Roxburgh Castle engraving by William Miller after W Brown

Roxburgh Castle is a ruined royal castle that overlooks the junction of the rivers Tweed and Teviot, in the Borders region of

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 ...

. The town and castle developed into the

royal burgh A royal burgh ( ) was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...

of Roxburgh, which the Scots destroyed along with the castle after capturing it in 1460. Today the ruins stand in the grounds of Floors Castle, the seat of the Duke of Roxburghe, across the river from Kelso.

History

Tradition states that King David I founded the castle; it is first recorded in c.1128 during his reign. In 1174, it was surrendered to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

after the capture of William I at

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish border, inland from the North Sea ...

, and was often in English hands thereafter. The Scots made many attempts to regain the fortress. King Edward I of England imprisoned Mary Bruce in a cage hung outside the castle from 1306 to 1310. On 19 February 1314, it was retaken by Sir James Douglas (the "Black Douglas"), in a night attack. His men clothed in black cloaks were apparently mistaken for cattle. They then used rope and board ladders to climb the walls. King

Robert the Bruce 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 ...

ordered the castle demolished by his brother Edward Bruce, Earl of Carrick, and in the words of the Lanercost Chronicle "all that beautiful castle the Scots pulled down to the ground, like the other castles that they had succeeded in capturing, lest the English should ever again rule the land by holding the castles." The castle was captured by the forces of

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

in 1334. Alexander Ramsay and his men recaptured Roxburgh Castle for the Scots on 30 March 1342 by means of a daring night escalade. It was retaken by the English shortly after the Battle of Neville's Cross in October 1346. A Scottish siege in 1417 necessitated repairs. In August 1436, King James I of Scotland planned to conduct a siege of the castle. The king had gathered a huge army, sporting “...fine, large guns, both cannons and mortars”, manned by German gun crews under the command of Johannes Paule “Master of the King’s engines”. There was also a substantial contingent of Highlanders and Islesmen and archers brought by Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross (who brought 3,000 men to the siege), as well as men-at-arms from the Lowlands, including the forces of Archibald, Earl of Douglas and his distant kin and rival, William, Earl of Angus (head of the Red Douglases of Tantallon). However, the Queen arrived to warn her husband that, certain princes of the realm were conspiring against him and a plot was afoot to kill him. Given that and the king's awareness that the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of Durham and the Earls of Northumberland had arrived with a force of northerners, he left the battlefield and his army dispersed, leaving behind his expensive German equipment. The Scots again besieged Roxburgh in 1460; in the course of the action metal fragments from the explosion of one of his bombards killed King

James II of Scotland James II (16 October 1430 – 3 August 1460) was King of Scots from 1437 until his death in 1460. The eldest surviving son of James I of Scotland, he succeeded to the Scottish throne at the age of six, following the assassination of his fathe ...

. However, the Scots stormed Roxburgh, capturing it, and James' queen,

Mary of Guelders Mary of Guelders (; c. 1434/1435 – 1 December 1463) was Queen of Scots by marriage to King James II. She ruled as regent of Scotland from 1460 to 1463. Background She was the daughter of Arnold, Duke of Guelders, and Catherine of Clev ...

, had the castle demolished. In 1545, during the war of the

Rough Wooing The Rough Wooing (; December 1543 – March 1551), also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following the English Reformation, the break with the Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland ...

, more accurately known as the Nine Years' War, the English garrison commanded by Ralph Bulmer built a rectangular fort on the site at the instigation of the Earl of Hertford. In 1547, Hertford ordered the surveyor William Ridgeway and the Master Carpenter John Revell to build to a brewhouse, using a frame made for Wark Castle. Bulmer complained that Ridgeway's visits were infrequent and works incomplete. He wanted to build a blacksmith's forge and a bulwark to the south to give access to drinking water. This fort was destroyed in 1550 by the terms of the Treaty of Boulogne. The ruins of Roxburgh Castle stand in the grounds of Floors Castle, the seat of the Duke of Roxburghe. These consist of a large mound, with some small fragments of stone walls, especially on the south side. The 1314 capture of the castle is one of the inspirations of "The Three Perils of Man" by James Hogg.

References

External links

CANMORE/RCAHMS record of Roxburgh Castle; Old Roxburgh Castle; Protector Somerset's CampSCRAN image: Roxburgh Castle
{{Castles in the Scottish Borders Castles in the Scottish Borders Category B listed buildings in the Scottish Borders Demolished buildings and structures in Scotland Buildings and structures completed in the 12th century Castles and forts of the Rough Wooing

History

See also

References

External links