Site Name: Hallbar
Alternative Name(s):
Monument Type: Tower-house; Barmkin
Council: South Lanarkshire
Parish: Carluke
Map Sheet: NS84NW
Grid Reference: 283925, 647125
Canmore Number: 46544
Non-Statutory Register Code: S
WoSASPIN 10168
(NS 83934713) Tower of Hallbar (NR)
OS 6" map (1913)
Hallbar Tower appears to date from the 16th century, though a much higher antiquity is often claimed for it. It is rubble-built, and practically square on plan, rising four storeys to the parapet, with a garret chamber above.
The tower though it has stood unoccupied for years, is complete and in a good state of preservation. It was the fortalice of the Barony of Braidwood in 1581.
N G Tranter 1935
The Tower of Hallbar is correctly described by Tranter. It is in good condition, though unoccupied.
Visited by OS (AC) 16 June 1959
Work has finished on the latrine area. Fragments of old window glass were found as well as a token and a halfpenny from Leith dating to 1979.
A new area has been opened up, measuring 5m by 3m. Victorian pottery has been found as well as well-worn fragments of Medieval green-glaze pottery, a Victorian knucklebone, and various items of glass, including a piece of 17th century window glass.
Archer, E, DES 1985, p.40
Entered WoSAS (CF) 03/09/99
NS 8393 4713 Excavation, watching brief and photographic survey in the cellar and around the building perimeter of a Scheduled medieval tower house exposed the tower foundations and both medieval and late 19th-century working levels and features. The watching brief exposed a nearby stone culvert with a possible medieval base. The photographic survey recorded a 19th-century fireplace set into an earlier space plus the garret and roof tiling of the tower. (GUARD 465).
A full report has been deposited with the NMRS.
Sponsor: Vivat Trust.
K Speller 1999.
Scheduled as Hallbar Tower, Barmkin.
Information from Historic Scotland, scheduling document dated 8 December 2000.
Report date for above text from NMRS 26/03/2003
EXTERNAL REFERENCE
Mitchell Library: 'Old Country House' J. Maclehose - 1 photo of sundial.
Report date for above text from NMRS 23/07/2002
Tranter, N , The fortified house in Scotland. Edinburgh.(1962)
MacGibbon and Ross, D and T , The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth centuries. Edinburgh.(1887)
Tranter, N G , The fortalices and early mansions of south Scotland. Edinburgh.(1935)
Archer, E , 'Hallbar Tower (Carluke p), enclosure wall, latrine', Discovery and Excavation in Scotland, 1982, pp.26.(1982)
Archer, E , 'Hallbar Tower (Carluke p), latrine and enclosure wall', Discovery and Excavation in Scotland, 1983, pp.27.(1983)
Archer, E , 'Hallbar Tower (Carluke p), latrine, enclosure wall', Discovery and Excavation in Scotland, 1984, pp.26.(1984)
Archer, E , 'Hallbar Tower (Carluke p), latrine, enclosure wall', Discovery and Excavation in Scotland, 1985, pp.40.(1985)
Archer, E , 'Hallbar Tower (Carluke p), enclosure wall', Discovery and Excavation in Scotland, 1986, pp.30-1.(1986)
Speller, K. , 'Tower of Hallbar (Carluke parish): Tower house', Discovery and Excavation in Scotland, 1999, p. 82.(1999)
Speller, K , 'Tower of Hallbar (Carluke parish), tower house',Discovery and Excavation, Scotland,1999, pp.82,2000(1999)