Skulferatu #147 - Balgone Barns Windmill, North Berwick

 

In a field outside of North Berwick there is an old and ruined stone tower.  It stands in an island of rough grass looking out over the ever-changing crops being grown and harvested around it.  I have often cycled by on the narrow country road that takes you past it and had thought that while it looked a bit like the remains of some fairytale tower fallen into disrepair, it was probably just one of the many dovecotes scattered around East Lothian.  However, though it was latterly used as that, it turns out that it was originally built as a windmill.

 

 

Balgone Barns Windmill

 

 

Balgone Barns Windmill

 

 

Balgone Barns Windmill

 

The windmill was built in the late 17th century for milling barley and is constructed of rubble and freestone.  It has an underground vault that extends out from the tower and about twenty feet into the field, which I assume was probably some sort of storage area.  The windmill carried on in its original industrious purpose up until the 18^th century when it fell into disuse and was then more than likely abandoned for a while.  Its working life over, someone, probably the local landowner, thought it would make a good doocot, so had it heightened by about ten feet and converted into that.  The building was recorded in 1799 on a map of Haddingtonshire by William Forrest as being a ‘Pidgeon Cot’.  How long it carried on in this function I have no idea, but at some point, a big chunk of the tower collapsed, and it fell out of use again.

 

 

Vault entrance to Balgone Barns Windmill

 

 

Vault entrance to Balgone Barns Windmill

 

 

Windmill tower and vault

 

 

View of the windmill tower

 

I had hoped to have a look around this building for a while but thought it best to wait until the crops around it had been harvested. Then they were and it rained for what seemed like weeks afterwards leaving the field a muddy mire.  So, after a few days of autumn sunshine I took a trip out and trudged through the field to the ruin.  The field was not quite as dry as I hoped, and the mud was a sticky clay that stuck and balled around my feet turning my stride into a boot heavy drag.

 

 

Silhouette and shadow

 

Wanting to get into the building I walked first of all to the doorway only to find that there was a ten-foot drop to the ground below.  Having no intention of being thwarted I then followed the line of the vault round to where there was another way in.  Ducking through into the short tunnel there, I got through and into the structure of the windmill itself.

 

 

Inside the vault

 

 

Looking out from the vault

 

Like in so many other earth floored ruins I’ve wandered around I found that I was quickly surrounded by little biting flies who nipped at my balding head in a frenzy of blood lust.  Unfortunately for them, a few swipes over of my hand and their feeding frenzy was over.  Well, until the next lot appeared.

 

Inside the tower of the windmill, it was quiet and warm, with the sunlight from above spiralling down.  I watched the clouds above scudding past in the sky and thought how relaxing it would be, if the nasty, little biting flies weren’t around, to sit there in a comfy armchair and spend an hour or two just looking up.  Maybe one day I’ll dig a deep hole to lie in and watch the sky.

 

 

Looking up to the sky

 

Before leaving, I left the Skulferatu that had accompanied me, in a gap in the tower wall of the old windmill.

 

 

Skulferatu #147

 

 

Skulferatu #147 in a gap in the tower wall

 

 

Skulferatu #147 in a gap in the tower wall

 

 

Map showing location of Skulferatu #147

 

The coordinates for the location of the Skulferatu are -

 

Latitude 56.035724

Longitude -2.718919

 

what3words: flagging.copiers.legend

 

I used the following sources for information on Balgone Barns Windmill –

 

Canmore - Balgone Barns Windmill, North Berwick

 

Historic Environment Scotland - Balgone Farm, Old Windmill

 

National Library of Scotland – William Forrest, Mapmaker

 

 

 

Skulferatu #146 - Keir Old Graveyard, Keir Mill, Dumfries and Galloway

While spending a few days in Penpont, I took a walk along the Scaur Water to visit the Old Graveyard at Keir Mill.  Sunlight flickered through the heavy covering of trees around me as I walked along a well-trodden dirt path.  Down a slight embankment the river gurgled and burbled while reflecting diamonds of bright sunshine and flickers of the blue grey of the sky above. 

 

Cutting up from the river by a bridge that led to the road, I walked on to the small village of Keir Mill and then down another dirt path and through some woods that brought me to the Old Graveyard.  Through the iron turnstile gate, I walked around the lichen covered gravestones through long, wet grass that soaked my feet. Like all graveyards around here, hundreds of rooks squawked from nearby trees, the braver ones flapping down to gravestone perches to keep an eye on what I was up to.

 

 

Keir Old Graveyard

 

 

Keir Old Graveyard

 

 

Gravestone at Old Graveyard

 

 

Gravestones at Old Graveyard

 

 

More gravestones

 

At the far end of the graveyard, I came to a gravestone marking where various members of the Macmillan family lay buried.  To anyone who is a fan of cycling, or even just enjoys getting out and about on a bike, this gravestone is an important memorial to one of the fathers of the bicycle, Kirkpatrick Macmillan.

