Aikwood Tower (formerly known as Oakwood Tower) is a 16th-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 ...
in the
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...
area of
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 ...
, southwest of the town of
Selkirk, on the
Ettrick Water
The Ettrick Water is a river in Ettrick, by the village of Ettrickbridge and the historic town of Selkirk, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland.
The water, a tributary of the River Tweed, is known also as the River Ettrick, often locally ...
. It has been restored and renovated to offer luxury self-catering holidays and weddings. Viewings and tours by appointment only.
The tower is a Category A
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
The tower was built in 1535, but in the late 18th century it was abandoned as a dwelling and was used as a store on the adjoining farm. The building was restored in the early 1990s by the former
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
leader
David Steel
David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, (born 31 March 1938) is a British politician. Elected as Member of Parliament for Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles, followed by Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale, he served as the final leade ...
. He and his wife lived there for twenty years from 1992 to 2012. Aikwood Tower is now owned by Steel's son Rory and his wife who operate it as a private holiday home and wedding venue
Aikwood Tower
See also
*
List of places in the Scottish Borders
''Map of places in the Scottish Borders compiled from this list'':See the list of places in Scotland for places in other counties.
This list of places in the Scottish Borders includes towns, villages, hamlets, castles, golf courses, historic hous ...
*
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
Gazetteer for Scotland, Aikwood Tower
External links
SCRAN: black-and-white image; listed as "Oakwood Tower"SCRAN: colour image of Aikwood towerFederation of Scottish Theatre: Rowan Tree Theatre company, based at Aikwood Tower
{{Authority control
Castles in the Scottish Borders
Category A listed buildings in the Scottish Borders
Listed castles in Scotland
Tourist attractions in the Scottish Borders
Houses completed in 1535
1535 establishments in Scotland