Roxburgh Castle

Roxburgh Castle is a very important and much-ruined royal castle dating back to the 12th century, which was repeatedly damaged and repaired up to its eventual fall in the 15th century and demolition by the Scots. It was then briefly the site of an artillery fort for the English in the 16th century. Sitting on top of a rocky ridge between the Teviot and Tweed just outside Kelso, it is publicly accessible but often overgrown with vegetation.

The castle was founded by King David I as his capital, but the loss of his English territories to Henry II meant that it became a military border fortress that was too important for the English of Scots to allow the other side to hold. The original timber castle was rebuilt in stone and probably consisted of a tower and courtyard with outbuildings, later altered to form a multi-courtyard structure comparable to Stirling or Edinburgh. It was repeatedly strengthened by both sides during the 14th century, and eventually demolished c1470. When the artillery fort was destroyed in 1550, the site was abandoned, and became part of the estate of Floors Castle.

HES Canmore database entry

A little while ago I wrote a blog post describing my visit to Roxburgh Castle here