Ancient Site Of Kirkcudbright Castle

Visited on Weekday Wait time No wait Reservation recommended No More
Sep 5th, 2022

The first mention of the castle at Kirkcudbright was in 1288, when John Comyn, sheriff of Wigtown, was mentioned as the guardian of the castle and lands which belonged to the King in Kirkcudbright. This was probably the structure erected at Castledykes. The office of guardian of Kirkcudbright was combined with that of Dumfries and Wigtown in the 1291-2. During the first phase of the Wars of Independence, Edward I used Kirkcudbright as a supply port when his fleet lay off the Dee estuary in 1300. The castle was held by the English throughout this period with Edward I camping at Kirkcudbright for ten days in the summer of that year. After that the king turned to the east of Scotland leaving the west to his son Edward who may have come to Kirkcudbright in July 1301. Kirkcudbright is mentioned again as a supply base in 1306. After Edward Is death in 1307, the castle is unlikely to have been significantly used by the English, and the town was reported as waste in 1335-6. In 1964 the Castledykes were recognised as a nationally important site and the motte was designated as ascheduled monument
Jul 25th, 2021

Nov 12th, 2018