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Carsluith Castle

Carsluith Castle is a ruined largely 16th century tower house which guards the entrance to a navigable channel through Wigtown Bay.

The lands of Carsluith were held until 1460 by the Cairns family, although whether or not they built a castle here is unknown. That year the lands passed to James Lindsay of Fairgirth, Chamberlain of Galloway, who was probably responsible for building the main tower either in the late 15th or early 16th centuries. The tower stands on the slightest of promontories on the north side of Wigtown Bay close to the East Channel which leads up to the mouth of the River Bladnoch at Wigtown itself.

Rectangular in plan, the tower measures around 9.8m west-north-west to east-south-east by around 7.6m and rises to a height of around 10.0m at the eaves. Originally the upper floors would have been accessed via a spiral staircase within the thickness of the north-west corner. It is likely that a barmkin would have projected from the castle to the north although no trace of this remains.

The vaulted basement level was divided into two cellars and features gunloops for protection of the castle. There was no dedicated kitchen area suggesting perhaps that food was prepared in an external ancillary building. On the first floor is the main hall with a large fireplace on the south wall, within one jab of which is a salt box for preserving dry food.

A slop sink in the south-west corner of the first floor originally drained through a carved stone gargoyle on the west external wall.

The second floor was occupied by two chambers, mirrored in design, one of which would have been the laird’s bedroom. The chambers would have been divided by a wooden partition between the two latrine closet entrances.

Square holes through the north wall at second floor level would have supported timber beams which would have carried an external wooden gallery.

Above the second floor are round turrets at three corners with a corbelled out walkway between them, and crow-stepped gables which would originally bookended a garret level containing further accommodation within the battlements.

The castle passed via Lindsay’s daughter to a Richard Brown or Broun. A stair tower was added to north-west corner of the main block, complete with a gabled caphouse, possibly by the Brown family in the 1560s. The entrance was via a roll-moulded doorway at ground floor level in this stair tower, with a niche above containing a carved armorial panel carrying the Brown arms and a date in the 1560s. The last number was supposedly legible as a 4 in the 19th century but is sometimes given as 1568.

The Catholic Browns feuded with the Protestant McCullochs of Barholm and in 1579 John Brown was fined £40 when his son, also John, failed to appear in court charged with the murder of McCulloch of Barholm.

Carsluith is marked on Blaeu’s map of 1654 as Karsluyith.

Gallovidia, vernacule Galloway
Joan Blaeu, Amsterdam, 1654map image courtesy of NLS

James Brown emigrated to India in 1748 and the castle has seemingly been unoccupied since, with the estate sold to Alistair Johnston and later to the Hannay family of Mochrum and Kirkdale.

In the late 18th century two symmetrical pavilions were added either side of the castle and connected to it with walls to form a U-plan farm steading for the Kirkdale estate. These pavilions, which were remodelled in the 19th century, may have been built on the site of ancillary buildings associated with the castle. One is now in use as a café.

The castle subsequently passed through the hands of several families before entering State care in 1913.

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Alternative names for Carsluith Castle

Carsluth; Garsluth; Karsluyith

Clans associated with Carsluith Castle

Broun

Cairns

Hannay

Surnames associated with Carsluith Castle

Broun

Brown

Cairns

Hannay

Johnston

Lindsay

Where is Carsluith Castle?

Carsluith Castle is in the parish of Kirkmabreck and the county of Kirkcudbrightshire.

Grid reference: NX 49464 54151

Lat / long: 54.8594340, -4.3467690

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Bing Maps | Google Maps | Historic maps (NLS) | OpenStreetMap | Ordnance Survey | PastMap | Streetmap | Wikimapia

OS Map for Carsluith Castle

OS map 311
Wigtown, Whithorn & The Machars
OS Explorer map 311


Directions to Carsluith Castle

Enter a starting point

Weather at Carsluith Castle

7°C
max 7°C / min 7°C
12km/h NE
1028mb
72%
66%
04:10 20:17

Broken clouds
Weather observed at Gatehouse of Fleet at 04:35

References (books)

