Closeburn Castle is a 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...

, probably of the 14th century, but possibly older, and is one of the oldest continually inhabited houses in Scotland. The castle is located 1 km east of the village of Closeburn

Closeburn, Dumfries and Galloway

Closeburn is a village and civil parish in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The village is on the A76 road south of Thornhill. In the 2001 census, Closeburn had a population of 1,119,...

, and 2 km south-east of Thornhill

Thornhill, Dumfries and Galloway

Thornhill is a town in the Mid Nithsdale area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, south of Sanquhar and north of Dumfries.A monument to the explorer Joseph Thomson , who lived in neighbouring Penpont and Gatelawbridge, can be found close to the school...

, in Dumfries and Galloway

Dumfries and Galloway

Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It was one of the nine administrative 'regions' of mainland Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government etc. Act 1973...

, south-west 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...

.

History

The Kirkpatrick

Kirkpatrick Baronets

The Kirkpatrick Baronetcy, of Closeburn in the County of Dumfries, is a title in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia. It was created on 26 March 1685 for Thomas Kirkpatrick, with remainder to heirs male whatsoever...

 family were granted the lands of Closeburn in 1232 by Alexander II

Alexander II of Scotland

Alexander II was King of Scots from1214 to his death.-Early life:...

. The tower house was probably built in the late 14th century, although some sources give a date as early as 1180 or as late as 1420. Sir Roger de Kirkpatrick

Roger de Kirkpatrick

Sir Roger de Kirkpatrick of Closeburn was a Scottish gentleman, a 3rd cousin and associate of Robert the Bruce, and a 1st cousin of Sir William Wallace...

 was with Robert the Bruce

Robert I of Scotland

Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...

 at Dumfries

Dumfries

Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...

 in 1306, and assisted in the murder of John "the Red" Comyn. His son, also Sir Roger, commanded a force which recaptured Caerlaverock

Caerlaverock Castle

Caerlaverock Castle is a moated triangular castle, built in the 13th century, in the Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve area at the Solway Firth, south of Dumfries in the southwest of Scotland. In the Middle Ages it was owned by the Maxwell family. Today, the castle is in the care of Historic...

 and Dalswinton castles from the English in 1355. He was then murdered by Sir James Lindsay at Caerlaverock in 1357.

In 1685 the Kirkpatricks' loyalty to Charles I

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

 was rewarded with a baronet

Baronet

A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...

cy. In the 17th century the Kirkpatricks moved out of Closeburn to an adjacent, newly built manor house. However, this burned down in 1748, with the castle sustaining some damage. Renovations were made to the castle, and the family moved back in. The Kirkpatrick family finally sold Closeburn in 1783 to a local minister, Dr James Stewart-Menteith. It has since changed hands several times, but is still occupied as a dwelling house. Today it has been bought back by Luis Kirkpatrick from Spain.

The castle

The original tower house was built on a promontory in a now drained loch. It was surrounded by a timber palisade, and later, a stone walled barmkin, or defensive courtyard, with round towers at the corners. The tower is approximately 14.5 m by 10.5 m, and rises 15 m to a flush parapet. Inside, a vaulted basement incorporated a prison. A hall above is also vaulted, with a third vault at roof level enclosing three upper storeys. The first-floor entrance to the tower still retains its iron yett

Yett

A yett is a gate or grille of latticed wrought iron bars used for defensive purposes in castles and tower houses...

, a defensive gate of metal bars.

The barmkin was presumably demolished to make way for the 17th century manor. When the family returned to the tower in the mid 18th century, the upper chambers were subdivided, and windows were enlarged to improve the standard of accommodation. The crenellations were added to the parapet around this time. Further renovations were carried out in the 19th century; a single storey extension was added to the south west, and a red sandstone porch was added to the north side after 1856. It is possible that the architect David Bryce

David Bryce

David Bryce FRSE FRIBA RSA was a Scottish architect. Born in Edinburgh, he was educated at the Royal High School and joined the office of architect William Burn in 1825, aged 22. By 1841, Bryce had risen to be Burn's partner...

was responsible for the additions.