Ravenstone Castle


(Castle Stewart)

An much-extended L-plan tower house in the Machars of Dumfries & Galloway, Ravenstone Castle (once known as Castle Stewart) is located 2½ miles (4 km) southwest of Sorbie and 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Whithorn. The castle dates from the 16th century, most-likely on the site of an earlier structure, but was extended in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries to create a house of a peculiar cruciform plan. The house comprises four storeys, with a stairway rising to an entrance on first-floor level. Behind are a pair of bow-fronted wings.

The lands were once the property of the MacDowall family, but passed to the MacLellans by 1560. In the 17th century, the castle was acquired by Robert Stewart, the second son of the Earl of Galloway. By the 19th century it was owned by the Lords Borthwick. It was used by the army during the Second World War, left in a poor state and almost demolished in 1978. By the 1950s it was derelict. Some restoration was undertaken in the 1990s, but it was finally restored to habitation in the 2000s. A slow restoration continues within the rear wings.


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