Crichton Castle

In the late 14th century, John de Crichton (d.1406) built a tower house here as his family residence. John's son, William (d. c. 1453), served as Lord Chancellor of Scotland, and was made Lord Crichton in c. 1443. In 1440, William had been partly responsible for organising the "Black Dinner", where the young William Douglas, 6th Earl of Douglas, was murdered. As a result, Crichton obtained the Douglas property of Bothwell Castle in Lanarkshire for himself. John of Corstorphine, chief of Clan Forrester and a Douglas adherent, stormed and slighted the castle in 1445 in retaliation. William, however, reconstructed and extended the castle, and also built the nearby collegiate church. The 3rd…

Crichton Castle comprises four contiguous buildings arranged around an inner courtyard. The 14th-century tower lies at the east of the castle, and has a vaulted basement with timber entresol, and a vaulted hall above, although the south-west corner of the tower has collapsed. To the west of this tower was a barmkin. William Crichton extended the castle in the early 15th century, building a second tower to the south, forming a strong L-plan, with the gate between the two towers. The south tower was entered by a door in the centre, with vaulted cellars either side. Two halls occupied the first and second floors. In the later 15th century a west block was added, with a six-storey tower at the…