Description
Sorbie Tower, or the Old Place of Sorbie, is a late 16th century tower-house, standing virtually complete to the wall-head. It is located within a plantation on a low rise which originally would have been surrounded by bog and marsh. To the south of the tower is a square mound, the remains of a predecessor motte and bailey castle. The motte has been terraced, presumably at a later date as a garden feature in the later phases of the tower's occupation. The tower is surrounded by a cobbled courtyard.
The tower is built to an L-shaped plan; above a vaulted basement there are three storeys with perhaps an attic in the roof space. The masonry is rubble with undressed quoins and simple chamfered sandstone dressings.
The entrance to the tower is in the re-entrant angle of the wing, which contains a scale-and-platt stair to the first floor. The ground floor has typical late 16th century arrangements with a passageway giving access to cellars and a kitchen which are well lit with a number of unusually large windows for the ground-floor spaces in a tower of this date. The kitchen has a large a fireplace, the arch of which has been rebuilt, and a slop drain.
The first floor of the main block would have contained a well lit hall, and there was a large fireplace, now very ruinous, in the east wall. The lower end of the hall may have been enclosed by a screen, as there is a small fireplace in the south wall. The upper floors would have been reached by a large circular stair corbelled out in the re-entrant angle, although the stair treads have been robbed out. Each of the upper floors of the main block was divided into two unequal chambers with separate access from the stair. The third-floor chambers, which were partly in the roof and lit by dormer windows, are augmented by small studies in roofed turrets at the north-west, north-east and south-west angles. There would have been further accommodation in the wing
History
The tower was probably built by Alexander Hannay of Sorbie, who held the lands of Sorbie from 1569 to around 1612. The Hannays were an important and influential family in Wigtownshire from at least the 13th century and appear to have held the lands of Sorbie from the mid-15th century. The family's fortunes declined during the late 16th century due to feuds and disputes with powerful neighbours such as the Murrays of Broughton, the Stewarts of Garlies and the Kennedys.
Most of the Sorbie estates were sold in 1626 to Sir Patrick Agnew, and the lands were later granted to the Stewarts of Garlies, who took possession of the Old Place of Sorbie in 1677. The last occupant was Brigadier-General John Stewart, M.P. for Wigtonshire in the British Parliament of 1707, who owned the tower until his death in 1748.
Status
The tower is owned and cared for by the Clan Hannay Society. Over the past ten years the Clan Society has stabilised the tower, which was very fragile. They have also provided interpretation for the tower and its surroundings, and opened it to the public. They are now considering further works to fully restore the tower, and to bring it back into some form of use.
Conservation Options
The tower is largely complete to the wall head and, having been stabilised over the last 10 years, is in good structural condition.It has suffered masonry robbing over the centuries, and the surrounds of many windows are either wholly or partly lost, as are the steps of the circular stair. Other areas have suffered collapse, including the vault of the kitchen and the superstructure of the angle turrets. However, the building remains substantially complete and sufficient details survive to enable an authentic restoration.
Bibliography
J. Gifford, The Buildings of Scotland: Dumfries and Galloway, London, 1996 pp. 520-21
P Harrington,'Sorbie, Old Tower (Sorbie Parish), 12th century motte and 16th century tower house, 'Discovery Excavation Scotland, 1996
D. MacGibbon and T. Ross, The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland, Edinburgh, vol. 3, 1887, pp 519-520
I. F. MacLeod, Galloway castles and tower houses: Old Place of Sorbie, Studies in Grey Galloway, Newton Stewart, 1969, pp 10-13
D Sproat, 'Sorbie Tower, Dumfries and Galloway (Sorbie parish), standing building recording', Discovery Excavation Scotland, vol.3, 2002, p 31
N. Tranter, The fortified house in Scotland: South West Scotland, Edinburgh, vol. 5, 1970, pp. 211-12.