Cairnbulg Castle (11) - a photo on Flickriver

            The origins of the round tower are a bit of an enigma.  Tranter suggests it was probably built as a 'flanking tower', in other words it formed one of the angles of the courtyard.  When the time came to extend the accommodation provided by the keep, it would have been a fairly simple matter to fill in the space between the keep and the round tower with the 'Low work', following the line of the courtyard wall. 

In the process of rebuilding it from its ruins, which required the replacement of the upper half, the architects completely remodeled the round tower.  Externally, the round tower is crowned with an open parapet, similar in style to that of the keep.  The inner cylinder has likewise been battlemented, which rather spoils the whole effect to my eye.  Although there are medieval examples of towers built in this style, such as Caesar's Tower at Warwick Castle, the probability is that the inner cylinder was originally topped with a conical roof in the French style. 

Another feature to note in this photo, is the line of the old moat, running across the lawn in the distance.  Douglas Simpson, in his description of the castle and the mound on which it stands, written in the 1940s, wrote:

The mound was surrounded by a moat, yet traceable on the east side.  In the middle of the last century this moat still retained water.  Part of it, to the north of the castle, near the present lake, is even now soft and muddy, so that cattle are liable to be bogged there.

Taken on: May 20, 2019

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Cairnbulg Castle

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Camera: Hasselblad L1D-20c, f/4.0, 1/120 sec, 10.3mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Hasselblad L1D-20c
Aperture:	f/4.0
Exposure Time:	0.008 sec (1/120)
Focal Length:	10.3mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Light Source:	Daylight
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS5 (12.0x20100115 [20100115.m.998 2010/01/15:02:00:00 cutoff; m branch]) Windows
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