Form of medieval and later defensive enclosure; Scots word
Smailholm Tower, showing the barmkin wall in the foreground
Barmkin, also spelled barmekin or barnekin, is a Scots word which refers to a form of medieval and later defensive enclosure, typically found around smaller castles, tower houses, pele towers, and bastle houses in Scotland and the north of England. It has been suggested that etymologically the word may be a corruption of the word barbican or berm.[1][2] The barmkin would have contained ancillary buildings, and could be used to protect cattle during raids.
In 1535 a Parliament of James V of Scotland enacted that "every landed man dwelling in the inland or upon the borders having there a hundred pound land of new extent shall build a sufficient barmkin upon his heritage and lands in the most suitable place, of stone and lime, containing three score foot of the square, one ell thick and six ells high, for the protection and defence of him, his tenants and their goods in troublesome times, with a tower in the same for himself if he thinks it expedient."[3]
Places which had barmkins include Halton Castle, Cheshire, Smailholm Tower, Scottish Borders, and Crichton Castle, Midlothian. The barmkin survives at Hills Tower in Dumfries and Galloway.[4]
^"Barmekin of Echt, fort, Barmekin Hill (SM57)". Historic Environment Portal. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020.
^"barmkin". A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700). Dictionaries of the Scots Language. 1937. Archived from the original on 18 December 2021.
^The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707, K.M. Brown et al eds (St Andrews, 2007-2020), 1535/31.
^Maxwell-Irving, Alastair M. T. (2014). The Border Towers of Scotland 2: Their Evolution and Architecture. Stirling: Alastair M. T. Maxwell-Irving. p. 98. ISBN 978-1-907931-37-6.
Barmkin, also spelled barmekin or barnekin, is a Scots word which refers to a form of medieval and later defensive enclosure, typically found around smaller...
west gable covering the barmkin, were remodelled in the 17th century. The tower is surrounded by the remains of a stone barmkin wall, within which the...
Scottish names for the same thing include "pele" (hence pele tower) and "barmkin". Tower houses in Britain and Ireland Curtain wall See alternative traditional...
"pele" can also be used in related contexts, for example a "pele" or "barmkin" (in Ireland a bawn) was an enclosure where livestock were herded in times...
and Chapel sit within a roughly trapezoidal area enclosed by a rubble barmkin wall, modified on the east side in the 19th century with castellations...
Scotland Glenae Tower Kinnelhead Bastle-House Lowther Hills See also: Barmkin Border Reivers Peel tower Tower house Tower houses in the British Isles...
Type First phase: motte and bailey Second phase: tower house/keep with barmkin Site information Owner Historic Scotland Open to the public Yes Condition...
Scotland Glenae Tower Kinnelhead Bastle-House Lowther Hills See also: Barmkin Border Reivers Peel tower Tower house Tower houses in the British Isles...
towers and bastle houses were often surrounded by a stone wall known as a barmkin, inside which cattle and other livestock were kept overnight. A special...
by 8.75 metres (45.1 by 28.7 ft), and is surrounded by the remains of a barmkin. Historic Environment Scotland. "Balquhain Castle (SM90)". Retrieved 8...
described as 'a little tower of Percival Clennell' then newly repaired with a barmkin under construction. In 1715 it was the seat of Luke Clennell, (High Sheriff...
ancient times. A survey of 1541 reported a decaying tower house without a barmkin owned by John Roddam. The Roddams lived at Houghton in Northumberland until...
as well as a tower and turret. The castle had a fortified courtyard (barmkin) to the north with a separate tower. There were probably four storeys but...
Scotland Glenae Tower Kinnelhead Bastle-House Lowther Hills See also: Barmkin Border Reivers Peel tower Tower house Tower houses in the British Isles...
re-entrant angle of the jamb, below the staircase. The castle was enclosed by a barmkin, parts of which survive on the south western and seaward sides. The former...
and other essential services. There would also most likely have been a barmkin or perimeter wall around the close. All traces of these buildings have...
Lauder family (owners of the Bass Rock castle) erected a stone tower with a barmkin on the site; however they had abandoned it by 1420 in favour of the Bass...
Scotland Glenae Tower Kinnelhead Bastle-House Lowther Hills See also: Barmkin Border Reivers Peel tower Tower house Tower houses in the British Isles...
Scotland Glenae Tower Kinnelhead Bastle-House Lowther Hills See also: Barmkin Border Reivers Peel tower Tower house Tower houses in the British Isles...
loch. It was surrounded by a timber palisade, and later, a stone walled barmkin, or defensive courtyard, with round towers at the corners. The tower is...
more properly the barmkin) was completed and ancillary buildings (stables, bakehouses, brewhouses, smithy, etc.) built against the barmkin wall. The third...
a donjon or keep] upon a rock, with another tower compasd with a fair barmkin wall, with orchards and trees, al within ane yland of the lenth of twa...
Scotland Glenae Tower Kinnelhead Bastle-House Lowther Hills See also: Barmkin Border Reivers Peel tower Tower house Tower houses in the British Isles...
the upper level. The ground floor contains a well. A small enclosure or barmkin was located on the south east side. Between 2006 and 2015 stabilisation...
ensuring the birds were kept warm in winter. To the south of the castle, a barmkin or courtyard, approximately 30 m by 13 m, was originally surrounded by...
The remains of the 'L-Plan' tower has been built into the farmhouse. The barmkin wall survives and has a surviving strong defensive corner tower. Paterson...
Maxwell family. The tower is unusual in that it has retained its original barmkin walls and their gatehouse. It eventually passed by marriage to the McCullochs...
Also the courtyard was protected by a high wall which was called the Barmkin. This protected the various other buildings housed in the courtyard, such...
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