 

 

Kirkpatrick Macmillan’s gravestone at Old Graveyard

 

 

Kirkpatrick Macmillan’s gravestone

 

Kirkpatrick Macmillan was a blacksmith from Keir and was the man who in 1839 created the first ever pedal driven bicycle, or velocipede as it was known back then.  Prior to this, bicycles were really nothing much more than hobbyhorses powered by walking or by just zooming on them down a hill.  Macmillan’s invention meant that a rider could now propel themselves along with pedals which made cycling much more efficient, and to prove this he took to cycling along the country roads around his home to show the potential of his machine.  On his bike he travelled from his home in Keir to Dumfries, some 14 miles away, in less than an hour.  In 1842 he set out from his home to Glasgow, 70 miles away, and completed the trip in two days.  Approaching Glasgow, he became one of the first people to be prosecuted for what we’d now see as reckless cycling.  A large crowd had gathered to see him and his marvellous invention when he accidentally knocked down a little girl.  The child was not badly hurt, but Macmillan had to appear at court the next day and was fined five shillings.  It was rumoured that the magistrate who fined him asked to see a demonstration of his bike and was so impressed that he paid the fine for him.  On his cycle back from Glasgow to his home it is said that he overtook the mail coach, his bike managing the stupefying speed of 8 miles an hour on the rough road.

 

 

Sketch of Macmillan’s bicycle

 

Macmillan never took out a patent for his invention or tried to monetise it, however the design for his bicycle was copied by several others who cashed in on it.  Not one to complain or care too much about that, Macmillan preferred to live the quiet life in his home in the countryside, where in 1878 he died at the age of 65.  The Smithy and house in which he lived still sits on a road just outside of Keir Mill and is adorned with various plaques celebrating his invention.

 

 

Kirkpatrick Macmillan

 

In a hollow in a tree standing near Macmillan’s grave I left the Skulferatu that had accompanied me on my walk.

 

 

Skulferatu #146

 

 

Skulferatu #146 in a hollow in a tree

 

 

Skulferatu #146 in a hollow in a tree

 

 

Map showing location of Skulferatu #146

 

The coordinates for the location of the Skulferatu are -

 

Latitude 55.219208

Longitude -3.788853

 

what3words: trap.harmonica.pocketed

 

I used the following sources for information on Kirkpatrick MacMillan –

 

Cycling – 5^th December 1896

 

Dumfries and Galloway Standard – 8^th March 1939

 

The History of Cycling in Fifty Bikes

By Tom Ambrose

2013

 

Information plaque at the Old Smithy by Keir Mill

Skulferatu #145 - Threave Castle, Threave Island, Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway

 

Imagine taking a walk on a sunny, summer morning through the countryside while hundreds of birds sing in the hedgerows and trees around you, bees buzz, butterflies flap, and dragonflies appear in a brief flash to just then disappear again in the magical way that dragonflies do.  While you walk, the ruins of a castle tower appear in the distance and as you get closer you see it is on an island in the middle of a river.  By the river there is a wooden jetty with a bell on it and when you ring the bell a boatman comes from over on the island to ferry you across.  Ah, doesn’t that just sound like an ideal way to spend a summer morning? And yup, that’s just what I did today while taking a visit to Threave Castle just outside Castle Douglas.

 

 

Threave Castle – in the distance

 

 

A view of Threave Castle

 

 

A view of Threave Castle

 

 

Over the river to Threave Castle

 

Threave Castle is one of those imposing ruins, a symbol of the once powerful might of the Douglas family, who were at one time the Lords of Galloway and Earls of Douglas. Going by the name of the Black Douglases, they were a mighty and influential family in Scotland up until their downfall in 1455.

 

The castle was built in 1369 for Archibald Douglas when he was appointed the Lord of Galloway by King David II.  Archibald appears to have been a rather unpleasant character who was also known as Archibald the Grim, a nickname that some say was given to him due to his sinister looks and the harsh and cruel way he treated the people of Galloway, while others say it was because of his ‘countenance in warfare against the English.’ It could have been both, given that he ruled the lands he held with an iron fist and also seemed to enjoy battling with the armies of England.  Rising to become one of the most powerful men in Scotland, Archibald died an old man at Threave Castle in 1400.

