Scotland · Partial ruin
Dryhope Tower
Dryhope Tower is a ruined Scottish peel tower in the valley of the Yarrow Water in the historic county of Selkirkshire, now the Scottish Borders. Built as a four-storey stone defensive tower set within a walled barmkin that contained ancillary buildings, it belonged to the Scotts and was slighted in the late 16th century, rebuilt by the early 17th century, and later fell into decay. The site is a scheduled monument and has undergone recent stabilisation.
Its prime
1613
Today
Partial ruin
As it stood in 1613
What Dryhope Tower looked like in its prime.
A rectangular four-storey peel tower of local grey-brown stone rising from within a roughly rectangular barmkin enclosure. The lower two storeys are of vaulted stone construction; the upper floors continue the solid masonry shaft to the roofline. The tower stands on a grassy valley slope near the confluence of small burns, with the barmkin wall and footprints of low stone outbuildings clustered around its base. The silhouette is compact and vertical, set against rolling moorland and the nearby stretch of St Mary’s Loch.
Its story
The story of Dryhope Tower.
Dryhope Tower is a peel tower in the valley of the Yarrow Water in Selkirkshire, roughly equidistant between Moffat and Selkirk, defending the north-eastern end of St Mary's Loch. The site was guarded on two sides by water — the Dryhope Burn to the east and the Kirkstead Burn to the west — and the four-storey stone tower stood within a walled barmkin containing ancillary buildings.
The property passed to the Scotts of Harden, Wat Scott taking possession on his marriage. In 1592 Wat Scott fell out of favour with King James VI through his association with Francis Stewart, 1st Earl of Bothwell, and his part in an attack on Falkland Palace; the tower was slighted in the late 16th century and rebuilt by the early 17th.
The tower fell into terminal decay in the latter part of the 17th century, when it was acquired by the senior branch of the Scotts, the Dukes of Buccleuch. The ruin is now a scheduled monument and has undergone recent stabilisation.
Step inside
8 places to explore in 1613.
The record describes 8 distinct spots at Dryhope Tower — including 2 interiors: vaulted ground-floor chamber, vaulted second-storey chamber. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Create History
Recreate Dryhope Tower with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1613 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
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Clans who held Dryhope Tower.
The families that held Dryhope Tower for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Held by the Scotts of Harden from Wat Scott's marriage; acquired in the late 17th century by the senior branch, the Scott Dukes of Buccleuch.
