|
Orchardton Tower, is a ruined tower house in Kirkcudbrightshire, Dumfries and Galloway, south west Scotland. It is located 4 miles (6.1km) south of Dalbeattie, and 1 mile (1.7km) south of Palnackie, in Buittle parish. It is remarkable as the only cylindrical tower house in Scotland. Orchardton Tower is in the care of Historic Scotland, and is a Category A listed building,〔(【引用サイトリンク】Orchardton Tower: Listed Building Report )〕and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.〔(【引用サイトリンク】Orchardton Tower )〕 ==History== The Cairns family, who built Orchardton, were associated with the area from the early 15th century. Alexander Cairns was Provost of Lincluden, now an area of Dumfries, until his death in 1422. His brother, John Cairns, was Custumar, or customs officer, in Linlithgow. John Cairns was also a military engineer, and was responsible for designing the impressive King David's Tower at Edinburgh Castle, which was destroyed in 1573. His heir, another John Cairns who was his nephew's son, was granted the lands of 'Irisbuitle', or Orchardton, in 1456. The grant of former Douglas lands was possibly in return for Cairns' support for James II, in his successful struggle to overthrow the power of the 'Black' Earls of Douglas. John Cairns built Orchardton Tower soon after. The fact that round towers are common in Ireland has led to speculation of Irish influence at Orchardton. However, no specific link has been found. John Cairns' grandson William was present, in support of his relatives Agnew and Lochinvar, at the murder of Thomas McLellan of Bombie, outside St. Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh in 1527. On William's death in 1558 the estate was partitioned between his three daughters. The part including the castle was sold in 1616 to Robert Maxwell, who had earlier bought the other portions of the estate. Maxwell was a nephew of Lord Maxwell, and in 1663 was created a baronet. Maxwell's descendants were divided along with the rest of the country during the Reformation. Mungo Maxwell (b. 1700) was illegally disinherited by his half brothers on religious grounds. His son, another Robert Maxwell, was raised in France, and obtained a commission in the French Army. Following service in France, he took part in the second Jacobite Rising in 1745. He was wounded at Culloden and taken prisoner, where his commission was discovered and he was consequently spared execution; as a foreign soldier, he was treated as a prisoner of war rather than a traitor. Robert returned to France for a time, before deciding to declare himself a Protestant in order to claim his rightful inheritance. In 1753 he resigned his commission and returned to Scotland to begin a long lawsuit, which ended in 1771 when he was confirmed as Sir Robert Maxwell, 7th Bt. These events were used as inspiration by Sir Walter Scott, for his novel ''Guy Mannering''. Robert Maxwell completed construction of a new, more comfortable residence at Orchardton House. He was bankrupted by his financial dealings, and in 1785 the estate was sold to the Douglas family. It is unlikely that the castle was lived in after this time. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Orchardton Tower」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|