Hawick Castle

Hawick Castle is an isolated motte standing in a public park to the south of the town centre. It is free to access and a set of stairs ascend to the summit. No evidence of a bailey has been discovered, and the perimeter ditch has vanished.

The motte was almost certainly erected in the 12th century by the Lovell family, who had been granted the barony of Hawick by David I before his coronation. The barony remained in their hands into the early 14th century, and the castle here remained the seat of the barony, although no evidence of a wider manorial centre has ever been found. The Lovells were loyal to Edward I as they held land in Somerset, and were forfeited by Robert Bruce. The barony was granted to the Douglas family and the castle was never restored, although when it was granted to William Douglas of Drumlanrig in 1452, a tower house was erected in the town to replace it as the Douglas seat of barony.

HES Canmore database entry