Barmkin, also spelled barmekin or barnekin, is a Scots

Scots language

Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...

 word which refers to a form of medieval and later defensive enclosure, typically found around smaller castles, tower house

Tower house

A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation.-History:Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountain or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strategic points with reduced forces...

s, pele towers, and bastle house

Bastle house

Bastle houses are a type of construction found along the Anglo-Scottish border, in the areas formerly plagued by border Reivers. They are farmhouses, characterised by elaborate security measures against raids...

s in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, and the north of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It has been suggested that etymologically

Etymology

Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...

 the word may be a corruption of the word barbican

Barbican

A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from...

. The barmkin would have contained ancillary buildings, and could be used to protect cattle during raids.

Examples of places which had barmkins include Halton Castle

Halton Castle

Halton Castle is in the former village of Halton which is now part of the town of Runcorn, Cheshire, England. The castle is situated on the top of Halton Hill, a sandstone prominence overlooking the village...

, Cheshire, Smailholm Tower

Smailholm Tower

Smailholm Tower is a peel tower at Smailholm, around five miles west of Kelso in the Scottish Borders. Its dramatic situation, atop a crag of Lady Hill, commands wide views over the surrounding countryside. The tower is located at grid reference , just west of Sandyknowe farm, and is now a...

, Scottish Borders, and Crichton Castle

Crichton Castle

Crichton Castle is a ruined castle situated at the head of the River Tyne, near the village of Crichton, Midlothian, Scotland. The castle lies two miles south of the village of Pathhead, and the same distance east of Gorebridge, at . A mile to the south-west is Borthwick Castle.-History:In the late...

, Midlothian.

Other uses

The "Barmekin of Echt", near the village of Echt, Aberdeenshire

Echt, Aberdeenshire

Echt is an Aberdeenshire crossroads village in northeast Scotland with a population of approximately 300 people. Echt has a number of prehistoric remains, including the so called Barmekin of Echt which is on a hill to the northwest...

, is a prehistoric hill fort

Hill fort

A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...

ification, comprising five circular stone defensive walls on a hilltop.