Cavers Castle, seat of Clan Douglas, up for sale

Now and then: Cavers Castle will need substantial restoration work if it finds a buyer. Picture: Comp

Cavers Castle, near Hawick, which was the seat of Clan Douglas, the oldest and most well known of the Border clans, as been put up for sale for only £300,000

Once a grand 64 room castle with 100,000 acres of land, the building is now a ruin.

The property - set now in only 11 acres - is thought to be attracting interest in the USA, where a strong Douglas clan association exists.

The majority of the 100,000 acres has been sold over the years by the Palmer-Douglas family.

The castle was constructed around 1200 AD and first inhabited by the Balliols.

Clan Douglas, instrumental in banishing the Balliols from Scotland, was granted the lands by King David II of Scotland in 1352.

Sir Archibald Douglas, 3rd Earl of Douglas was responsible for the construction of Cavers Tower, a traditional fortified Scottish tower, on the site of the original castle after he succeeded to the earldom when James Douglas fell at the Battle of Otterburn in 1388.

Cavers House was inhabited by a branch of the Douglas family until the twentieth descendent, James Douglas died in 1878 leaving no male heir. The property passed to his niece Mary Malcolm who married Captain Edward Palmer in 1879 and the property was substantially re-modelled as Cavers House between 1881 and 1887.

The house eventually became disused and was made available to the British Army for use in a demolition by explosives exercise in 1953.

The army were partially successfully in destroying Victorian section but made little impact on the 11-feet thick walls of the older medieval section.

A spokesman for Melrose-based estate agents Retties said: “It is a once magnificent Scottish Castle in 11 acres in need of complete restoration.

“All that remains of the Castle are the bricks and mortar of the five storey, south-easterly wing. Some of the walls are up to eleven feet in thickness and detail around fireplaces and cornicing still remain.

“Existing plans are available proposing the restoration of the Castle to a single dwelling family home.

“The plans are to create a family home to a very high specification, with space, design and amenities to meet today’s living requirements.

“Incorporating a swimming pool, gymnasium, library and cinema, the design will contrast modern architecture with the existing historic fabric, resulting in a rejuvenated structure that can once again take its place amongst the noteworthy buildings of the Scottish Borders.

“No formal application has been submitted, but the local planning department have indicated they would look favourably on the restoration of the castle and would consider the existing or new design plan.”