Kenmure Castle

Kenmure Castle is a country house in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. The site was occupied from the Middle Ages, and the house incorporates part of a 17th-century castle. This was remodelled in the 19th century, but the house has been derelict since the mid-20th century. It was the seat of the Gordon family of Lochinvar, later raised to the peerage as Viscounts of Kenmure. The castle is located in The Glenkens, south of the town of New Galloway. The ruin is a category B listed building and a scheduled monument. HistoryThe present castle stands on a partly natural mound, which may have been modified for defence in the early Middle Ages. The Lords of Galloway, rulers of a semi-independent kingdom in south-west Scotland until the 13th century, may have had a fortress here. Kenmure has been suggested as a possible birthplace in 1249 of John Balliol, later King of Scotland, whose mother Dervorguilla was daughter of Alan, the last independent Lord of Galloway. It later belonged to the Douglas and Maxwell families. Kenmure became a property of the Gordon family from 1297, when they arrived from Berwickshire. The Gordons built a castle on an island in Lochinvar, some to the north. An early castle which stood here was destroyed or damaged by opponents of Mary, Queen of Scots, who marched through the south-west after they defeated her supporters at the Battle of Langside (1568).

Kenmure Castle is a country house in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. The site was occupied from the Middle Ages, and the house incorporates part of a 17th-century castle. This was remodelled in the 19th century, but the house has been derelict since the mid-20th century. It was the seat of the Gordon family of Lochinvar, later raised to the peerage as Viscounts of Kenmure. The castle is located in The Glenkens, south of the town of New Galloway. The ruin is a category B listed building and a scheduled monument. HistoryThe present castle stands on a partly natural mound, which may have been modified for defence in the early Middle Ages. The Lords of Galloway, rulers of a semi-independent kingdom in south-west Scotland until the 13th century, may have had a fortress here. Kenmure has been suggested as a possible birthplace in 1249 of John Balliol, later King of Scotland, whose mother Dervorguilla was daughter of Alan, the last independent Lord of Galloway. It later belonged to the Douglas and Maxwell families. Kenmure became a property of the Gordon family from 1297, when they arrived from Berwickshire. The Gordons built a castle on an island in Lochinvar, some to the north. An early castle which stood here was destroyed or damaged by opponents of Mary, Queen of Scots, who marched through the south-west after they defeated her supporters at the Battle of Langside (1568).