Amisfield Tower facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Amisfield Tower |
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| Tinwald, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland |
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Amisfield Tower, drawn by Francis Grose around 1789
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 Amisfield Tower
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| Coordinates | 55°08′18″N 3°34′58″W / 55.13826°N 3.58278°W |
| Type | Tower house |
| Site history | |
| Built | c.1600 |
| Built by | Clan Charteris |
Amisfield Tower is a really old and well-kept castle in Scotland. It's near a place called Tinwald, not far from Dumfries. People sometimes called it Hempisfield Tower too. It's a special building because it's listed as a 'Category A' building, which means it's very important historically.
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History of Amisfield Tower
People think there might have been a fort here since the 1100s. The Charteris family owned this land from the 1200s. The tower you see today was built by the Charteris family around the 1500s.
The Charteris family had some disagreements with another family, the Kilpatricks. This led to a fight where Roger Kilpatrick was killed in 1526. Later, in 1530, Sir Robert Charteris from Amisfield had a duel with Sir James Douglas of Drumlanrig.
In 1636, the property went to John Dalziel. The Dalziel family supported the Stuarts, who were the kings at the time. During a big war in the 1600s, Captain Alexander Dalziel was executed in 1650 because he was loyal to the king.
Archaeologists dug around the tower in 2010 and 2011. They found clues that the original tower might be even older than the 1600s.
What Amisfield Tower Looks Like
Amisfield Tower looks like a simple square building with four main floors and an attic. But it has lots of cool details that make it look more like a fairytale castle!
Special Design Features
The tower has fancy stone decorations called corbelling (stones sticking out to support something) and small towers called turrets on three of its corners. The fourth corner has a flat roof area. The roof is very steep.
The upper parts of the tower are made of smooth, red stone called ashlar. This is different from the rougher stone used for the lower walls. The tower wasn't built just for fighting. So, any small holes for shooting are found only on the upper floors.
Entrance and Inside the Tower
There's a round stair-tower that sticks out from the main building. It goes up two floors and then becomes a square turret. The main entrance has a special opening above it called a machicolation. This allowed defenders to drop things on attackers below.
Inside the castle, the rooms have fireplaces. One room even has a painted border with lion faces! The main hall on the first floor has a garderobe (an old-fashioned toilet) and three windows. The basement floor has a curved ceiling, like a tunnel, and only gets light from three small gun-loops.
The Famous Oak Door
A special oak door from Amisfield Tower is now on display in Edinburgh at the National Museum of Scotland. A local craftsman made it. The door shows a picture of Samson, a strong hero, tearing open a lion's mouth. It also has a shield with the Charteris and Herries family symbols and the date 1600.
Someone named Hubert Fenwick once said Amisfield Tower was "simply marvellous." He thought it showed off almost every fancy design idea from the Jacobean era, which was a time when King James VI of Scotland (who also became King James I of England) was ruling.
Right next to the tower, there's a large house built in the 1600s. It was made even bigger around 1803. Today, the Johnstone family owns the property.
See Also
- Castles in Scotland
- Tower house
