Orchardton Tower

Orchardton Tower is a ruined tower house in Kirkcudbrightshire, Dumfries and Galloway and is remarkable as the only cylindrical tower house in Scotland.

The Cairns family, who built Orchardton, were associated with the area from the early 15th century. John Cairns built Orchardton Tower soon after 1456. Circular towers such as this were common during the thirteenth century, but had largely been replaced by square and rectangular tower houses by the 1400s: Orchardton Tower is thus unique in being built around 200 years after such towers had gone out of fashion.

Using stones from the original castle that adjoined Orchardton Tower, Robert Maxwell completed construction of a new, more comfortable manor house (now called Orchardton Castle) a few miles away.

The round tower was located at the north east corner of a fortified yard or barmkin, which would have sheltered livestock and provided cellars, a bakehouse, and probably a hall built on an upper level. The tower itself was reserved for living quarters, and was accessed via a stair, possibly moveable, from the barmkin up to a first floor doorway. The present entrance, on the north of the tower, was constructed in the 17th or 18th century. A new door was formed from an existing window and a permanent stone stair constructed.

The tower is 11m, in height, and around 9m in diameter, tapering slightly to the top. A corbelled parapet forms the top of the walls, with a gabled caphouse covering the spiral stair, which is within the 1.8m thick wall. Inside, a vaulted cellar occupies the ground floor. Above this was a main room with fireplace, deep windows with seats, and a carved lavabo or piscina. Above this would have been two further rooms, although the wooden floors have collapsed.

References:

• Wikipedia

Address

Kirkcudbrightshire, United Kingdom

Details

Founded: 15th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in United Kingdom