Coxton Tower

Coxton Tower, Moray
Photo © Anne Burgess, May 1990

This little fortified house was built in the 17th century, but is no longer habitable.

-- Not one fragment of history has heen preserved relating to the small but picturesque tower and so little attention does it seem to have excited, that it is not even mentioned in any of the numerous descriptions of Scotland, although it stands out a conspicuous object in the landscape near the great north road from Aberdeen to Inverness, and is little more than two miles distant from the town of Elgin. There is, however, little reason to be surprised in this instance ; for the rugged buildings of the north of Britain, instead of having been watched over or preserved, were, until recently, too frequently only so many stone quarries and stores of ready prepared timber to their proprietors, and even to strangers. But notwithstanding the neglect of history, and the want of the "long pedigree," we do not fear any lack of interest for our few remarks on Coxton.

For our own part we are not sorry that this building has hitherto escaped notice; had it been otherwise, we might not, perhaps, have been the first to draw attention to the existence of one entire baronial remain in Scotland, or enjoyed the pleasure of delineating one building of a most interesting class, which the hand of man has not robbed of anything belonging to the original design. The ancient fortified house we are considering wants, certainly, the walled courtyard which formerly enclosed the two of its sides upon which small and heavily-barred windows appear; but it is otherwise perfect, and possesses peculiarities entirely its own.

In general effect, Coxton resembles many Border towers, having the lower room or vault for sheltering, or rather securing, the owner's cattle against marauders, and above this the dwelling-house of the laird, comprising the scanty accommodation of three rooms and several small closets, the latter being within the substance of the walls.

To the lower dwelling-room there was no access from without, save by means of a ladder; and what is still more singular, there is no appearance on the exterior of any means of access to the upper rooms, although there is a circular newelled stair within the substance of the wall, in the angle between the covered turrets shown in the accompanying wood-engraving. The sides represented in our larger plate, which were formerly protected by the walled court, have rather a cheerful expression; and the pretty hollow corbelled and cabled open turret, from whence a parley might be held, has a character perfectly unique. But the opposite angles are sufficiently dismal, and were rather to be avoided by the stranger in former times, for not a window or opening appears in the walls, excepting so many port-holes for arrows or musketry.

In many of the old Border towers and larger castles we have vaulted rooms; and indeed, in general, all the apartments on the ground-floors of this class of buildings are vaulted. Sometimes the upper room is also arched, and there is one instance where the two upper stories are by this means protected from combustion. But Coxton is entirely fire-proof; and excepting its two external doors, which are backed by massive gates of cross-barred iron, no wood whatever is used in the whole building. Neither is there a slate, for the whole roof is stone, forming on the exterior a sloping line, and internally a high-pitched pointed arch. The same fire-proof construction is applied even to the covered turrets at the angles.

An external stone stair has recently been erected.

When we consider that every floor is a heavy semicircular stone vault, the absence of external buttresses naturally forces itself upon our observation. No defect, however, has resulted from this, for by an admirable contrivance they are rendered unnecessary — the floors are vaulted at opposite angles. Thus, if the sides of the lower-room arch stand east and west, those of the arch immediately above are north and south, and so they keep alternating. By this simple arrangement, the weight of one floor or vault acts as a counterpoise to the arch beneath; and the efficiency of this construction is evinced by the state of the building. Not a crack is visible; and we predict that, until the stone disintegrates, the Castle will stand.

Within the rooms is a singular provision for communication, perfectly independent of the staircase. In the centre of each floor is a square stone, fitted into a groove. These stones, when lifted up, show an opening from the summit to the base of the tower, and by the aid of a rope and pulley the requirements of its inmates might be attended to, and all the inconveniences of carriage up the narrow staircase avoided.

Our notice of Coxton commenced by stating that it has no historical record. There is, however, over its principal doorway, a large carved stone containing some time-worn initials and armorial bearings, and the date 1644. This has been inserted in the building at a period considerably later than that of its construction; and, judging from parallel examples of style, we should be inclined to fix the foundation of the tower fully a century earlier than this date. R. W. B. -- THE BARONIAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL ANTIQUITIES OF SCOTLAND 1901