Closeburn Castle and the Kirkpatrick Family

Closeburn Castle

​UPDATE 10/11/2024:
Maria Navarro of Closeburn Castle contacted me with the following updates and corrections:
"The castle never burned down, the family mansion burned down in 1748 and it was then when the sandstone entrance (to the south) and the stairs were added, along with some of the extensions in the ground floor. It was then when the family moved into the castle and sold it in 1790’s. We don’t offer accommodation any longer. The 1st and 7th pictures are not from Closeburn Castle. Thank you for your post, I thought you might want to correct these inaccuracies."

Closeburn Castle, built ca. 1180, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited castles in Scotland and belonged to the Kirkpatrick family. It is located 1 km east of the village of Closeburn, and 2 km southeast of Thornhill in Dumfriesshire, Scotland.



The progenitor of the Kirkpatricks was IVON (pronounced Ewan). He had been instrumental in expelling the Norse people, in 1200's under king William the lion ,and later his son Alexander II . As a result he was granted lands in Annandale in the area called Kirkpatrick Dumfrieshire. The charter granting the land to Ivon was dated 5th of August, 1232. 
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​The original tower house was built on a promontory in a now drained loch. It was surrounded by a timber palisade, and later, a stone walled barmkin, or defensive courtyard, with round towers at the corners. The tower is approximately 14.5 m by 10.5 m, and rises 15 m to a flush parapet. Inside, a vaulted basement incorporated a prison. A hall above is also vaulted, with a third vault at roof level enclosing three upper storeys. The first-floor entrance to the tower still retains its iron yett, a defensive gate of metal bars.
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The barmkin was presumably demolished to make way for the 17th century manor. When the family returned to the tower in the mid 18th century, the upper chambers were subdivided, and windows were enlarged to improve the standard of accommodation. The crenellations were added to the parapet around this time. Further renovations were carried out in the 19th century; a single story extension was added to the southwest, and a red sandstone porch was added to the north side after 1856.
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The Kirkpatrick family lived in Closeburn Castle for approximately 700 years, until 1778. The Closeburn castle burned down in 1748 ,destroying most (but not all) of the family portraits and documents. Finally the estate was sold in 1778 for Ł500,000.  ​
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Closeburn Castle is available to overnight guests and is owned by a branch of the Kirkpatrick family on the Spanish side. (That is another story!)  You may book a stay at their website:  
https://www.scottscastles.com/scotland/southern-scotland/closeburn-castle-757.html#overview

The cost (in English pounds) is approximately 116 pounds per head, per night.

More on the history of the castle, the Kirkpatrick's and each individual member can be found under the Family History & Genealogy link at the top of the page.

More pictures of Closeburn Castle:

Sources:
"History of Dumfries" by William McDowall
Scotts Castle Holidays; URL: https://www.scottscastles.com/scotland/southern-scotland/closeburn-castle-757.html#overview
Kirkpatrick Web; URL: http://kirkpatrickweb.co.uk/kirkpatrickstory.html
Closeburn Castle; Wikipedia; URL: ​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closeburn_Castle