Roxburgh Castle

Coordinates: 55°35′47″N 2°27′24″W / 55.59639°N 2.45667°W / 55.59639; -2.45667
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For vessels of this name, see Roxburgh Castle (ship).
Not to be confused with Roxborough Castle.

Ruins of Roxburgh Castle, with Floors Castle in the background
Roxburgh Castle, 1920, by E. W. Haslehust

Roxburgh Castle is a ruined royal castle that overlooks the junction of the rivers Tweed and Teviot, in the Borders region of Scotland. The town and castle developed into the royal burgh of Roxburgh, which the Scots destroyed along with the castle after capturing it in 1460. Today the ruins stand in the grounds of Floors Castle, the seat of the Duke of Roxburghe, across the river from Kelso.

History

Tradition states that

Edward Bruce, Earl of Carrick, and in the words of the Lanercost Chronicle "all that beautiful castle the Scots pulled down to the ground, like the other castles that they had succeeded in capturing, lest the English should ever again rule the land by holding the castles."[3][4]

The castle was captured by the forces of Edward III of England in 1334.[5] Alexander Ramsay and his men recaptured Roxburgh Castle for the Scots on 30 March 1342 by means of a daring night escalade. It was retaken by the English shortly after the Battle of Neville's Cross in October 1346. A Scottish siege in 1417 necessitated repairs. The Scots again besieged Roxburgh in 1460; in the course of the action metal fragments from the explosion of one of his bombards killed King James II of Scotland. However, the Scots stormed Roxburgh, capturing it, and James' queen, Mary of Guelders, had the castle demolished.[1][6]

In 1545, during the war of the

Treaty of Boulogne.[10]

The ruins of Roxburgh Castle stand in the grounds of Floors Castle, the seat of the Duke of Roxburghe.[11] These consist of a large mound, with some small fragments of stone walls, especially on the south side.

The

1314 capture of the castle is one of the inspirations of "The Three Perils of Man" by James Hogg
.

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-85263-749-7
    .
  2. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Roxburgh Castle (58412)". Canmore. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  3. ^ Colvin, H. M.; Brown, R. A. (1963), "The Royal Castles 1066–1485", The History of the King's Works. Volume II: The Middle Ages, London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, p. 819
  4. S2CID 153554882
    .
  5. ^ "Roxburgh". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  6. ^ Colvin, H. M.; Brown, R. A. (1963), "The Royal Castles 1066–1485", The History of the King's Works. Volume II: The Middle Ages, London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, p. 820
  7. ^ Marcus Merriman, Rough Wooings (Tuckwell, 2000), p. 252.
  8. ^ Joseph Bain, Calendar State Papers Scotland: 1547-1563, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), pp. 27, 38.
  9. ^ Joseph Bain, Hamilton Papers, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1892), p. 630.
  10. ISBN 0-85263-749-7
    .
  11. ISBN 1-84158-449-5
    .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Roxburgh Castle.

55°35′47″N 2°27′24″W / 55.59639°N 2.45667°W / 55.59639; -2.45667

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