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Thorril Castle is a bastle house located 450 metres north-north-east of Parkhead in Lanarkshire, Scotland. The building stands on bedrock formed from mafic lava and tuff of Silurian to Devonian age, part of the ancient volcanic geology that characterises this region of central Scotland. As a bastle house, it represents a distinctive form of fortified domestic architecture developed in the Scottish Borders and surrounding areas during the 16th and 17th centuries, designed to provide both secure living quarters and protection for livestock against raiding and theft.
The structure is a small, stoutly built tower house typical of its class, with thick stone walls and few external openings. These defensive dwellings were occupied by farming families of modest means who required protection during periods of cross-border unrest and the lawlessness that characterised the Borders region. The bastle's practical design combined a ground-floor vault for storing animals and goods with upper chambers for human habitation, maximising security within a compact footprint.
Thorril Castle is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5425, recognising its historical and architectural significance as an example of vernacular defensive building practice in early modern Scotland.
Thorril Castle,bastle house 450m NNE of Parkhead is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5425. View the official record →
Thorril Castle is a bastle house located 450 metres north-north-east of Parkhead in Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5425.
Thorril Castle,bastle house 450m NNE of Parkhead 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 SM5425.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including St Bride's Church, Douglas (2.9 km), Auchensaugh Hill,cairn (4 km), Wildshaw Hill,cairn 500m WSW of summit (4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Thorril Castle,bastle house 450m NNE of Parkhead'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.
Thorril Castle,bastle house 450m NNE of Parkhead stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Silurian To Devonian, bedrock that formed in the Devonian. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.