Sauchie Tower

Church Noticeboard

SAUCHIE TOWER

About a mile south-east of Alva, Clackmannanshire.

Sauchie Tower is a mid-15th century four storey square keep crowned by a

parapet carried on individual corbels with open rounds at each angle.

The arched entrance is at ground floor level in the centre of the west wall. leads

along a short passage into the vaulted cellar. There is a small guardroom on the

right of the passage, opposite the turnpike stair rises in the north-west angle, it

ends, above the parapet, with a hexagonal caphouse with a conical stone roof.

The cellar was split by an entresol floor at the spring of the vault. The lower

section was a storeroom, there is a draw well in the south wall and a small prison

in the west. The upper level was possibly a lower hall, the kitchen is contained

in the narrow mural chamber in the west wall at this level.

The first floor hall has a large fireplace with moulded jambs. There is a latrine

closet in the north wall, a stone basin, and stone seats at all three windows. The

west window contains the entrance to a small mural chamber with a small

window overlooking the hall, allowing the laird to keep an eye on his guests.

Above the hall the width of the rooms increases with the narrowing of the west

wall. These two floors would have provided the private family apartments, the

attic would have been used by the guard.

The tower was once surrounded by a curtain wall, a small part of this survived in

the mansion built on the west side the courtyard in 1633. This was abandoned in

favour of Schawpark, quickly fell into disrepair and has now been demolished.

The Barony of Sauchie was granted to Henry de Annand in 1324 by King Robert

the Bruce. It was later divided between two co-heiresses, married to William

Brown of Colston and James Schaw of Greenock, before the Schaws gained full

possession. The tower was probably built by James Schaw around 1425.