Scheduled MonumentsScotlandGreenknowe Tower, Gordon
Gordon

Greenknowe Tower, Gordon

Scotland
HES SM13590
Site type
Gordon
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Greenknowe Tower is a late sixteenth-century tower house located near Gordon in Berwickshire, Scottish Borders. The rectangular stone tower, which stands approximately forty feet in height, represents a typical example of the defensive domestic architecture adopted by the Scottish gentry during the later Renaissance period. Built around 1581, the tower was constructed by the Seton family and exemplifies the transition from medieval fortification to more substantial residential accommodation. The structure retains much of its original masonry and internal arrangement, including vaulted chambers and a corbelled parapet, making it a significant surviving example of late medieval Scottish tower house architecture.

Greenknowe Tower, Gordon is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM13590. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Greenknowe Tower, Gordon?

Greenknowe Tower is a late sixteenth-century tower house located near Gordon in Berwickshire, Scottish Borders. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM13590.

Who is responsible for protecting Greenknowe Tower, Gordon?

Greenknowe Tower, Gordon 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 SM13590.

What other scheduled monuments are near Greenknowe Tower, Gordon?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Knock Hill,fort (2.6 km), Corsbie Tower (3.3 km), Henge, 270m SSW of 1 Mellerstain Mill cottages (5.1 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Greenknowe Tower, Gordon

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Greenknowe Tower, Gordon'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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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Greenknowe Tower, Gordon

Greenknowe Tower, Gordon stands on Stratheden Group, bedrock that formed in the Late Devonian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.