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By
the mid-fifteenth century the Douglases were again at
loggerheads with the crown, this time the new king James
II. The Eighth Earl William Douglas, just 21 at the time,
wisely undertook the construction of an artillery
fortification around the Tower in 1447. When he was
murdered by the King at Stirling Castle in 1452, his
widow Margaret, "the Fair Maid of Galloway"
quickly wed his younger brother, James, the ninth Earl,
who resolved to avenge his brother's death. The further
confrontation led to King James beginning the systematic
destruction of the Black Douglases and seizure of their
estates in 1452. The final act of the drama took place at
Threave in the summer of 1455 when the king himself led a
two-month seige of the castle. The fortifications, the
most sophisticated in Scotland at the time, withstood the
seige and it was other persuasions that led to the
garrison's surrender. Threave was annexed to the Scottish
Crown. From 1526 until 1640 the Lord Maxwells of
Caerlaverock, Earls of Nithsdale, were custodians of
Threave, until this time the castle was laid seige by the
Covenanters. The garrison was well prepared again, this
time holding out for 13 weeks until Robert Maxwell was
authorised to walk free with pride by King Charles I.
Threave Castle was subsequently dismantled and the island
was never inhabited again.
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