Gelston Castle

Gelston Castle stands in a quiet corner of Kirkcudbrightshire, Dumfries and Galloway, a few miles from Castle Douglas. The land belonged first to monks of Iona, then passed to King William the Lion who granted it to monks of Holyrood between 1165 and 1214. John of Genelston appears in the Ragman Roll of 1296 as owner, followed by Donald Maclellan in 1472 and later the Maxwell family. Sir William Douglas of Castle Douglas acquired the estate in 1799 and built the present castle. The design is credited to Richard Crichton, a pupil of Robert Adam, and the work was finished by 1805. The castle is an important country house in Adam castellated style. It has a square plan with round tourelles at each corner and a three-storey centre that rises like a small tower. The walls are of finely tooled red sandstone and still stand to wallhead height. A succession of owners kept the estate until the Galliers-Pratts used it for pheasant shooting in the 19th century. During the Second World War it became a home for handicapped boys evacuated from Glasgow before the roof was removed. Visitors find a roofless shell of high-quality masonry, complete to the top of the walls. The advanced centre bays create a tower effect on the front elevation. Though gutted inside, the external form remains clear, showing the round tourelles and ramped walls. The red sandstone glows in the light, marking the hand of Crichton and Adam’s influence. The surrounding parkland is peaceful, a relic of the estate’s long history.