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Dykeraw Tower is a sixteenth-century fortified tower house located in Southdean, Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. The tower stands on bedrock of the Hawick Group, a formation of tough wacke stone laid down during the Wenlock period of the Silurian era, which provided the locality with excellent building material. This sturdy local geology would have supported the substantial stone construction typical of towers of this period and region.
The tower exemplifies the defensive domestic architecture that characterised the Anglo-Scottish Border country during the early modern period, when fortified residences offered protection for families and their moveable wealth against raids and feuds. Towers of this type were commonly built by gentry and substantial landholders throughout the Borders, serving as both residence and stronghold. The Dykeraw Tower's placement within the Southdean valley reflects the strategic settlement patterns of the region.
The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under the reference SM3848, recognising its historical and architectural importance as a surviving example of Border tower house construction. Such towers remain among the most distinctive features of the Borders landscape, bearing testimony to the turbulent history of this frontier region during the medieval and early modern periods.
Dykeraw Tower,Southdean is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3848. View the official record →
Dykeraw Tower is a sixteenth-century fortified tower house located in Southdean, Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3848.
Dykeraw Tower,Southdean 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 SM3848.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Steel Knowe, medieval and later settlements and field systems (2.5 km), Martinlee Sike, enclosure bank, field system, cairns & old road (2.8 km), Martinlee Plantation, homestead NW of Martinlee Sike (3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Dykeraw Tower,Southdean's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Dykeraw Tower,Southdean stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.