Scotland · Ruin
Bonkyll Castle
Bonkyll Castle was a medieval fortress in historic Berwickshire (now the Scottish Borders), long held by the de Bonkyll family and later the Stewarts of Bonkyl. Today only the motte and a short length of the curtain wall survive and the site is protected as a scheduled monument. The surviving earthwork marks the location of what was once a substantial castle enceinte.
Its prime
1300
Today
Ruin
As it stood in 1300
What Bonkyll Castle looked like in its prime.
Set on a pronounced earthen motte rising from surrounding pasture, the castle in its prime was defined by a continuous stone curtain (enceinte) running around the summit; the outer face of the wall was built of weathered pale rubble stone and sat directly on the motte’s edge. The site occupies an open, gently rolling agricultural landscape with a line of trees on the skyline; the motte has a steep bank and a surrounding ditch visible from the approach.
Its story
The story of Bonkyll Castle.
Bonkyll Castle was the seat of the powerful barony of Bonkyll in Berwickshire, originally belonging to the de Bonkyll family, who took their name from it. It then became the seat of a junior branch of the Stewarts, the Stewarts of Bonkyl, from whom descended, in another junior branch, the Stewarts of Darnley, the paternal family of King James VI and I.
John Stewart of Bonkyl married Margaret de Abernethy, heiress of the Lordship of Abernethy, in 1328, and King Robert I created him Earl of Angus the following year. His granddaughter Margaret Stewart bore a son, George Douglas, 1st Earl of Angus, to William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas; on her death in 1417 Bunkle passed to the Douglases, with whose descendants it remained until the late 18th century.
Bunkle later belonged to Margaret Tudor as Countess of Angus, and was held by George Douglas of Pittendreich, Bailie of Bonkill from 1514. Of what was once a very powerful castle of enceinte, little now survives beyond the motte and a small section of curtain wall; the site is protected as a scheduled monument.
Step inside
5 places to explore in 1300.
The record describes 5 distinct spots at Bonkyll Castle, including 1 interior: inside the enceinte on the motte summit. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Recreate Bonkyll Castle with AI to explore it.
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Clans who held Bonkyll Castle.
The families that held Bonkyll Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
