Details

tower house
15th century

Location

NX 521 529
Galloway
nr Gatehouse of Fleet
n of A75
off A75
map

Information

private home
available for self-catering

Links

Wikipedia
Barholm Castle stie
Gazetteer
Geograph
RCAHMS

Questions?
Comments?

Barholm Castle

If you ever wanted to buy a crumbling ruin and restore it to its former glory, Barholm is a lovely example of how it's done. The before and after pictures at the Barholm site for some amazing work. I could totally move in. The kitchen is stunning. This is what I imagine a restored castle should look like (can you tell I want one?)


the completely restored tower house of barholm castle

15th Century Tower

The three story tower here was a derelict, crumbling pile only a few years ago -- restored from bare stone and collapsed walls to a livable home. The tower house was originally built int he 15th century, although it probably was built on the foundations of earlier work. The tower is roughlky 10.6m x 7.8n. THe first story is the hall, and the floor above was divided into two rooms. There is an attic above.

The wing attached to the tower house is smaller, but taller than the main part of the house, and has a caphouse. The stair tower is a later addition (16th century). A few single-story outbuildings were also built around the tower's north side.

Inside, the basement is vaulted and there is a wide staircase from the entrance to the top of the tower. It has been restored (2006) with modern convenciences, and is available for rent.

Ownership

The castle here is associated with the McCullochs, who bought the land around 1510, and built the tower about fifty years later - a charter was signed in 1541 to that effect . One of the notable guests here was John Knox (who stayed here before fleeing the country). The castle "made the news" again in 1579 when the laird here was murdered.

A Robert Adams-designed classical house was built in the late 18th century to replace the family home at Barholm. The tower was left to crumble, alhtough it still outlasted the new, replacement house -- it was destroyed in 1950 by fire.