Loch Doon Castle was a castle that was located on an island within

Loch Doon Loch Doon (, ) is a freshwater loch in Carrick, Scotland. It is considered relatively oligotrophic. The River Doon issues from its northern end, while the loch itself receives waters from Gala Lane and Loch Enoch (in the Galloway Hills) via Eg ...

, Scotland. The original site and the relocated remains are designated as

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 ...

History

Loch Doon Castle was built in the late 13th century on an island within Loch Doon. The castle consists of an eleven-sided curtain wall. The castle was in the hands of the Earls of Carrick in the 12th century. During the

Scottish Wars of Independence The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and 14th centuries. The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of Scotla ...

it was held by the governor Sir Gilbert de Carrick (Gille Brighde) who surrendered it to the English. It was soon recovered by the forces of King

Robert I of Scotland Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

. In 1206 the Corrie family were the hereditary keepers of Castle Loch Doon, and 57 years later, owing to the marriage of Sir Robert Corrie to Lady Susanna Carlisle, added greatly to their possessions in Dumfriesshire. The castle later fell to the English and was re-captured in 1214. The castle was besieged in 1335. During the 14th century the castle was in the hands of the Kennedy family. The castle was taken from them by

William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas, 2nd Earl of Avondale (1425 – 22 February 1452) was a late Medieval Scottish nobleman, Lord of Galloway, and Lord of the Regality of Lauderdale, and the most powerful magnate in Southern Scotland. He was ki ...

after a siege in 1446. Having been given back to the Kennedy family the castle was again taken from them by William Crauford of Lefnoris in 1511. The castle was destroyed in the 16th century by King

James V of Scotland James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV a ...

as part of a general policy of reducing the power of the barons of

Galloway Galloway ( ; ; ) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the counties of Scotland, historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council areas of Scotland, council area of Dumfries and Gallow ...

. The castle was dismantled and rebuilt on the side of the loch after the loch water level was raised in the 1930s for a hydro-electric scheme.

Citations

External links

Loch Doon or Balliol Castle, East Ayrshire
- Video footage of Loch Doon or Balliol Castle on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Castles in East Ayrshire Demolished buildings and structures in Scotland Former castles in Scotland 12th-century establishments in Scotland 16th-century disestablishments in Scotland Scheduled monuments in East Ayrshire Historic Environment Scotland properties in East Ayrshire {{Scotland-castle-stub