Druminnor, Castlehill

NJ52NW 22 5159 2870

See also NJ52NW 41.

A motte and bailey castle, occupied by the Forbes from 1271 to 1440, is alleged to have been in the vicinity of Castlehill (NJ 513 282).

J F Wyness 1959.

(Sited to NJ 5159 2870). It was known as 'Druminnor' the name deriving from the Celtic, and meaning 'Ridge of the Confluence' and refers to the ridge between the Kearn Burn and Bogie Water. Whilst this is not particularly applicable to the present site (q.v. Druminnor House - NJ52NW 14) it is appropriate to the area known as Castlehill. The farm of this name stands about a quarter of a mile S of the junction of these two streams, but at the point of confluence there is a mound which, allowing for the erosion of time, and the plough, could indicate the remains of a simple earthen castle.

H G Slade 1968.

Natural moraine 4.5m high with a fairly level summit 34m N-S by 23m. Bailey possibly formed from S tail of the mound, 30m N-S. Surrounded by Water of Bogie and bog on all but the S side. Traces of a low N summit lip bank were visible. The base on this side is being severely eroded by the river. Exposed section revealed charcoal layer 0.50m below surface.

P Yeoman 1987.

(Reclassified as 'Motte-and-Bailey Castle': Nil Antiquity). There is no evidence of a motte-and-bailey castle at this low-lying location at the confluence of the Kearn Burn and the Bogie Water, some 380m NNE of Castlehill farmsteading (NJ52NW 69). A more likely site for an earthwork castle lies some 70m to the SE, where there is a large natural knoll with a probable enclosure on its summit (NJ52NW 41).

Information from RCAHMS (JRS), 2 September 2003.