Battlefields›Maxwell-Johnstone feud: Lochmaben skirmish, 1585
Tudor

Maxwell-Johnstone feud: Lochmaben skirmish, 1585

1585
Dumfriesshire, Scotland
Era
Tudor
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Dumfriesshire, Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Maxwells
VS
Victor
Johnstones
Outcome
After Robert Maxwell (natural brother of the Maxwell chief) burnt the Johnstones' Lochwood Castle, the Johnstones retaliated by surprising and cutting to pieces a party of Maxwells stationed at Lochmaben; Robert Maxwell was among the slain. Survivors took refuge in Lochmaben Church, which the Johnstones set on fire, killing those inside. This episode was part of the escalation that led to the Battle of Dryfe Sands in 1593.
The Battle

History & Significance

Maxwell-Johnstone feud: Lochmaben skirmish, 1585 was a Tudor skirmish, fought at Dumfriesshire, Scotland in 1585. The victor was Johnstones. After Robert Maxwell (natural brother of the Maxwell chief) burnt the Johnstones' Lochwood Castle, the Johnstones retaliated by surprising and cutting to pieces a party of Maxwells stationed at Lochmaben; Robert Maxwell was among the slain. Survivors took refuge in Lochmaben Church, which the Johnstones set on fire, killing those inside. This episode was part of the escalation that led to the Battle of Dryfe Sands in 1593.

Confirmed battlefield location
The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Maxwell-Johnstone feud: Lochmaben skirmish, 1585 lies on Stewartry Group, bedrock that formed in the Early Permian. The rock here is sandstone, breccia and conglomerate.

Casualties & Losses
  • Robert Maxwell, brother of the Maxwell chief, was among those killed at Lochmaben; the wider death toll (including those burnt in Lochmaben Church) is not precisely recorded in surviving secondary accounts.
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Frequently Asked Questions

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Overview
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Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Maxwell-Johnstone feud: Lochmaben skirmish, 1585

Castle Hill, motte-and-bailey castle
Castle Hill, motte-and-bailey castle
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~0.4 mi

Castle Hill is a motte-and-bailey castle occupying a prominent position in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. The monument consists of the earthwork remains typical of this castle form: a substantial mound, or motte, likely originally crowned with a timber or stone structure, accompanied by an adjoining ba…

Gallaberry Hill, fort
Gallaberry Hill, fort
Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~2.4 mi

Gallaberry Hill is a Iron Age fort situated in Dumfriesshire, in south-west Scotland. The site occupies a commanding hilltop position where the underlying bedrock comprises sandstone, breccia and conglomerate of the Stewartry Group, laid down during the Early Permian period. This solid geological…

Torwood, enclosure 270m SW of
Torwood, enclosure 270m SW of
Scheduled monument · Post-Medieval · ~2.6 mi

Torwood enclosure is a post-medieval earthwork situated in Dumfriesshire, south-west Scotland. The monument consists of an enclosed area defined by banks and ditches typical of early modern agricultural or pastoral management. It lies on bedrock of the Stewartry Group, Early Permian sandstone, br…

Range Castle, fort
Range Castle, fort
Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~3.2 mi

Range Castle is a hillfort of Iron Age date situated in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. The monument occupies a defensible position on bedrock of the Hawick Group, a hard wacke formation of Wenlock age that provides a naturally strong foundation for fortification. The site exploits the geological streng…

Moss Castle, fort
Moss Castle, fort
Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~3.5 mi

Moss Castle is a Iron Age fort situated in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. The monument occupies ground underlain by Hawick Group wacke, the same sedimentary rock that forms the moorland bedrock of the surrounding region. This stone-rich landscape would have provided abundant material for the constructi…

Torthorwald Castle
Torthorwald Castle
Scheduled monument · ~3.7 mi

Torthorwald Castle is a motte-and-bailey fortress located in Dumfriesshire, south-western Scotland, dating to the Norman period following the twelfth century. The monument consists of a substantial earthen mound with an associated bailey, representing a characteristic form of early medieval milit…

Lochmaben Peel and Castle
Scheduled monument · ~0.5 miles
Greenhillhead,fort
Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~1.4 miles
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In the same landscape

Battles near Maxwell-Johnstone feud: Lochmaben skirmish, 1585

Battle of Lochmaben Fair
1484
~0.6 miles away
Lochmaben Ambush - Johnstone vs Maxwell, 1593
1593
~0.7 miles away
Aefur Brae
~2.2 miles away
Battle of Dryfe Sands
1593
~2.3 miles away
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