| Castle of Park | |
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Location within Dumfries and Galloway
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| General information | |
| Type | Tower house |
| Town or city | Glenluce |
| Country | Scotland |
| Coordinates | |
| Construction started | 1590 |
| Completed | Before 1599 |
The Castle of Park is a 16th-century L-plan tower house near Glenluce, in Dumfries and Galloway, southwest Scotland. It is a category A listed building.[1]
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The castle was begun in 1590 for Thomas Hay, the son of one of the Commendators of Glenluce Abbey, and his wife Jonet MakDouel.[2] It was completed by 1599.[3]
The building was extended in the 18th century,[2] and was used by the Hay family until Sir John Dalrymple-Hay sold the Park estate in 1875;[1] it was then left uninhabited.
A program of restoration was carried out in the 1950s and 1960s by the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works, including removal of the 18th-century wings.[2] In the 1980s, additional work was done by the Landmark Trust.[3] The building is now maintained using income from its use as holiday accommodation.[4]
At various times the building has also been known as "Park Hay", "The Park O' Luce", "Park Castle" and "Park House".[2]
The building is divided into four floors. The lowest floor consists of three barrel vaulted rooms used as kitchens and store-rooms; above this is the main hall measuring some 22 feet (6.7 m) by 17 feet (5.2 m).[5] The third and fourth floors are divided into smaller rooms. The southward projection contains a large spiral staircase, from which a further spiral stair leads to the roof and to a small room above the main stair.[3]
Although imposing, the building is not defensible.[3] Unlike earlier examples such as Drum Castle,[6] the walls are hollowed out with additional staircases and, to quote the 1898 description, "commodious closets".[5]