out at Bedrule Castle, a ruined 13th-century castle in the Rule Valley, in October 2022. Gradiometer and resistance survey were undertaken over the earthwork remains of the site and the adjacent arable field.

Both the gradiometer and the resistance survey have detected a very well defined curving feature whose location and geometry is consistent with the eastern portion of the Castle’s enclosure earthwork, although there is no clear indication in the data for the predicted NE tower.

A second larger, but more ephemeral, curving feature also been detected. This appears to enclose the main Castle earthwork. The feature appears to be a continuation with an earthwork visible to the W of the wall dividing the site. However, it is not known if this anomaly and earthwork are contemporary with the Castle or predate it.

A series of magnetic and resistance anomalies have been detected in the N of the survey area. The results suggest potential structural remains, or walled enclosures appended to the larger, outer, enclosure.

In the southern half of the eastern field, there is a generally higher level of background resistance. Within this elevated background several better defined, more discrete, areas of high resistance have been recorded. The exact origin of this is unclear. They could potentially indicate rubble spreads or structural remains. However, whether these are associated with settlement contemporary with the Castle, or the potentially earlier earthwork is not clear.

Several linear trends have been detected in the S of the survey area. These may be drainage features of unknown date. However, the possibility of some of these responses being associated with trackways cannot be entirely dismissed.

Within the limited area available for the survey to the W of the boundary wall, several well-defined anomalies have been detected. A rectilinear high resistance response is believed to be associated with the castle keep. A further strong response does not correspond with a clear earthwork but does suggest remains of a possible wall. More amorphous areas of elevated resistance have been noted which are likely to be rubble associated with the known structures.

Archive: Rose Geophysical Consultants Funder: Archaeology Scotland

Susan Ovenden – Rose Geophysical Consultants

(Source: DES Volume 23)

NT 5980 1805 Over two seasons of excavations in November 2021 and September and October 2022, a team of volunteers, school pupils and young people, led by Archaeology Scotland, opened and excavated five trenches at the site of Bedrule Castle, in Bedrule Village. In addition, a geophysical survey comprising of gradiometer and resistivity techniques was carried out over three days in October 2022 by Rose Geophysics (see above). Archaeological investigations at Bedrule Castle are part of the Twelve Towers of Rule project, which has been ongoing since 2020, through Archaeology Scotland’s Adopt-a-Monument scheme, in partnership with the Campaign for the Scottish Borders National Park.

Trench 1 measured 1 x 6.5m and was positioned across a curvilinear earthen bank running SE to NW. Removal of topsoil revealed linear arrangements of stones in the NE and NW of the trench, which could represent tumbled walls. Due to time constraints, excavation did not provide conclusive evidence of this and the trench was not excavated to natural subsoils or bedrock.

Trench 2 was located over the SW corner of a square shaped earthwork, interpreted as being the remains of the keep. Excavation continued from 2021, with the trench extended 2m to the NW to make it 4 x 2m. Excavation of Trench 2 removed topsoil and uncovered a large area of stone, a mix of tumbled material and some linear arrangements of in situ un-mortared masonry wall. One wall ran roughly E/W, while another ran northwards from the E/W wall to create the SW corner of the structure. The in situ walls were found to be 1m thick, with some evidence of stone robbing. Internal deposits suggest evidence for a destruction phase of at least this structural element, followed by a period of abandonment, which allowed a thin build up of soils prior to the wall collapse.

Trench 3 measured 3 x 2m and was orientated NW to SE across a raised earthwork feature which had some stone exposed on the surface. Due to time constraints the trench was not excavated down to the natural subsoil; features identified were recorded but not fully excavated. A series of rubble layers, and a linear arrangement of irregular stones were uncovered, the latter could represent a partially collapsed wall. Excavation of the rubble layers revealed some evidence that tumbled stone had been disturbed; probably by local people looking for well-cut stone after the castle had been destroyed and/or fallen out of use.

Trench 4 measured 2 x 4m and was located across the space

between two small banks located within a large circular mound, previously interpreted as the gatehouse. Trench 4 was not fully excavated but features were exposed and recorded. These comprised a rough cobbled surface, overlaid by a dark grey gravel-clay, and may represent a small entranceway through what could have been a large tower. Finds recovered included several sherds of post-medieval pottery.

Trench 5 measured 5.5 x 1m and was located across the southern wall of another square shaped arrangement of earthworks and visible stonework. The stonework was found to be part of a wall and after topsoil and some tumble and associated soil matrix were excavated, this wall was found to be

1.8m thick. The wall has been interpreted as being part of the early 14th-century phase of the castle. Further excavation on the exterior of this wall uncovered very large facing stones, which were found to be the remains of an earlier wall. This feature most likely dates from the initial phase of the construction of the castle in the mid-late 13th century.

Archive: NRHE (intended)

Funder: Archaeology Scotland, UK Government Community Renewal Fund

Kieran Manchip – Archaeology Scotland

(Source: DES Volume 23)

Visibility: This is an upstanding earthwork or monument.

Information from Scottish Borders Council