Roxburgh Castle
is a ruined royal castle that overlooks the junction of
the rivers Tweed and Teviot, in the Borders region of
Scotland. Tradition states that King David I founded the
castle; it is first recorded in c.1128 during his reign.
In 1174 it was surrendered to England after the capture
of William I at Alnwick, and was often in English hands
thereafter. The Scots made many attempts to regain the
fortress. King Edward I of England imprisoned Mary Bruce
in a cage hung outside the castle from 1306 to 1310. On
February 19, 1314 it was retaken by Sir James Douglas
(the "Black Douglas"), who supposedly disguised his men
as cows, but was later lost again. While the Scots had
control of the castle, they set about demolishing it,
and in the words of the Lanercost Chronicle "all that
beautiful castle the Scots pulled down to the ground,
like the other castles that they had succeeded in
capturing, lest the English should ever again rule the
land by holding the castles."
The
castle was Edward III of England's base of operations
during his 1334 winter campaign against the Scots. A
Scottish siege in 1417 necessitated repairs. The Scots
again besieged Roxburgh in 1460; in the course of the
action metal fragments from the explosion of one of his
bombards killed King James II of Scotland. However the
Scots stormed Roxburgh, capturing it, and James' queen,
Mary of Guelders, had the castle demolished.
In 1545,
during the Nine Years' War, the English garrison
commanded by Ralph Bulmer built a rectangular fort on
the site at the instigation of the Earl of Hertford.
This was destroyed in 1550 by the terms of the Treaty of
Boulogne.
The ruins
of Roxburgh Castle stand in the grounds of Floors
Castle, the seat of the Duke of Roxburghe. These consist
of a large mound, with some small fragments of stone
walls, especially on the south side.
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