Castles · Scottish Lowlands
Plunton Castle
Plunton Castle — castle in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, UK.
Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 1.5 h–3 h
- Family-friendly
- Limited wheelchair access
About
Plunton Castle is a castle in the United Kingdom — fortified architecture from the medieval, Tudor, or Victorian-revival period. Heritage designation: scheduled monument. Wikidata describes it as: "castle in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, UK". Coordinates: 54.8319°, -4.1733°.
Photo gallery
Heritage listing
Plunton Castle is a ruined L-plan tower house between Kirkandrews and Gatehouse of Fleet in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Built around 1575 for the Lennoxes of Plunton, it passed by marriage to the Murrays of Broughton in the late 17th century. It was still inhabited in 1684, when it was described by Reverend Symson in his Large Description of Galloway as "a good strong house", but by 1838, when it was painted by George Colomb, it had been abandoned and had fallen into a ruinous condition. Well defended on all sides by burns, a ditch and marshy ground, it has numerous gun loops built into its walls.
From Historic Environment Scotland under OGL v3.
From the Wikipedia article
Plunton Castle is a ruined L-plan tower house between Kirkandrews and Gatehouse of Fleet in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Built around 1575 for the Lennoxes of Plunton, it passed by marriage to the Murrays of Broughton in the late 17th century. It was still inhabited in 1684, when it was described by Reverend Symson in his Large Description of Galloway as "a good strong house", but by 1838, when it was painted by George Colomb, it had been abandoned and had fallen into a ruinous condition. Well defended on all sides by burns, a ditch and marshy ground, it has numerous gun loops built into its walls. There were iron grilles in the windows, and it was further protected by a high wall, but its defensive arrangements were weakened by the fact that one of its ground floor chambers does not communicate with the other rooms of the tower, and was only accessible from the outside. Archaeological evidence for a walled courtyard, gardens and ancillary buildings survives beneath ground level in the surrounding field. Plunton Castle's romantic setting inspired Walter Scott's poorly received melodramatic play, The Doom of Devorgoil. It was designated a scheduled monument in 1937. Historic Environment Scotland describes its condition as fragile, but notes that it would be possible to restore the building to an inhabitable condition, as has happened at nearby Barholm Castle.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
In 1455, the feud between the Douglases and the king resulted in their lands being forfeited. The crown divided the estate of Plunton into two parts, known as King's-Plunton and Plunton-M'Gee, since it was initially owned by the McGhie family. Plunton-M'Gee was later acquired by the Maclellans of Bombie, and King's-Plunton came into the hands of the Lennoxes of nearby Cally. By 1575, Andrew Lennox of Plunton had come into ownership of the whole estate, and the castle was most probably built for him and his future wife, his cousin Janet Lennox, replacing an older house on the site. The estate came to be known as Lennox Plunton, the name by which it is still known. The castle passed by…
Description
Plunton Castle is situated in farmland, about three miles south-east of Gatehouse of Fleet, and is approached by a farm track from a minor road. It is a roofless, L-plan tower house, with a projecting wing at the south-west corner that housed a turnpike stair. The main block measures 9.1 m by 6.5 m, and has walls roughly 1.1 m thick. It has three storeys and an attic, rising to a height of 10.7 m. It is mostly rubble-built of local greywacke, with dressed sandstone detailing, much of which has been plundered for use elsewhere since the building fell into disuse. Situated on a shallow rise, it is nevertheless well-defended by the Plunton Burn on the west side, a steep ditch to the north, and…
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 54.8319, -4.1733
- District
- Dumfries and Galloway
- Postcode
- DG6 4UG
- Parliamentary constituency
- Dumfries and Galloway
Sources
- wikidata: Q17568126 (CC0)
- wikipedia: Plunton Castle (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- commons: Plunton Castle - geograph.org.uk - 494924.jpg (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is Plunton Castle?
- Plunton Castle is in the Scottish Lowlands, United Kingdom (postcode DG6 4UG).
- Who owns Plunton Castle?
- Plunton Castle is owned by | website =.
- Is Plunton Castle a listed building?
- Plunton Castle is officially recognised as scheduled monument listed.
- Does Plunton Castle charge admission?
- Plunton Castle typically charges admission. Check the official site for current ticket prices and opening hours.
- How do I get to Plunton Castle?
- Drivers can navigate to postcode DG6 4UG. It sits within the Dumfries and Galloway parliamentary constituency.