The Castles of Scotland
Martin Coventry
Prestongrange, 2015
The Castles of South-West Scotland
Mike Slater
Malvern, 1993
The Fortified House in Scotland - Volume III
Nigel Tranter
Edinburgh, 1965

References (websites)

Listed Building record
Scheduled Monument record
Canmore
Historic Environment Scotland
Wikipedia

Castles near Carsluith Castle

Kirkdale (site of)

2.2km away

Barholm Castle

2.9km away

Cassencarie

3.9km away

Kirkclaugh motte

4.4km away

Wigtown Castle (site of)

5.8km away

Eggerness Castle (site of)

6.4km away

Eggerness

6.6km away

Baldoon Castle

7.0km away

Sorbie Tower

8.3km away
more castles....

Ancient sites near Carsluith Castle

Cairnholy I chambered cairn

2.3km away

Cairnholy II chambered cairn

2.4km away

Eggerness Castle fort

6.4km away

Trusty's Hill fort

9.6km away

Castle Feather fort

20.4km away

Stairhaven broch

28.5km away

Craigenholly souterrain

31.0km away

Dunragit cursus

34.5km away

Cults Loch souterrain

37.6km away
more ancient sites....
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Pictish stones near Carsluith Castle

Eggerness Class I rock carving

7.0km away

Trusty's Hill Class I rock carving

9.6km away

Borthwick Mains Class I symbol stone

112.0km away

Princes Street Gardens Class I symbol stone

141.6km away

Abernethy No. 2 Class III symbol stone

141.8km away

Abernethy No. 4 Class III cross shaft

141.8km away

Hawkhill Class III cross-slab

144.3km away

Old Kilmadock 2 Class I symbol stone

149.7km away

Old Kilmadock 1 Class II cross slab

149.7km away
more Pictish stones....
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Pictish sites near Carsluith Castle

Whitecleugh silver chain

72.9km away

Todholes (possible) silver chain

106.5km away

Borland silver chain

108.2km away

Whitlaw silver chain

137.8km away

Haddington silver chain

157.6km away

Traprain Law silver chain

163.2km away

Hoardweel silver chain

168.0km away

Norrie's Law hoard

178.9km away

Dunnicaer fort

270.5km away
more Pictish sites....
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Accommodation near Carsluith Castle

Glaisnock House
bed and breakfastWigtown
6.2km away
ReadingLasses
café, self-catering apartmentWigtown
6.2km away
Cally Palace Hotel
hotelGatehouse of Fleet
10.5km away
The Ship Inn
hotelGatehouse of Fleet
10.8km away
The Bruce Hotel, Newton Stewart
hotelNewton Stewart
13.7km away
Galloway Arms Hotel
hotelMinnigaff
14.2km away
Creebridge House Hotel
hotelNewton Stewart
14.2km away
Minnigaff SYHA Hostel
hostelNewton Stewart
14.8km away
Old Place of Monreith
self-cateringPort William
15.9km away
Selkirk Arms Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barKirkcudbright
19.0km away

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Cafés, restaurants & bars near Carsluith Castle

ReadingLasses
café, self-catering apartmentWigtown
6.2km away
Selkirk Arms Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barKirkcudbright
19.0km away
King's Arms Hotel, Castle Douglas
hotel, restaurant, barCastle Douglas
28.0km away
Tigh Na Mara Hotel
hotel, restaurantSandhead
39.8km away
Cavens Country House Hotel
hotel, restaurantDumfries
48.3km away
Aston Hotel Dumfries
hotel, restaurant, barDumfries
52.8km away
Friars Carse Country House Hotel
hotel, restaurantAuldgirth
53.0km away
Best Western Station Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barDumfries
53.0km away
Premier Inn Dumfries
hotel, restaurantDumfries
55.6km away
Trigony Country House Hotel
hotel, restaurantThornhill
55.6km away
more food.... / more drink....

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Dunbar harbour and castle
Published on the 23rd of May 2012 at 9:56 pm. Updated on the 9th of April 2019 at 3:28 pm.

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Andy Sweet above Fast Castle

Stravaiging around Scotland is written, photographed and researched by Andy Sweet.
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