Kenmure Castle, New Galloway

Kenmure Castle
New Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway
Scotland

Kenmure castle is hidden away on the Western shores of Loch Ken, right at the Northern tip of the long loch, and about a mile and a half South of New Galloway. From the A713, as it follows the Eastern shores of the loch, the castle can be glimpsed above the tree line just before you reach the road that takes you across the top of the loch and West towards New Galloway. The South bound A762 then leads you back down the Western shores of the loch. The castle is hidden on your right, about a mile and a half outside New Galloway. The reason, I assume, that there are no signs or information boards for this castle, is that the site isn't owned by Historic Scotland….which is a shame really, as this castle is a pretty huge building, and is set amongst what would once have been fantastic gardens.

Above. View of the castle looking South East into the old courtyard.

The castle is freely accessible, and can be safely viewed from the outside. From the outside only though, as it’s in a pretty poor state of repair. It is without its roof, and many internal floors and walls have either collapsed, or look as if they are about to. The path to the castle is on the left hand side of the road as you drive out of New Galloway, and climbing the stile takes you up what would once presumably have been the main driveway to the castle, with an avenue of trees still surviving. An open grassy area to the right looks as if it may once have been a lawned area, with the ruins of a building protruding from a earth bank to the right, possibly the remains of an ice house. The castle can be seen through the trees that line the bottom of the 100 foot hill that it sits on. The main driveway winds up the outside of, what to all intents and purposes, is a huge motte. Once at the top, the full extent of the building can be seen. In essence the castle is an L shaped building, incorporating masonry from a 16th century tower house. Most of the masonry is from a 17th century rebuild (at the earliest) with a large amount of additions dating from the 1800’s and 1900’s. The poor state of the castle can be seen by simply glancing in through the windows. The interior floors are piled high with roof rubble, timbers, plaster, brick work and general rubbish. The building has been abandoned since the late 1950’s or 60’s, and the lack of maintenance since then is obvious. It is believed that the 19th century re-modelling of the castle, essentially removed or masked much of the 16th century building.

Above. View of the West end of the castle.

The ornate doorway, with the Gordon coats of arms over the top, probably dates from the 1630's, at a time when the 6th Laird, John, was created Viscount Kenmure.

Above. View of the doorway in the courtyard.

The courtyard is possibly the most interesting area to examine. From here, you can see spiral staircases through the windows, vaulted ground floor rooms, and two Gordon coats of arms mounted above external doors, and still recognisable to this day, despite some weather wear.

The castle occupies the top of the flat rocky outcrop, and overlooks the loch to the East. Legend has it that the ancient Lords of Galloway had fortress here, but no traces of any earlier structures have been found. Legend also has it that John Balliol was born here in 1249. The castle belonged to the Gordons from the late 1290’s, and was amongst huge swathes of land in the area that was under their control. The castle was twice attacked and seriously damaged.

Above. View of the castle looking North.

The first time in 1568, after the defeat of Mary Queen of Scots. The Gordons supported Mary’s causes, and suffered at the hands of her enemies when she was defeated.

Above. View of the 16th century (?) tower looking North.

The above photo probably shows an original tower (the left hand part of the building), dating from somewhere between 1570 and 1600, with three outer walls surviving. The missing, internal wall, was knocked through when the building was extended.

The walls in this tower are just under one and a half feet thick, and it's thought that the small bartizan is original from this period.

At the South West corner of the building, another late 16th century structure still exists, a corner stair tower, with decorative string courses surrounding the door and windows.

Above. View of the stair entrance in the courtyard.

To the rear of this stair tower, there are three original (late 16th century) rooms, each with their original vaulted ceilings. A fourth room has a 19th century external wall, with original late 16th century internal walls and the vaulted ceiling.

The second time by Oliver Cromwell’s troops in 1650. The Gordon’s backed Charles I and again suffered when he was finally defeated. The castle was beseiged, captured and wrecked by the Parliamentarian troops.The castle was renovated and turned into a palatial mansion, possibly in the early 1890’s and was again renovated and somewhat rebuilt as a hotel.

Follow the links below for images on other web sites.

Artists Footsteps

This painting is by James Faed, and is housed at Broughton House gallery in Kirkcudbright.