Hoddom Castle

Hoddom Castle stands beside the River Annan in Dumfries and Galloway as a large tower house. It lies 4 kilometres south-west of Ecclefechan and the same distance north-west of Brydekirk in the parish of Cummertrees. The castle is protected as a category A listed building. At its core is an L-plan tower house built in the 16th century. The lands once belonged to the Herries family, allies of the Bruce family. Sir John Maxwell acquired Hoddom in the mid 16th century by marrying the heiress Agnes, Lady Herries. The castle has a history of sieges and changes of ownership. Regent Moray besieged Hoddom in 1568 and it fell after ten hours. It was later recaptured by supporters of Mary, Queen of Scots in 1569. The English under Lord Scrope blew up the tower in 1570. In the 17th century the castle was repaired and expanded to form a courtyard castle. General Matthew Sharpe commissioned William Burn to design modern extensions around 1826. The Brook family purchased Hoddom in 1877 and added further extensions in a neo-Jacobean style. Today the castle stands within the grounds of a caravan park. The remaining 19th-century additions serve as offices. The tower house is derelict and included on the Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland. Nearby, the Repentance Tower at Trailtrow is a rare mid-16th century watch tower. It may have been built around 1565 by John Maxwell, Lord Herries. The tower takes its name from an inscription carved above the entrance door. It was later converted to a dovecote after falling out of use with the Union of the Crowns.