Английская Википедия:Hills Tower
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Use Scottish English Шаблон:Use dmy dates Шаблон:Infobox historic site
Hills Tower is a sixteenth-century square tower house, with an adjoining eighteenth-century wing, near Dumfries in Scotland. Originally built around 1527 for Edward Maxwell, who had purchased the estate from James Douglas of Drumlanrig, it was improved in the later sixteenth century by his grandson, also Edward Maxwell. In 1721, another Edward Maxwell had a two-storey Georgian wing added to the tower's east side, using stone taken from older buildings nearby, and incorporating armorial panels celebrating members of the Maxwell family.
The tower is unusual in that it has retained its original barmkin walls and their gatehouse. It eventually passed by marriage to the McCullochs of Ardwall, who still retained ownership of it as of 1994. It is still inhabited, and in 1971 the tower, along with the walls and gatehouse, was designated a Category A listed building.
Description
Hills Tower is set in farmland near the hamlet of Lochrutton, approximately Шаблон:Convert south-west of Dumfries.Шаблон:Sfn The main part of the building is a four-storey square tower house, attached to which on the east is a two-storey Georgian extension. The building is set within a courtyard, with a surviving small gatehouse.Шаблон:Sfn
The main tower has a footprint of Шаблон:Convert by Шаблон:Convert, and its walls, which are up to Шаблон:Convert thick at the base, rise to a height of Шаблон:Convert to the level of the parapet.Шаблон:Sfn It has a single door, on the ground floor, giving access to the house from the courtyard; grooves remain in the stonework for the iron yett that would originally have protected the entrance.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Above the door is an armorial panel, which bears the worn initials of Edward Maxwell, who had the tower built, and his wife Janet Corsane (or Carson).Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The door enters into a small vestibule, from which leads a turnpike stair, and a door into the vaulted basement, which would originally have been a store room; a fireplace was built into it in the twentieth century.Шаблон:Sfn
The great hall is on the first floor, and is provided with a large fireplace, Шаблон:Convert in width, and a window recess with stone seating in the walls to either side of it. Two further smaller windows on the opposite wall are now blocked.Шаблон:Sfn Both the hall on the first floor, and the single room in the floor above it, have garderobes in the south-east corner.Шаблон:Sfn At the top of the stairway is a cap-house, which leads out onto the parapet, running around the whole circumference of the tower. Gargoyles, intricately carved to resemble cannon, provide drainage for the roof.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
The east wing connects to the tower internally, but can also be entered through a door from the courtyard; above this door is a datestone, inscribed with the year of the wing's construction, 1721.Шаблон:Sfn Between the windows in the second storey of its four-bay north front are more armorial panels, with inscriptions for Sir John Maxwell, Lord Herries, and his wife Agnes, Lady Herries, and for Edward Maxwell of Hills and his wife, Agnes Maxwell. These panels, for the second and third inhabitants of the tower, are of the sixteenth or early seventeenth centuries, and must have been taken from elsewhere and added to the wing when it was being built.Шаблон:Sfn The interior of the wing is mostly modern, having been renovated in the twentieth century; the east room on the ground floor served as a kitchen when the wing was built.Шаблон:Sfn
The tower is very unusual in that it retains both its barmkin walls and its gatehouse.Шаблон:Sfn The walls, which are Шаблон:Convert thick and up to Шаблон:Convert high, enclose an area that is Шаблон:Convert by Шаблон:Convert. The courtyard within is entered through a gatehouse, with an arched gateway, Шаблон:Convert wide and Шаблон:Convert high, and protected by a yett; above this is a chamber, accessible from the inside only by a ladder, from which a pair of gun loops provided a defensive field of fire over the approach to the gate.Шаблон:Sfn
History
In 1527 Edward Maxwell, tenant of Breconside, bought the Hills estate from James Douglas of Drumlanrig, and had the original tower built soon afterwards.Шаблон:Sfn It was later improved by his grandson, also Edward Maxwell, the third laird, between 1598 and 1600;Шаблон:Sfn the surviving gatehouse was added at this time, and work was done on the upper parts of the tower, including the addition of the cannon gargoyles.Шаблон:Sfn The building works put a financial strain on the family, but they were able to retain ownership of the property and in 1721 the sixth laird, another Edward Maxwell, commissioned the mason John Selchrig (or Selkirk) to add the two-storey wing to the east side of the tower.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn This addition, which provided the tower with additional space and a more modern kitchen, was built in part with material recycled from older nearby buildings, at a cost of 900 merks.Шаблон:Sfn
The building later passed by marriage to the McCullochs of Ardwall, who still owned it as of 1994.Шаблон:Sfn It is still in use as a residence, and was designated a Category A listed building in 1971; its barmkin walls and gatehouse are included in the designation.Шаблон:Sfn
References
Sources
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Historic Environment Scotland
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
External links
Шаблон:Castles in Dumfries and Galloway
