The Hidden Castle Under Peebles.
The earthwork remains of a once proud Peebles Castle lie mostly forgotten beneath the parish church and other buildings, but the site can be viewed from the bridge and a wooden walkway running along the north side of the site. Much of the summit of the large castle mound is inaccessible due to the buildings on top, and it is easily overlooked.
The castle at Peebles dates to the 12th century, and is mentioned in records dating around the reign of David I (1124-1153). The site was strong. and strategically important. The remains of the castle as viewed and understood today show that it sat on a natural promontory lying in the angle of the Eddleston Water and the River Tweed, one of several natural routes from the Tweed valley toward Edinburgh. The outcrop itself was probably separated from the town by a large ditch to the west of the two bridges, although no trace of this survives. The castle was perhaps the location of the death of Henry of Huntingdon, King David’s son and heir, in 1152, and remained in use until the early 14th century; Edward I of England is recorded as staying here, and the castle was garrisoned by English troops in 1301-2. It was almost certainly sacked during the Wars of Independence, and from 1327 a grant of ten shillings to the castle chapel stopped; the castle is not mentioned when the town and county were granted to Edward III of England by Edward Balliol in 1334. It is possible that it was at least partially repaired and in use as the castle appears in rental books in the period 1671-85. There isn’t much written in the intervening years as to its use.
All traces of buildings were removed, and in 1720 the perimeter was planted with trees. Later the western end of the castle hill was levelled and turned into a bowling green, the rest of the site occupied with buildings which were cleared when the parish church was erected. These included the town jail, which was the last echo of the use of the castle as a centre of law for the town and county. There appears to be no information or signage relating to the castle in the town, which is a shame.
