Long Castle
Castle (Medieval)
Site Name Long Castle
Classification Castle (Medieval)
Canmore ID 62697
Site Number NX34NE 6
NGR NX 3941 4686
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/62697
- Council Dumfries And Galloway
- Parish Kirkinner
- Former Region Dumfries And Galloway
- Former District Wigtown
- Former County Wigtownshire
NX34NE 6 3941 4686.
(NX 3941 4686) Long Castle (NR) (Site of)
OS 6" map (1957)
The barony of Longcastle is first mentioned in 1330 when it was in the possession of the M'Dowalls, who built a castle on an island in Dowalton Loch. The loch was drained in 1865-6, and when visited in 1911 the site of Long Castle was described as an artifical island composed of large blocks of stone. On the N side were the remains of a wall 4'6" thick, apparently part of the castle, while there were the ruins of a small rectangular building along the S side. It was 32' long, within 2'6" thick walls and divided by a 2' thick partition wall.
P H M'Kerlie 1870; RCAHMS 1912, visited 1911
The remains of an enclosure situated on a natural knoll surrounded by marsh. It measures internally 31m NE-SW by c 20m NW-SE within the turf-covered footings of a stone wall up to 3.5m wide. The entrance probably lay on the N.
Within the interior are two rectangular buildings and an enclosure grouped around a central court, enclosed on the N by the footings of a small crescentric wall. The longest building on the S with two partitions measures internally 14.5m by 4.8m within faced walls 0.8m thick and up to 1.0m high. The E building measures 10m by 4.5m overall, and is in worse condition.
Resurveyed at 1/2500.
Visited by OS (DWR) 31 January 1973
