Cruggleton Castle (9)
The south-east tower and the coast stretching away southwards towards the Isle of Whithorn and Burrow Head.
Records of greater reliability than the songs of Henry the Minstrel tell us that Cruggleton was captured by the Scots in 1308, however this can have had nothing to do with Wallace, who had been executed three years previously. On this occasion, the castle was slighted (left unusable) and abandoned. The English must have reoccupied the site shortly afterwards because we are told it was held by Henry Percy until 1313, when it was captured by King Robert Bruce, who subsequently granted it to William de Soulis (there's that name again!).
William de Soulis, about whom history has nothing very nice to say, was 'received into the peace of King Edward I of England' in 1304. He remained in English service over the following decade, and was rewarded by Edward in 1312 with a knighthood and the lands of Sir Robert Keith (which he couldn't obtain because by that time they were back in the hands of the Scots). After Bruce's victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, de Soulis switched to the Scottish side and by 1318 he had been made Butler of Scotland. In 1320 he appeared as a signatory to the Declaration of Arbroath and it was presumably at this time that he was given the castle and barony of Cruggleton.
But as the saying goes, leopards don't change their spots and in 1320, despite Bruce's best efforts to welcome back his former enemies, he was involved in a conspiracy against King Robert along with Sir David de Brechin. Some say that he wanted the Scottish throne for himself (his grandfather Nicholas was one of the competitors for the throne), others, that the probable aim was to place Edward Balliol on the Scottish throne. De Soulis and his followers were arrested at Berwick (where he was the Governor at the time), and brought before parliament. There he confessed his treason, and was placed in Dumbarton Castle. He is said to have died by 20 April 1321, in mysterious circumstances!
Following de Soulis' treason and forfeiture, Cruggleton was given to the monks of the Priory of nearby Whithorn around 1320. While the monks were primarily interested in the land that went with it, the Priors also appear to have maintained the castle. I am not quite sure how it got out of the vice-like grip of the church and back into Royal hands, but in the 14th century, Robert Bruce's son King David II granted Cruggleton to Gilbert Kennedy, however in 1424 it is again recorded as being granted to the Prior and Canons of Whithorn.
Cruggleton Castle (9)
The south-east tower and the coast stretching away southwards towards the Isle of Whithorn and Burrow Head.
Records of greater reliability than the songs of Henry the Minstrel tell us that Cruggleton was captured by the Scots in 1308, however this can have had nothing to do with Wallace, who had been executed three years previously. On this occasion, the castle was slighted (left unusable) and abandoned. The English must have reoccupied the site shortly afterwards because we are told it was held by Henry Percy until 1313, when it was captured by King Robert Bruce, who subsequently granted it to William de Soulis (there's that name again!).
William de Soulis, about whom history has nothing very nice to say, was 'received into the peace of King Edward I of England' in 1304. He remained in English service over the following decade, and was rewarded by Edward in 1312 with a knighthood and the lands of Sir Robert Keith (which he couldn't obtain because by that time they were back in the hands of the Scots). After Bruce's victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, de Soulis switched to the Scottish side and by 1318 he had been made Butler of Scotland. In 1320 he appeared as a signatory to the Declaration of Arbroath and it was presumably at this time that he was given the castle and barony of Cruggleton.
But as the saying goes, leopards don't change their spots and in 1320, despite Bruce's best efforts to welcome back his former enemies, he was involved in a conspiracy against King Robert along with Sir David de Brechin. Some say that he wanted the Scottish throne for himself (his grandfather Nicholas was one of the competitors for the throne), others, that the probable aim was to place Edward Balliol on the Scottish throne. De Soulis and his followers were arrested at Berwick (where he was the Governor at the time), and brought before parliament. There he confessed his treason, and was placed in Dumbarton Castle. He is said to have died by 20 April 1321, in mysterious circumstances!
Following de Soulis' treason and forfeiture, Cruggleton was given to the monks of the Priory of nearby Whithorn around 1320. While the monks were primarily interested in the land that went with it, the Priors also appear to have maintained the castle. I am not quite sure how it got out of the vice-like grip of the church and back into Royal hands, but in the 14th century, Robert Bruce's son King David II granted Cruggleton to Gilbert Kennedy, however in 1424 it is again recorded as being granted to the Prior and Canons of Whithorn.