Barscobe Castle facts for kids
Barscobe Castle is a historic building from the 1600s in Balmaclellan, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. It's a type of strong, tall house called a tower house, which was common for a country laird (a Scottish landowner). A special stone panel above the door tells us it was built in 1648.
The castle is shaped like the letter 'L' and was built using stones from Threave Castle. It has three main floors, and its stair tower is even taller. The roof edges have a unique stepped design called crowsteps, which are only found in the Galloway area. Barscobe Castle was empty for many years but was carefully fixed up in 1971. Today, it even has a modern barn that's been turned into a garage. It's considered a very important historical building, known as a category A listed building.
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Who Built Barscobe Castle?
The Maclellan Family
Above the main entrance to Barscobe Castle, there's a special stone panel. It shows the family symbols of the Maclellans and the Gordons. This panel also has the initials of William Maclellan, who built the castle, and his wife, Mary Gordon.
Mary Gordon was the daughter of Sir Robert Gordon of Lochinvar, who was the 4th Viscount of Kenmure. He was also in charge of war efforts for the Stewartry (a local government area) from 1645 to 1648.
When William Maclellan passed away in 1654, his oldest son, Robert Maclellan, took over the castle and lands. Robert was a strong supporter of the Covenanters.
Barscobe Castle and the Covenanters
A Place for Secret Meetings
The Covenanters were a group of Scottish people who wanted to protect their religious freedom in the 1600s. They believed in a specific way of worshipping and disagreed with the King's rules about religion.
During a long period of conflict called the War of the Covenants, Barscobe Castle became a secret meeting place for these Covenanters. They would gather quietly at the Holy Linn waterfall in Barscobe Wood. Here, they held illegal religious meetings and baptisms, fighting for their right to worship freely.
Robert Maclellan's Role
Robert Maclellan was very active in the Covenanter cause. In 1666, he was involved in a small fight at the Clachan Inn near St. John's Town of Dalry. He injured a soldier by shooting pieces of his clay pipe into the soldier's leg.
Later that year, Robert led about 200 men to Dumfries. There, they captured Sir James Turner, a commander who had been sent to Galloway to deal harshly with Covenanter protests. This time was known as The Killing Time because of the harsh treatment of Covenanters.
Maclellan and his men then marched towards Edinburgh. However, many of his group were defeated at the Battle of Rullion Green in the Pentland Hills. This event became known as the Pentland Rising.
Robert Maclellan continued to support the Covenanters. He was eventually captured in 1682 by Claverhouse, a famous soldier. Robert was facing a very serious punishment. However, he was able to avoid it by promising loyalty to the King. This allowed him to return to Barscobe.
Sadly, just one year after he came back, Robert Maclellan was killed at Barscobe. He was murdered by Robert Grierson, another Covenanter, who felt that Maclellan had betrayed their cause.
Later Owners and Restoration
Barscobe Castle stayed with the Maclellan family until 1775. At that time, it was sold to the Carson family. Later, in the 1920s, the estate was sold again to Hugh Laing, who was a shipbuilder. He built a new house nearby called Barscobe House.
In 1961, the estate was sold to Sir Hugh Wontner, who was a hotelier and a politician. Sir Hugh was responsible for restoring Barscobe Castle in the 1970s. He worked with its first tenant after restoration, Dame Bridget D'Oyly Carte, and the architect Ian G Lindsay.
After Sir Hugh passed away in 1992, his daughter, Jenifer Emery, inherited the estate. She then passed it on to her son, Alistair Emery, in 2007. Since November 2011, Stewart Gibson and Lorraine Belshaw have lived in Barscobe Castle. As of 2015, they were running a small bed and breakfast there during certain seasons.
