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Polnoon Castle

On 6th August 1388 at the Battle of Otterburn, Sir John de Montgomerie captured Henry, Lord Percy (also known as Hotspur). It is traditionally believed that Sir John accepted a ransom for his prisoner who killed James, Earl of Douglas and mortally wounded the Earl of Moray and built Polnoon Castle with the poind money on a small hillock on what appears to be an earlier motte . After being released Lord Percy went to Calais in 1391 and served as Governor of Bordeaux from 1393 to 1395. The Montgomerie armorial arms panel Link that would have originally been set in a recess above the entrance to the castle, commemorates Sir John's marriage to Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Sir Hugh Eglinton of that Ilk, one of the two Justicaries of Scotland in 1361. The castle was refurbished for occupation in 1617 but was ruined by 1676. The armorial arms panel can be seen above the door of the Cross Keys Inn Link in Eaglesham. Other motte sites associated with the Montgomeries can be found at Motte Hill Link and at Castlehill Link .

Notes: The Battle of Otterburn took place according to Scottish sources on 5th August 1388 or 19 August according to English sources.