Scheduled MonumentsScotlandCastlehill,tower
Tower

Castlehill,tower

Scotland
HES SM2787
Site type
Tower
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland

Overview

History & significance

Castlehill Tower is a tower monument located in Peeblesshire, Scotland, situated on bedrock of the Gala Group, a wacke formation laid down during the Telychian period of the Silurian. The tower stands protected by Historic Environment Scotland under the statutory monument designation SM2787. Wacke, a resistant sedimentary rock composed of mixed-sized grains, provides a stable foundation typical of the Southern Uplands geology in this region.

Scottish towers of this type served multiple defensive and domestic functions across the medieval and early modern periods. Built on sound geological foundations, such structures command views across the river valleys and upland terrain characteristic of Peeblesshire. The wacke bedrock afforded reliable anchorage for the substantial masonry required in tower construction.

The monument's official protection reflects its significance within Scotland's architectural heritage. Castlehill Tower remains an important record of fortified settlement patterns in the Borders region, where such structures formed part of the landscape's defensive infrastructure and territorial assertion across the centuries.

Castlehill,tower is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2787. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Castlehill,tower?

Castlehill Tower is a tower monument located in Peeblesshire, Scotland, situated on bedrock of the Gala Group, a wacke formation laid down during the Telychian period of the Silurian. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2787.

Who is responsible for protecting Castlehill,tower?

Castlehill,tower is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM2787.

What other scheduled monuments are near Castlehill,tower?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Glenrath,settlement 730m NE of (1.2 km), Glenrath,settlement 550m ENE of (1.6 km), Wood Hill,settlement 230m E of (2.1 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Castlehill,tower

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Castlehill,tower's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
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.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Castlehill,tower

Castlehill,tower stands on Gala Group, bedrock that formed in the Telychian. The rock here is wacke.