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Roxburgh Castle

Nearest town: Kelso

Site type: woodland

Access: Public

Church name: No Data

Diocese: No Data

County: Scottish Borders

Country: Scotland

Grid ref: NT71623343

Lost yew site: Yes

Date visited: 8-Apr-10

Recorded by: Ancient Tree Hunt - Diane Bennett

Protection & responsibility: No data

Yews recorded at this site: Ancient 4m-5m

Notes: Roxburgh Castle was a large 12th century courtyard fortress partly demolished and rebuilt on numerous occasions. Only fragments of the castle remain. During 1460, James II had being laying siege to Roxburgh Castle which was still in the hands of the English. One account of the events is that when one of his cannons was being fired to mark the arrival of his queen, it exploded and James was killed. In the 1846 Topographical Dictionary of Scotland it is reported that 'the spot on which the king (James II) fell is marked out by a yew-tree planted by the Duke of Roxburghe'. No yew has been found in the area that might be 550 years old, but there are yews to be found on a narrow strip of woodland to the north of a large caravan park.