Auchen Castle is a ruined 13th-century

quadrangular castle A quadrangular castle or courtyard castle is a type of castle characterised by ranges of buildings which are integral with the curtain walls, enclosing a central ward or quadrangle, and typically with angle towers. There is no keep and frequent ...

situated near

Moffat Moffat is a burgh and parish in Dumfriesshire. Part of the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area in Scotland, it lies on the River Annan, with a population of around 2,500. It was a centre of the wool trade and a spa town. Moffat is arou ...

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...

. It was designated as a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

in 1937.

History

The castle was probably built by the Kirkpatrick family in the early to mid-13th century, possibly to replace the nearby

motte-and-bailey castle A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...

at Garpol Water and command the valley of the

River Annan The River Annan is a river in south-west Scotland. It rises on Annanhead Hill and flows through the Devil's Beef Tub, Moffat and Lockerbie, reaching the sea at Annan, Dumfries and Galloway after about 40 miles. Name The etymology of the R ...

to the east and the ravine formed by Garpol Burn to the south. The first documentary evidence of the estate is from a charter from December 1306, in which Sir

Roger de Kirkpatrick Sir Roger de Kirkpatrick of Closeburn (fl. 14th century) was a Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish gentry, gentleman, a 3rd cousin and associate of Robert the Bruce, a 1st cousin of Sir William Wallace and a distant relative of Nicole Clark. He was born ...

loans money to Sir

Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford Humphrey (VII) de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford ( 1276 – 16 March 1322) was a member of a powerful Anglo-Norman family of the Welsh Marches and was one of the Ordainers who opposed Edward II's excesses. Family background Humphrey de Bohun's ...

. After Kirkpatrick's death during the siege of

Lochmaben Castle Lochmaben Castle is a ruined castle in the town of Lochmaben, the feudal Lordship of Annandale, Dumfries and Galloway, Annandale, and the united county of Dumfries and Galloway. It was built by Edward I in the 14th century replacing an earlier mo ...

in 1313, the lands appear to have been transferred to

Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray (c. 1285 20 July 1332) was a soldier and diplomat in the Wars of Scottish Independence, who later served as regent of Scotland. He was a nephew of Robert the Bruce, who created him as the first earl of M ...

, although it is unclear what happened to them after his death in 1332. By the 15th century, the castle was owned by the Douglasses of Morton, before later passing to the Johnstones of Corehead, possibly during King James II's campaign against the Douglasses. In its earliest form, the castle comprised a four-sided enclosure with the entrance on the north wall. It had a round

bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

at the north west angle and a

garderobe Garderobe is a historic term for a room in a medieval castle. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives as its first meaning a store-room for valuables, but also acknowledges "by extension, a private room, a bed-chamber; also a privy". The word der ...

in the east curtain wall. The walls were protected by a broad ditch, except in the north where a causeway passed over a linked pair of

fish pond A fish pond or fishpond is a controlled pond, small artificial lake or retention basin that is stocked with fish and is used in aquaculture for fish farming, for recreational fishing, or for ornamental purposes. Fish ponds are a classical g ...

s. The entrance was later reinforced by a dog-leg forework in the form of a

pend In Scotland, a Pend is a passageway through a building, often from a street through to a courtyard or 'back court', and may be for both vehicles and pedestrian access or exclusively pedestrians. The term "common pend" can often be found in desc ...

. In the late 15th or early to mid-16th century, the castle was adapted for use as an artillery fortification with the walls lowered and reinforced with masonry and earth. An inventory made of goods belonging to the deceased James Douglas of "Auchencassill" in October 1483, includes a folding table, a horse, a chalice and altar ornaments, a sword, a featherbed, bed curtains and canopy, and the hangings or apparelling of the hall, a cushion, a silver salt and spoon, kitchen ware, an eel crook, and other items. This selection was claimed by William Douglas of Drumlanrig as his heir.''Acts of the Lords Auditors of Causes and Complaints'' (Edinburgh, 1839), p. *119.

References

{{Authority control Castles in Dumfries and Galloway Scheduled monuments in Dumfries and Galloway