Roxburgh Castle

Roxburgh Castle, 1920 by E. W. Haslehust

Roxburgh Castle was a castle sited near modern Roxburgh, in the Borders region of Scotland.

The castle was founded by King David I. In 1174 it was surrendered to England after the capture of William I at Alnwick, and was often in English hands thereafter. The Scots made many attempts to regain the fortress. In 1314 it was retaken by Sir James Douglas, but was later lost again. Henry V of England made repairs to the castle after a Scottish siege in 1417. In 1460 James II was killed whilst bombarding the castle, when one of his own cannons exploded. However Roxburgh was stormed, and James' queen Mary of Guelders had the castle demolished. Its ruins stand in the grounds of Floors Castle, the seat of the Duke of Roxburghe.

In 1545, during the Rough Wooing, the English built a rectangular fort on the site at the instigation of the Earl of Hertford. This was destroyed in 1550 by the terms of the Treaty of Boulogne.

References

• Coventry, Martin (2006). The Castles of Scotland. Birlinn. ISBN 1-84158-449-5.
• Mike Salter (1985). Discovering Scottish Castles. Shire Publications Ltd. pp. 17–18. ISBN 0-85263-749-7.