Auldton Mote

Auldton Mote is a well preserved motte and bailey castle of modest size just outside the town of Moffat. It was constructed on sloping ground between two burns that gave it good views across Annandale, a route that was strategically important as it was one of the major invasion routes into Scotland from the south.

The castle is of “classic” form with an oval motte surrounded by a ditch, adjacent to a kidney shaped bailey, itself defended by a bank. A break in the bank on the north side near the motte probably represents an entrance. There is no evidence of stone buildings on site suggesting that the structures associated with the castle were of timber.

There is no known history of the site, and it is probably the case that the castle was occupied for the Bruces of Annandale in the 12th and 13th century by a knight in their following during the period in which the Bruces secured the south-western frontier of the kingdom for King David I. No archaeology has been carried out at the site, which presumably ceased to be occupied during the Wars of Independence – or earlier. The castle is on agricultural land, meaning that care must be taken to avoid livestock or crops.

HES Canmore database entry