Thrieve

Threave Castle
Near Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland
Threave Castle seen across the River Dee
Threave Castle
Coordinates	54°56′21″N 3°58′11″W / 54.9392°N 3.9697°W / 54.9392; -3.9697Coordinates: 54°56′21″N 3°58′11″W / 54.9392°N 3.9697°W / 54.9392; -3.9697
Type	Tower house
Height	21 metres (69 ft)
Site information
Owner	Historic Environment Scotland
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Ruined
Site history
Built	c.1370
Built by	Archibald the Grim, Lord of Galloway William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas
In use	c.1370–1640
Battles/wars	Sieges in 1455 and 1640

Threave Castle is situated on an island in the River Dee, 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) west of Castle Douglas in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west 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 King Robert III and widow of the 4th Earl. In 1449 Threave was regained by the 8th earl, 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 King 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 Covenanters. 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.

The name Threave is most likely derived from the Old Welsh tref, meaning "homestead", suggesting that the island was settled before Gaelic-speaking people arrived in the area in the 7th century. The site has traditionally been associated with Fergus of Galloway, the 12th-century Lord of Galloway, though there is no evidence to support this. The chronicler John of Fordun records that, in 1308, Edward Bruce defeated a force of Gallwegians on the River Dee, and afterward "burnt up the island". Archaeological finds of a penny dated to 1300, unearthed in the context of burned buildings, may locate this event at Threave. Excavations in the 1970s revealed traces of buildings that could be attributed to this period, and which could have formed part of an early stronghold of the Lords of Galloway.