Rusco Tower

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Rusco Tower, also known as Rusco Castle, is a four-storey tower house near Gatehouse of Fleet in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It was built around 1500 for Mariota Carson and her husband Robert Gordon on land given by Mariota’s father, and it served as a stronghold for the Gordons.

In the 16th century, James Gordon, the couple’s eldest son, seized Rusco from his mother to keep it away from her new husband. He later played a role in the murder of Thomas Maclellan in Edinburgh, while a court case over the matter was ongoing. The Gordons eventually sold the tower in the 17th century. It was inhabited for centuries but fell into ruin by the early 20th century.

The tower was designated a Category A listed building in 1971. In 1972 it was bought and later restored by Graham Carson. He and his family lived there from 1979 to 2006. Carson hoped to prove a family connection to the original Carsons, but no link was found. The tower remains in the Carson family and is still used as a home.

Architecturally, Rusco Tower is roughly 11.8 by 8.8 metres and about 15 metres tall. The thick walls reach up to 2.4 metres, with a wall walk around the parapet. Inside, many rooms are built into the thickness of the walls, including a turnpike stair. The ground floor is vaulted and divided into store rooms and guard rooms, some with gunloops and a dungeon reached by a trap door. The first floor holds a large Great Hall with a beamed ceiling. The upper floors were originally large rooms but have been subdivided. The main entrance is on the north wall, with a second, older entrance on the east front. The tower features gunloops, a cap-house above the stair, and distinctive window lintels.

Historically, Rusco Tower has also been called Rusco Castle, Rusko, Ruschen (in 1515), and Ruschew (in 1575). It sits on a wooded hillside about 5 kilometres north of Gatehouse of Fleet, overlooking the Water of Fleet valley.