The Lochwood Tower Page Part Three
The Lochwood Tower Page Part Three
Below are two
graphic models of Lochwood created by Rick Johnston with an AUTOCAD program.
It appears that the first Johnstone land holding in Scotland may have been further south, as the first such known land was at the southern end of Annandale. Gilbert, son of John (Gilleberto filio Johannis), later known as Sir Gilbert de Jonestone, received from William Bruce, Lord of Annandale, the use of a parcel of land with a building between the years 1194 and 1214. A tranlation of the Charter, as printed in Sir William Fraser's Annandale Family Book of the Johnstones, Earls and Marquises of Annandale, reads:
Dunegal, son of Udard, resigns and quitclaims to William de Brus and his heirs, in full court, a carucate (the amount of land a team of oxen could plough in one year) of land in Weremundebi (Warmanbie, near the mouth of the River Annan), and half a carucate in Anant (the parish or burgh of Annan), with a toft (homestead), for the use of Gilbert son of John. Witnesses, William ..., Adam de Seton, Robert de Hodalmia, Humphrey del Gardine, Adam, son of Adam, Richard de Penresax, William de Herez, L ... Murdac, Udard de Hodalmia, Hugh de Corri, Hugh, son of Ingebald, Walter de Walram, Patric Brun, W ... Walbi, Adam de Dunwidie, Robert de Crossebi, Richard de Bosco, Robert de Levingtona, Roger de Kirk[patric?], Malcolum Loccard, Robert de Tremor, William de Henevile, Hugh Maleverer, and many others.
Evidently only the land in Annan was for the use of Gilbert, but this is not clear.
It is possible that the land in Annan was not the first or only parcel held by the Johnstones. In any event, it is not known when the first Johnstone occupied Lochwood. On the Lochwood site are the remains of a Norman-style "motte and bailey" castle (just north of the ruins, as shown on the Mawell-Irving drawing), the type of wooden fortification on a hill which was common before the days of stone castles. It is generally believed that the existing three-tiered "motte" was built by Sir Gilbert de Jonestone or his father "John," although this cannot now be established conclusively. In fact, it is possible the the Johnstones did not occupy the Lochwood site until after the Black Douglas Rebellion of 1455, in which the Johnstones assisted the King in putting down the most powerful family in Scotland. This would not be surprising, as during most of the fourteenth century Annandale was either a war zone or under actual English military occupation. Also, for long periods of time, Annandale was under the dominion of the Black Douglases. The Exchequer Rolls of the mid 1450s contain an entry for the landholdings of the estate of Adam Johnstone of Johnstone (d. 1454) which list "Johnstone-tenement," "Bel-tenement," and "Kirkpatick." Lochwood is not mentioned by name, and it is possible that the Johnstones were not in possession of Lochwood at this time. The stone castle of Lochwood was probably constructed during the lifetime of John Johnstone of Johnstone, who was Chief from 1454 through 1493, although this is not certain.
The first known reference to the stone tower of Lochwood, by name, was in November 1476, in a Latin document in which John Johnstone of that Ilk (Johannes Johnnestoune de eodem) conveyed the five-merk lands of Wamphray to his son John. (W. Fraser) The document was written and signed at "Lochwod." From then on, Lochwood is frequently mentioned in connection with the Anglo-Scottish frontier. The English captured Lochwood by stealth in 1547, when a woman inside opened the gate at dawn. They found the castle very well provisioned and held Lochwood until 1550, burning it as they left. In 1585 Lochwood was burned again, this time by the rival Maxwell family, destroying the Johnstone charter chest and jewels. In his gallows humor, Robert Maxwell stated that he burned Lochwood so that Lady Johnstone might have light to put on her hood!
By the late 1600s, Lochwood was outmoded as a residence and its owner, the Earl of Annandale, spent most of his time in Edinburgh on government business. The Marchioness of Annandale was at Lochwood as late as June 1706, and she wrote a letter from there to the Earl of Marchmont. However, by this time Lochwood's days as the chief home of the Johnstones were over. It was probably abandoned soon afterward, and is said to have burned a few years later.
Here are some
additional photographs of Lochwood taken by Rich Johnston. The one on the top
is inside the wheel stair of the tower. The next two are of the walls of the
outbuildings.
Jeffrey M. Johnstone, FSA Scot.
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