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Threave Castle is situated on an island in the River Dee, west of Castle Douglas in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in the Dumfries and Galloway region of Scotland.
Built in the 1370s by Archibald the Grim, it was a stronghold of the "Black Douglases", Earls of Douglas and Lords of Galloway, until their fall in 1455. For part of this time, the castle and the lordship of Galloway were controlled by Princess Margaret, daughter of Robert III and widow of Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas. In 1449 Threave was regained by William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas, Scotland's most powerful magnate, who controlled extensive lands and numerous castles. He fortified Threave with an "artillery house", a sophisticated defence for its time. The excessive power of the Black Douglas lords led to their overthrow by James II in 1455, after which Threave was besieged and captured by the King's men.
It became a royal castle, and in the 16th century hereditary responsibility for Threave was given to the Lords Maxwell. It was briefly held by the English in the 1540s, but did not see serious action until the Bishops' Wars, when in 1640 a royalist garrison was besieged by a force of . Partially dismantled, the castle remained largely unused until given into state care in 1913. The ruins, comprising the substantially complete tower house and the L-shaped artillery house, are today maintained by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument.
The castle complex is open to the public.
Known as "Archibald the Grim", he had been appointed Warden of the West March in 1361, and spent the following years attacking the English on both sides of the border. In 1372 he further gained the lands of the Earl of Wigtown, bringing all of Galloway under his control. In order to secure his new holdings, Archibald required a strong castle, and it is assumed that Threave Castle was built at this time. The main keep dates from this time, and was one of the first tower houses built in Scotland, standing alone without any outer defensive features. A harbour was formed to the west to provide access across the river. The excavations in the 1970s revealed remains of additional stone buildings, constructed in the late 14th century, which may represent a hall and a chapel.
In 1384 Archibald attacked and took Lochmaben Castle, the last English stronghold in south-west Scotland, and in 1388 he inherited the title of 3rd Earl of Douglas. He thus became the most powerful magnate in the country, controlling lands across southern Scotland and castles including Douglas Castle and Bothwell Castle in Lanarkshire. He funded a rebuilding of Sweetheart Abbey near Dumfries, and contracted marriages for his children with the offspring of King Robert III. Although he probably spent relatively little time at Threave, he died there in 1400, the first historical reference to the castle. He was succeeded by his son Archibald, who in 1390 had married Princess Margaret, daughter of Robert III. In 1424 he led a Scottish force to fight the English in France where he was killed at the Battle of Verneuil. His wife Margaret took on the Lordship of Galloway on Archibald's death, and ruled from Threave as Countess of Douglas and Duchess of Touraine for the next 23 years, outliving her son and grandsons. In 1449 she was forced to cede Galloway to the 8th Earl of Douglas, and died at Threave soon after. Her monument stands in Lincluden Collegiate Church. A lead seal matrix made for Margaret was recovered during archaeological excavations at Threave. The seal shows her coat of arms, combining the arms of her husband with the Royal Arms of her father Robert III. Although a rare survival, the workmanship is poor suggesting it may have been a trial piece or even a forgery.
On James' death in 1443, his oldest son William became 8th Earl of Douglas. The following year he married, with Papal dispensation, his first cousin Margaret, the "Fair Maid of Galloway", daughter of the 5th Earl. In doing so he reunited the Black Douglas estates with the Lordship of Galloway, still held by the Fair Maid's grandmother Princess Margaret. The marriage was unpopular with the other nobles who were wary of the power of the Earl, as well as his influence over the young James II who was still a minor. In 1447 Earl William forced the elderly Princess Margaret to give up Threave Castle and retire to Lincluden, finally giving him control of Galloway. He began a series of improvements to the fortifications at Threave, demolishing the earlier outbuildings and constructing elaborate outer defences. These included a defensive wall along the river bank, as well as the "artillery house", a curtain wall with three towers designed to be defended with guns. It is considered to be one of the first purpose-built artillery defences to be built in Britain.
In 1452 the Earl seized Patrick Maclellan of Bombie, Sheriff of Galloway, and imprisoned him at Threave. Despite the King requesting his release, Maclellan was murdered. On 22 February 1452, Douglas was summoned to Stirling Castle, under a safe conduct by the King, who requested his aid against the rebellious Earls of Crawford and Ross. However, Douglas had signed a bond with these earls and refused to support the King, who responded by stabbing Douglas. He was then attacked and killed by the King's retainers, and his body thrown from a window.
One myth associated with the siege, which is related by Nigel Tranter, is that the great cannon Mons Meg was built in Kirkcudbright by a smith named Mollance. The cannon was then presented to James II and employed in the siege of Threave. The myth goes that the first cannonball smashed right through the castle, taking off the Fair Maid's hand as she drank. However, it is known that Mons Meg was actually made in Burgundy and arrived in Scotland in 1454.
In 1513, Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell, was appointed keeper following the death of the previous keeper, John Dunbar of Mochrum, at Flodden. In 1526 the position was made hereditary to the Maxwells (later Earls of Nithsdale). In 1542, Robert Maxwell was captured after the Battle of Solway Moss, and forced to hand Threave over to the English invaders. It was retrieved for Scotland by the Earl of Arran in 1545. The Catholic Maxwell family, based at Caerlaverock Castle, were often suspected of treachery as Scotland turned to Protestantism, and Lord Maxwell was required to surrender Threave temporarily as the Spanish Armada approached the English coast.
During the Bishops' Wars of 1638–1640, the Maxwells supported Charles I. A garrison of up to 100 men was installed at Threave, and further earthworks were added to the Castle's defences. The army of the , opposed to the royalist cause, arrived in summer 1640 and laid siege to the castle. After holding out for 13 weeks, the garrison surrendered on the orders of King Charles. The Covenanters ordered the buildings to be dismantled, and the materials to be disposed "to the use of the public".
The top level was used as servants' quarters or, during times of trouble, as accommodation for the garrison. The battlements were accessed from this floor, and nine windows gave views in all directions. An outer door at this level allowed equipment to be hauled up from ground level. On three sides, holes in the external walls would have supported a timber gallery known as a bretèche, which allowed the defenders to drop objects on attackers at the walls, while a more permanent machicolation over the entrance served the same purpose.
To the west the river runs close to the keep. The remains of a wall survive along the river bank, curving back towards the north west corner of the keep. A gated harbour was constructed here to provide secure alternative access to the castle. To the north, only an earth bank defends the keep, although the marshy approach to this side would have discouraged attackers. Beyond the artillery house and its ditch, the foundations of older buildings can be seen: these were demolished to provide stone and to clear the field of fire for the artillery house. The outermost defence comprises an earthwork that was hastily built by Lord Maxwell's garrison before the 1640 siege.
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