 

 

Bridge over to the castle entrance

 

 

Threave Castle

 

 

The Artillery House

 

 

Gun loop

 

After Archibald’s death, Threave Castle remained with the Black Douglases, and over time their hold on so much power led to some jealousies and plots against them. One of these being from a member of their own extended family.  Things all kicked off when in 1437 King James I died and Archibald Douglas, the grandson of ‘The Grim’ was appointed the Lieutenant General of Scotland.  He was in effect the Regent as the new king, James II, was only six years old.  Unfortunately for Archibald, his role in the affairs of state didn’t last long as he died of a fever in 1439.  This left his son, William, who was around fourteen or fifteen at the time as his heir.  Various factions in the aristocracy realised that there was now a chance to step in and seize control, one of these being William’s great uncle, James Douglas, Earl of Avondale.  He, along with several powerful allies, including the Chancellor William Crichton, decided to break up and end the power of the family of the late Archibald Douglas.  They engineered an invite for William and his younger brother David to come and dine with the young King James at Edinburgh Castle.  There, while the boys were eating and chatting with the young King, Crichton and his men burst in, with Crichton placing a bull’s head on the table as a symbol for the execution of traitors.  He and his men then seized William and David, dragging them off to a show trial before having them beheaded on Castle Hill.  James Douglas then inherited his nephew’s wealth and titles to become the most powerful man in Scotland.  Enjoying his riches, James dined on the best foods and drank the finest wines.  So much so, that he became quite fat and earned the nickname ‘James the Gross’.

 

When James died, Threave Castle passed down to his son William. William, much like his father, enjoyed committing a bit of murder.  He, also like his father, wanted more land, more power, more everything.  So, firstly he improved the defences at the castle by fortifying it with an artillery house and then, along with the Earls of Crawford and Ross, he hatched a plot against King James.  Wanting a few more backers in his plot he also invited Patrick Maclellan, the Sheriff of Galloway to join with them.  Maclellan turned him down wanting no part in the scheme.  This didn’t sit well with William and the more he dwelt on this rejection, the angrier he became.  So much so, that he and his men seized Maclellan and took him to Threave Castle where they held him prisoner.   Maclellan’s uncle, Sir Patrick Grey, on hearing about his nephew’s plight appealed to the King who wrote a letter ordering William to release him.  Sir Patrick then rode to Threave and delivered the letter.  However, rather than handing Maclellan over, William hanged him from the battlements in front of his shocked uncle.  Sir Patrick then fled for his life.

 

 

Threave Castle

 

 

Threave Castle – East front and entrance gateway

 

King James on hearing of Maclellan’s murder and of William’s plotting decided that rather than go to all-out war with him, he would invite William to Stirling Castle under a promise of safe conduct and would try and reason with him. Surprisingly, William turned up.  Less surprisingly, things did not go well.  The King, after growing tired of trying to reason with William lost his temper and stabbed him in the neck.  His courtiers then joined in and hacked William to death, before throwing his bloodied and broken body out of a nearby window.  After this, things did not go well for the Black Douglases.  They lost much of their land and most of their power.  In 1455, after a siege, Threave Castle was surrendered to the King.

 

 

South side of the tower and the artillery house

 

 

South side of the tower

 

 

South side of the tower and artillery house

 

 

Atop the tower

 

 

Looking up the castle tower

 

The castle remained under the ownership of the Crown until 1526 when it was handed over to the Maxwell family.  It then enjoyed a relatively peaceful time until 1640.  The Maxwells were keen supporters of Charles I, and this led to the castle being besieged by the Covenanters.  The siege lasted for 13 weeks before the castle defenders agreed to surrender and were allowed to ‘march out with, bag and baggage and all the honours of war.’  The Covenanters then briefly occupied the castle before it was decided that it should be made uninhabitable.  The roof was removed, along with the ‘the lofting, doors, and windows’ and ‘the ironwork’.  Despite this, the castle was used again briefly in around 1810, this time to house French prisoners captured during the Napoleonic Wars.  In 1913 the castle was entrusted into state care.

 

 

View over River Dee from Threave Island

 

 

View from Threave Island

 

After having a good wander around the castle and the island, I left the Skulferatu that had accompanied me on my visit in a hole in the ruins of the artillery house that stands at the side of the castle tower.

 

 

Skulferatu #145

 

 

The Artillery House

 

 

Skulferatu #145 in a hole in the wall

 

 

Skulferatu #145 in a hole in the wall

 

 

Map showing location of Skulferatu #145

 

The coordinates for the location of the Skulferatu are -

 

Latitude 54.9394

Longitude -3.969712

 

what3words: quality.prank.mash

 

I used the following sources for information on Threave Castle –

 

The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland from the Twelfth to the Eighteenth Century, Volume One

David MacGibbon and Thomas Ross

1887

 

Castles and Keeps of Scotland

Frank Roy Fraprie

1907

 

Traditions and Stories of Scottish Castles

A.H. Millar

1927

 

Historic Environment Scotland – Threave Castle

 

Canmore – Threave Castle