Alloa Tower

Alloa Tower stands in Alloa, Clackmannanshire, in central Scotland. It is an early 14th-century tower house that once served as the medieval residence of the Erskine family, later Earls of Mar. The tower retains its original timber roof and battlements and is one of the earliest and largest Scottish tower houses, with immensely thick walls. It was designated as a scheduled monument in 1960 and is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland. The four-storey tower is 68 feet high, excluding the attic, and measures 62.5 by 39.5 feet in size. The building is made from coursed rubble and has been extensively re-fenestrated during its history. The tower was originally built as part of a line of fortifications defending the north shore of the Firth of Forth. Archaeological investigations from the early 19th century date the original fortified house to the early 14th century, where it had a cellar that sometimes served as a pit prison. By the mid-14th century, it had been enlarged with a great hall and rose to three storeys in height, with the entrance on the first floor. In the 15th century, it was further enlarged to four or five levels while retaining its first-floor access. Late in the 16th century, ground-floor access was probably added. John Erskine, the sixth Earl of Mar, built a very large mansion in 1710 that incorporated the tower as its annexe. The house burned down in 1800 and was rebuilt in 1834–1838 for the ninth Earl. It was demolished sometime after 1868. Currently, the tower is a public attraction and hosts events for different holidays like Easter and Christmas. Mary, Queen of Scots visited the tower twice in the 16th century, and James VI of Scotland stayed there for four days in 1580. The tower also has a history tied to witch trials in the 16th and 17th centuries.