Lochore Castle is a ruined 14th-century
tower house
A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, to command and defend strategic points ...
, about south east of
Cowdenbeath
Cowdenbeath () is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 1890. According to a 20 ...
,
Fife
Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...
,
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, and south of
Lochore
Lochore is a former mining village in Fife, Scotland. It takes its name from the nearby Loch Ore.
It is largely joined to the adjacent villages of Ballingry to the north and Crosshill to the south.
Education
Most of the children in Lochore go ...
, east of
Loch Ore, in Lochore Country Park.
[Coventry, Martin (1997) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Goblinshead. p.144]
Little remains of the castle, which was originally on the island of Inchgall, the name meaning “Isle of Strangers”.
[ It may be known alternatively as Inchgall Castle]
History
Duncan
Duncan may refer to:
People
* Duncan (given name), various people
* Duncan (surname), various people
* Clan Duncan
* Justice Duncan (disambiguation)
Places
* Duncan Creek (disambiguation)
* Duncan River (disambiguation)
* Duncan Lake (di ...
of Lochore first built a motte
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 (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortificati ...
on this site,[ during the reign of ]Malcolm IV of Scotland
Malcolm IV (; ), nicknamed Virgo, "the Maiden" (between 23 April and 24 May 1141 – 9 December 1165) was King of Scotland from 1153 until his death. He was the eldest son of Henry, Earl of Huntingdon and Northumbria (died 1152) and Ada de War ...
.[ The Valances acquired the castle (apparently by marriage][) and extended it before constructing the keep during the 14th century,][ having probably lowered the motte.][ Thereafter in came into the hands of the Wardlaws of Torrie, and was then acquired by the Malcolms of Balbedie][
At the end of the 18th century, the loch was drained.][
]
Structure
The keep had four storeys, and a courtyard with four corner towers, which enclosed ranges of buildings.[ Probably the castle was approached by a causeway from the east.][
The wider area was landscaped and loch refilled in the 1980s, to restore it after the devastation caused by ]mining
Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...
in the 20th century.[
]
See also
*Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
Castles have played an important military, economic and social role in Great Britain and Ireland since their introduction following the Norman invasion of England in 1066. Although a small number of castles had been built in England in the 105 ...
*List of castles in Scotland
This is a list of castles in Scotland. A castle is a type of fortified structure built primarily during the Middle Ages. Scholars debate the scope of the word "castle", but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or ...
References
External links
*
{{coord , 56.1484, N, 3.3290, W, display=title
Castles in Fife