Greenknowe Tower

Berwickshire, United Kingdom

Greenknowe Tower is a 16th-century tower house, located just west of the village of Gordon, in the Scottish Borders. Although a roofless ruin, the stonework of the tower is well preserved, and represents a fine example of a later tower house, built more as a residence rather than as a place of defence.

The lands of Greenknowe were obtained by the Setons of Touch in the early 15th century, when Alexander Seton married a Gordon heiress. The tower was built in 1581 by James Seton, and the date, his initials, and the initials of his wife Janet Edmonstone, are inscribed above the door. The castle is situated on a low natural mound, which was originally surrounded and defended by marshy ground.

In the 17th century, the tower was sold to the Pringles of Stichill, who made additions to the building, and enlarged the windows to suit the less dangerous times. The castle was occupied until the mid 19th century, and passed into state care in 1937 following restoration works.

The tower[edit]Inscription above the door. IS for James Seton, IE for Janet Edmonstone, his wife, with their respective coats of arms, and the date 1581.

Greenknowe is an example of an L-plan tower, with a main block of four storeys, and a stair wing on the east side of five storeys. The main block is around 10.5m by 7m, with walls 1.2m thick. The wing projects 3.3m and is 4.5m wide.

The tower is entered by a door in the re-entrant angle, which retains its original iron gate or yett. This gives access to a vaulted basement, originally divided into kitchen and cellar. The kitchen has a broad fireplace, slop drain and cupboard in the north wall, with a hatch overhead into the hall. Iron meat hooks remain in the ceiling.

Beneath the stair is a small chamber which accesses an east-facing gunloop. The broad turnpike stair leads up to the hall level, from which a smaller stair accesses the upper storeys. This stair is built into a corbelled turret in the re-entrant angle.

The hall occupies the first floor of the main block. There is a large fireplace in the east wall, and four large windows. Blocked doorways in the north walls of the hall and the stair once gave access to the north range, which was built in the 17th century but has since been demolished. Above the hall, the floors of the main block each had two rooms, with a further four rooms, one above the other, in the wing. All the rooms had fireplaces.

The walls are of rubble construction, using local basalt with red sandstone for detailing, and finish at crowstep gables. Bartizans, or angle-turrets, are found at the north-west and south-east corners of the main block, and the south-east corner of the wing. The smaller wing bartizan also had machicolations.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 16th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in United Kingdom

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Garry Lewis (4 months ago)
Great place its fencedoff for safety currently. I went inside on my last visit 17 years still great to see.
L T (2 years ago)
The tower is currently closed due to work needing done. It's enclosed by a barrier, however you can still visit from the outside.
ALCDA Greig (3 years ago)
Would have loved to see inside, maybe next time! Lovely building, well worth a quick stop.
Gillian Currie (3 years ago)
Lovely wee place,and a cute little donkey and horse to the field next to it. Can't get inside bur still amazing to see and take in the history
Peter Clayton (4 years ago)
Well worth a visit - this is a place that you can imagine living in - you can use the staircases to get up to the top of the building and there are good vantages for photographers to capture interesting perspectives. It's also a lovely place for a picnic, it's not on the road to anywhere and so you've normally got it to yourselves. The countryside around is beautiful and it's an interesting drive - try some of the byways, Google Maps will still get you home!
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Celje Castle

Celje Castle was once the largest fortification on Slovenian territory. The first fortified building on the site (a Romanesque palace) was built in the first half of the 13th century by the Counts of Heunburg from Carinthia on the stony outcrop on the western side of the ridge where the castle stands. It had five sides, or four plus the southern side, which was a natural defence. The first written records of the castle date back to between 1125 and 1137; it was probably built by Count Gunter. In the western section of the castle, there was a building with several floors. Remains of the walls of this palatium have survived. In the eastern section, there was an enclosed courtyard with large water reservoirs. The eastern wall, which protects the castle from its most exposed side, was around three metres thicker than the rest of the curtain wall. The wall was topped with a parapet and protected walkway.