Wallace's Tower

Overview

Wallace’s Tower, also known as the Kirkpatrick Tower, is a ruined 15th-century tower house located near Dumfries in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Despite its evocative name, the tower is not directly associated with Sir William Wallace but rather with the Kirkpatrick family, close allies of Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Independence. The name “Wallace’s Tower” likely arose from later local tradition. The structure is a fine example of a late medieval Scottish laird’s tower, designed for both residence and defence, reflecting the turbulent nature of life in the southwest Borders.

Early history

The lands around Dumfries were granted to the Kirkpatrick family of Closeburn in the 13th century, and they became an influential local lineage. The original stronghold at the site may have dated to the 14th century, but the surviving stone tower was probably built in the 15th century, when small, fortified tower houses became the preferred residences of the Scottish gentry.

Although its name suggests a link to William Wallace, the association is almost certainly legendary. It may have arisen from the Kirkpatricks’ role in Bruce’s rebellion — Sir Roger Kirkpatrick famously slew John Comyn in Greyfriars Church, Dumfries, in 1306, reportedly uttering the words “I mak siccar” (“I’ll make sure”). This connection to the Wars of Independence likely helped inspire the later naming of the tower.

Building and layout

Wallace’s Tower was a rectangular, three-storey tower house, built of local rubble stone with dressed corners and narrow defensive slit windows. The ground floor was vaulted and used for storage, while the upper floors housed the hall and private chambers. A spiral staircase within the wall provided access between floors, and small mural chambers were likely incorporated into the thick masonry. The entrance was probably at first-floor level, accessed by a removable wooden stair or ladder — a common defensive feature of the time.

The tower was surrounded by a barmkin wall enclosing a small courtyard with ancillary buildings such as stables and kitchens. Its modest size and practical layout typify the Scottish Border towers built to provide protection from raids rather than withstand prolonged sieges.

Later history and decline

By the 17th century, as peace gradually returned to the Borders, the tower fell out of use as a residence. The Kirkpatrick family had moved to more comfortable accommodation at Closeburn Castle, and Wallace’s Tower was left to decay. By the 18th century it was already ruinous, though still recognised locally as an ancient landmark. Its association with the Wallace legend likely helped preserve it from total destruction, lending it a romantic status in later centuries.

Present condition

Today, the remains of Wallace’s Tower consist of substantial lower walling and parts of the vaulted basement, surrounded by farmland north of Dumfries. Though ruinous, its robust masonry and setting retain the character of a late medieval tower house. The site is a Scheduled Monument, protected for its architectural and historical significance as part of the region’s network of fortified lairdly dwellings.

Steeped in both history and legend, Wallace’s Tower stands as a quiet reminder of the feudal families who once shaped the turbulent Borderlands — and of how memory and myth can intertwine to preserve even the smallest of strongholds in Scotland’s collective story.