Cruggleton Castle

Cruggleton Castle stands on a high shale outcrop at Cruggleton Point in Dumfries and Galloway, overlooking the east-facing cliffs about forty metres above sea level. The site commands views across the Machars towards Whithorn and Sorbie, some four and six kilometres away. Excavations show it was used from the 1st century AD through to the 17th century, with a stone tower built in the 13th century on an earlier motte. The name Cruggleton comes from the rocky nature of the promontory. Nearby Cruggleton Church, founded in the early 12th century by Fergus, Lord of Galloway, remains the most complete Romanesque church in the area. The castle’s history includes a licence from Edward I in the 1290s to dig for lead to repair eight towers. In 1563 English spies drew the castle for Queen Elizabeth I, noting it was then guarded by only two men unless the Prior of Whithorn stayed there. A dispute over ownership in the 1560s led to a siege by John Fleming, 5th Lord Fleming, and intervention by James Stewart, Earl of Moray. By 1684 the castle was described as wholly demolished and ruinous. Today visitors walk along a coastal path from Galloway House to see the remains. A narrow barrel-vaulted section known locally as ‘The Arch’ stands about three metres high, rebuilt in recent years. The outline of the motte and a broad ditch are still visible, and foundations of other buildings mark the site. The church, restored in the 1890s by William de B M Galloway, holds an ecumenical service every September. The ruins and the church together show centuries of life on this windswept promontory.