Green Tower Motte and Bailey (Boreland of Anworth)

This motte and baily located very near Cardoness Castle is associated with the first Anglo-Norman settlers in the area. A motte-and-bailey castle consisted of two main parts. The first being a motte, a large mound of dirt, often man-made and surrounded by a ditch, topped with a keep (a wooden or stone structure) surrounded by a defensive wall. The second being a bailey which was an enclosed courtyard connected to and overlooked by the motte. The bailey was also surrounded by another protective fence, often a palisade of wood, and another ditch. The photo immediately below is a detail from one of the information posters in the visitor center at nearby Cardoness Castle. While the McCulloch’s can not be tied by documentation to the motte and bailey it clearly came into their possession at some time may centuries ago and there is no reason to believe they couldn’t have been early inhabitants. The motte and bailey is located on privately held land and is not identified by signs or other markers.