Plunton Castle

In 1455, the feud between the Douglases and the king resulted in their lands being forfeited. The crown divided the estate of Plunton into two parts, known as King's-Plunton and Plunton-M'Gee, since it was initially owned by the McGhie family. Plunton-M'Gee was later acquired by the Maclellans of Bombie, and King's-Plunton came into the hands of the Lennoxes of nearby Cally. By 1575, Andrew Lennox of Plunton had come into ownership of the whole estate, and the castle was most probably built for him and his future wife, his cousin Janet Lennox, replacing an older house on the site. The estate came to be known as Lennox Plunton, the name by which it is still known. The castle passed by…

Plunton Castle is situated in farmland, about three miles south-east of Gatehouse of Fleet, and is approached by a farm track from a minor road. It is a roofless, L-plan tower house, with a projecting wing at the south-west corner that housed a turnpike stair. The main block measures 9.1 m by 6.5 m, and has walls roughly 1.1 m thick. It has three storeys and an attic, rising to a height of 10.7 m. It is mostly rubble-built of local greywacke, with dressed sandstone detailing, much of which has been plundered for use elsewhere since the building fell into disuse. Situated on a shallow rise, it is nevertheless well-defended by the Plunton Burn on the west side, a steep ditch to the north, and…