Wigtown Castle

Wigtown Castle was a royal castle beside the River Bladnoch south of Wigtown in Dumfries and Galloway. A castle stood there by the 12th century. Robert de Brus, 5th Lord of Annandale took the castle in 1286. Sir Walter de Corrie, the governor, handed it to King Edward I of England in 1291. Richard Siward became governor in 1292, followed by Henry de Percy in 1296 and John de Hodleston in 1297. Sir William Wallace captured the castle in 1297. Adam Gordon then became governor the same year. King Robert the Bruce took the castle after 1313 and it was demolished. The site became a Scheduled Monument in 2004. Today the castle site is an open grassy area beside the river. A low stone bank marks the castle’s outline. Visitors can walk along the riverbank and see the castle’s former position. The setting is quiet with views over the Bladnoch valley. The scheduled monument sign explains the site’s history.