THREAVE
CASTLE
In April I started a series about my first dream trip to
Scotland. This post is my next treasured memory as my husband and I continue
our journey ~
After leaving the magnificent Caerlaverock Castle, we headed
west to Threave Island, situated on the river Dee 14km's from the burgh and
port of Kirkcudbright.
Threave Castle and Island
In medieval times, access to the island was either by boat from
the west side into the harbour or via the hazardous dog-legged ford at the
south end of the island. Today, you have to sit back, relax and allow the
ferryman to take you across.
Legend tells that Threave Island was the home of the ancient
rulers of Galloway a thousand and more years ago. Today there is no trace of
their fortress. The tall, forbidding tower house that now dominates the island
was built for Archibald Douglas, better known to history as Archibald 'The
Grim', soon after he became Lord of Galloway in 1369.
Forbidding Threave Castle
This tower house was one of the
first to be constructed in Scotland
Archibald's castle was much more than just the tower house we
see today. There are lumps and grassy bumps where the foundations of other
buildings lie buried.
Excavations in the 1970's revealed what some of these buildings
were likely to be. A great hall, guest lodgings with chapel, kitchens, bake
houses, brew houses, stables, workshops and yards. The conclusion drawn from
the artefacts and debris found was that this was once a thriving,
self-sufficient community boasting wood-turning, iron-smithing and
lead-smelting. They also made their own shoes and other leather items, spun
wool, maintained a good standard of animal husbandry, ate well and played board
games much as we do.
THE
CASTLE AS RESIDENCE
The tower house was designed to accommodate the family and
immediate household of Black Douglas alone. It was a self-contained residence
fully capable, when the occasion demanded, of being defended by a modest number
of men temporarily stationed within its massive walls.
The ground floor and stairs leading
to the next level
The tower house comprised five storeys of accommodation with
battlements at the top. It had only one entrance, on the east side.
The spiral staircase leading to the
upper storeys
The basement at ground level served as a cellarage, and included
a well that was reached from the kitchen via a ladder and hatch.
Threave well was built inside the
tower house
A dark, dank prison occupied the basement beneath the reception
hall. Adam Crossar, a petty thief, was held prisoner here in 1579.
No, that's not my husband playing
the part for the photo.
But he would if asked:)
By the time of his death at Threave in 1400, Archibald Douglas
was the most powerful magnate in southern Scotland.
When James II took steps to overthrow the Black Douglases a half
century after Archibald's death, it was at Threave that the final act in the
drama unfolded. The island fortress withstood a two-month siege in the summer
of 1455 before the garrison surrendered. The Black Douglases were finally
destroyed, their estates forfeited.Threave reverted to the Crown and thereafter played an insignificant role in Scotland's history. Following the surrender of its garrison to the Covenanters in 1640, the castle was partially dismantled and the island abandoned.
The ruin was taken into state care shortly before World War I -
one of the first great ruined castles to be so protected.
Thanks for
dropping by and I hope you'll return to see where we stop next in our Scottish
adventure ~
Information care of Historic Scotland
