Spedlins Tower

Spedlin's Tower
©2022 Gazetteer for Scotland

Spedlin's Tower

A former stronghold of the Jardines of Applegarth, Spedlins Tower is situated by the River Annan, 4 miles (6.5 km) northwest of Lockerbie (Dumfries and Galloway). Built in the 15th C. on the site of an earlier tower which had been a seat of the Jardines since the late 12th Century. The walls are up to 3m (10 feet) in thickness. The upper section of the tower was remodelled in 1605 using sandstone from the quarry at nearby Corncockle. It became a ruin after the family built a new mansion, Jardine Hall, for themselves nearby. It was re-roofed and re-occupied in the 1960s. The tower is said to be haunted by the ghost of James 'Dunty' Porteous a local miller, who was confined in the dungeon and forgotten when the owner made a trip to Edinburgh. He died of starvation, but only after eating one of his own hands.


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