Lochore Castle is a ruined 14th-century
tower house
A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...
, about south east of
Cowdenbeath,
Fife
Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, and south of
Lochore
Lochore is a former mining village in Fife, Scotland. It takes its name from the nearby Loch Ore.
It is largely joined to the adjacent villages of Ballingry to the north and Crosshill to the south.
Education
Most of the children in Lochore go to ...
, east of
Loch Ore
Loch Ore is a loch situated in Fife, Scotland. It forms the core of Lochore Meadows Country Park. It is used mainly for leisure purposes, especially yachting, although the uneven depth can make speed boating problematic.
The Roman General Ag ...
, in Lochore Country Park.
[Coventry, Martin (1997) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Goblinshead. p.144]
Little remains of the castle, which was originally on the island of Inchgall, the name meaning “Isle of Strangers”.
[ It may be known alternatively as Inchgall Castle]
History
Duncan
Duncan may refer to:
People
* Duncan (given name), various people
* Duncan (surname), various people
* Clan Duncan
* Justice Duncan (disambiguation)
Places
* Duncan Creek (disambiguation)
* Duncan River (disambiguation)
* Duncan Lake (d ...
of Lochore first built a motte on this site,[ during the reign of ]Malcolm IV of Scotland
Malcolm IV ( mga, Máel Coluim mac Eanric, label=Medieval Gaelic; gd, Maol Chaluim mac Eanraig), nicknamed Virgo, "the Maiden" (between 23 April and 24 May 11419 December 1165) was King of Scotland from 1153 until his death. He was the eldest ...
.[ The Valances acquired the castle (apparently by marriage][) and extended it before constructing the keep during the 14th century,][ having probably lowered the motte.][ Thereafter in came into the hands of the ]Wardlaw
Wardlaw is a first name and surname of Scottish origin.
Wardlaw loosely translates to "watcher of the hill". The original Wardlaws resided in the Scottish highlands, hence "watch of the hill," where as Wardlows resided in the Scottish lowlands. ...
s of Torrie, and was then acquired by the Malcolms of Balbedie[
At the end of the 18th century, the loch was drained.][
]
Structure
The keep had four storeys, and a courtyard with four corner towers, which enclosed ranges of buildings.[ Probably the castle was approached by a causeway from the east.][
The wider area was landscaped and loch refilled in the 1980s, to restore it after the devastation caused by ]mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
in the 20th century.[
]
See also
*Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
Castles have played an important military, economic and social role in Great Britain and Ireland since their introduction following the Norman invasion of England in 1066. Although a small number of castles had been built in England in the 10 ...
*List of castles in Scotland
This is a list of castles in Scotland. A castle is a type of fortified structure built primarily during the Middle Ages. Scholars debate the scope of the word "castle", but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or ...
References
External links
*
{{coord , 56.1484, N, 3.3290, W, display=title
Castles in Fife