Gorramburie (The Gatehouse Record of the Aglionby Platt)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Goddamburie; Goranberry

In the civil parish of Castleton.
In the historic county of Roxburghshire, Scotland.
Modern Authority of Scottish Borders, Scotland.
1974 county of Borders, Scotland.

OS Map Grid Reference: NY46359729
Latitude 55.26662° Longitude -2.84589°

The given map reference is suggested as the probable location of Gorramburie shown on the Aglionby Platt.

There are no visible remains.

The likely form(s) of this building in 1590 are;

Unmortared Pele
Pele House ('bastle').

Reproduced by permission of the National Library of Scotland

Description

(NY 4635 9729) Gorrenberry Tower (NR) (site of) (OS 6" map (1962)
Goranberry Tower stood near the source of the Hermitage Water, about two miles above the castle (NY49NE 5); it belonged to the Elliots. Remains of the tower existed until within the last thirty years, when they were demolished to build farm offices. (A Jeffrey 1864)
No structural remains of a tower can now be seen, but at the published site there is a slight mound, rectangular on plan, and measuring about 11.0m E-W by 4.5m transversely. Numerous small field enclosures which lie adjacent may indicate that this was the site of a farmhouse rather than a tower. Local enquiries failed to confirm the existence of a tower. Visited by OS (JLD) 27 September 1960
Previous field report confirmed. The name "Gorrenberry Tower" is known locally. Visited by OS (DWR) 23 March 1972 (Canmore)

The NMRS records that Gorrenberry Tower stood near the source of the Hermitage Water, about two miles above the castle (NY49NE 5); it belonged to the Elliots. Remains of the tower existed until the early to mid 19th century, when they were demolished to build farm offices. No structural remains of a tower were visible when the site was visited in 1960, but a slight mound, rectangular in plan, and measuring about 11.0m east-west by 4.5m transversely was observed. It was suggested at the time of the visit that numerous small field enclosures which lie adjacent may indicate that this was the site of a farmhouse rather than a tower. Local enquiries failed to confirm the existence of a tower.
Field survey recorded some buried wall remains. A single wall c.5m in length, 1m width and 0.3m high ran in a northeast to south-west direction and at its northern end a small mound of stones was recorded, presumably resulting from the destruction of the tower. The remains survive in poor condition and are covered by grass. They lie on a natural platform which overlooks the river and has good views up and down the valley. Parts of the field boundary surrounding the castle, and visible on the First Edition Ordnance Survey Map remain upstanding, although the northern part of this boundary where it reaches the Gorrenberry Burn has been reused and with addition of some walls built from breeze blocks now forms a sheep pen area.
Information from Oasis (cfaarcha1-102504) 16 January 2014 (Canmore - Hannah Tweedie May 2011 Field Visit)

Comments

Most probably a peel-house rather than a 'tower'. The site visit in 2011 certainly seems to be describing the remains of a rectangular building.

The resident householder c. 1590.

Elliots

Sources of information, references and further reading

Canmore (The online National Monument Record for Scotland) Number 67917.

Books
- Coventry, M., 2008, Castles of the Clans: the strongholds and seats of 750 Scottish families and clans (Musselburgh) p. 181
  RCAHMS, 1956, An inventory of the ancient and historical monuments of Roxburghshire (Edinburgh: The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland) Vol. 1 p. 89 no. 95 online copy
  Jeffrey, Alexander, 1864, The History and Antiquities of Roxburghshire Vol. 4 p. 241-3 online copy
Periodical Articles
- Ellis, H., 1829, 'Copy of a manuscript tract addressed to Lord Burghley, illustrative of the Border topography of Scotland, AD 1590, with a platt or map of the Borders taken in the same year' Archaeologia Vol. 22 p. 161-71 online copy
Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
- Bain, J., 1894, Calendar of Letters and Papers relating to the Borders of England and Scotland (Edinburgh: HMSO) Vol. 1 1560-1594 p. 314-15 no. 595 online copy
Maps (Early maps)
- 1590, A Platt of the opposete Borders of Scotland to ye west marches of England (The Aglionby Platt) British Library online Gallery and Old Cumbria Gazetteer

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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The Gatehouse website record of

Gorramburie (Gorrenberry Tower)

a location shown on a 1590 map of the West Marches of Scotland (The Aglionby Platt)