Greenknowe Tower
Tower In Kelso, Borders
A fine example of a 16th-century tower house, located just west of the village of Gordon, in the Scottish Borders

Greenknowe Tower is a 16th-century tower house, located just west of the village of Gordon, in the Scottish Borders. Although a roofless ruin, the stonework of the tower is well preserved, and represents a fine example of a later tower house, built more as a residence rather than as a place of defence.
It was built in 1581 by a minor landowner, James Seton, and he lived here with his wife Janet Edmonstone. The lintel above the main entrance carries the date of construction, the shields of the Seton and Edmonstone families, and the initials IS and IE: the "I"s should be read for "J"s. The Seton family had owned land in the Parish of Gordon since marrying into the Gordon family: who in turn had been granted the estate by Malcolm II in 1018.

Though it now stands alone on its hill, the tower originally stood as the centrepiece of a large enclosure, within a stone wall. Outbuildings associated with the tower were scavenged by local people for building stone after the tower fell into disuse in the late 19th century.


Greenknowe was built with defence in mind; the walls are perforated with numerous ruin-holes, allowing the defenders a clear line of site in any direction. The tower is situated on a low natural mound, which was originally surrounded and defended by marshy ground. Only one door gives access to the tower, another sign of how important defence was to the Seton family. The door is in the re-entrant angle, where the two wings meet, and was defended by a solid wooden door in front of a yett, or iron grill. The yett was designed to provide backup support to the door and to prevent attackers from simply burning the wooden door down to gain access to the interior.

Greenknowe is an example of an L-Plan tower, with a main block of four storeys, and a stair wing on the east side of five storeys. The main block is around 10.5m by 7m, with walls 1.2m thick. The wing projects 3.3m and is 4.5m wide.

In the 1600s the tower was purchased by the Pringle family of Stichel, one resident being the noted Covenanter, William Pringle. By 1850 it was no longer lived in, and in 1937 it was placed in state care by the Dalrymple family, who also contributed towards its consolidation. Today Greenknowe Tower is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and is in the care of Historic Environment Scotland.
Get 4 points if you have visited this place. Already visited by 17 VIPs.
Login to the VIP area to add places to your bucket list, mark them as visited and more importantly see where you rank on the league table.
How To Find Greenknowe Tower
Where Is Greenknowe Tower?
Lat / Long
55.677757, -2.574746
What three words
Where To Park For Greenknowe Tower?
Lat / Long
55.677083, -2.574746
What three words
There is a small layby at the side of the road you can pull into to visit the site.
Contributed by Andrew Gardner
I love being outdoors, in nature, and experiencing the relaxation it brings. Wandering through the northern countryside seeing unexpected buildings, historic places and occasionally surprised wildlife is one of life's great pleasures.
More Places from Andrew
More Places In Kelso
Find more fabulous places in Kelso, Borders and if you know of a place we haven't listed, then let us know.

Roxburgh Castle
Castle Kelso BordersRuin near Kelso overlooking the River Tweed, in the grounds of Floors Castle.

Hundy Mundy Tower
Tower Kelso BordersA folly named after a princess overlooking bodies in a natural woodland burial site!
More Towers
So this tower wasn't enough and you want more? Don't worry we have you covered.

Cockle Park Tower
Tower Morpeth NorthumberlandA three-storied tower-house built as a hunting lodge then later extended and used as a farmhouse and students' hostel.

Berwick Bell Tower
Tower Berwick Upon Tweed NorthumberlandAn octagonal bell tower in Berwick which was built in 1577 as a medieval lookout post and alarm system.

Marmion Tower
Tower Ripon North YorkshireMarmion Tower is a Garde I listed, 15th-century gatehouse in West Tanfield, North Yorkshire.
Never Miss A Fabulous Place
If you are afraid of missing out on all the fabulous places we post, or just want to be the first to know, then sign up to the Fabulous North.
Each week we will email you all the brand new places that we visit.
Sign Up To AlertsFind Us On Facebook
We post all our new places daily on our Facebook Groups page, so join the group today and be notified when we add a new place.
Join Our Facebook Group