The Tower of Hallbar, situated between Braidwood and Crossford, is a sixteenth century keep which is a Grade A listed, Scheduled Ancient Monument. Hallbar has recently undergone a complete restoration. The Society has been involved with the Tower for many years. Prior to the restoration the Society was responsible for opening the Tower to the public and giving guided tours. We were recently able to return to Hallbar at the invitation of the builders to see the very impressive restoration work that has been undertaken. On 17 May 2000 the tower was officially handed over to the Vivat Trust, a charitable trust which acts to secure the future of buildings of historical, architectural and industrial interest that are threatened by neglect or demolition. Hallbar Tower and the adjacent cottage are now available for rent as rather superior holiday accommodation. The Tower sleeps seven and there is disabled access in the cottage nearby.
The Tower of Hallbar, also known as the Tower and Fortalice of Braidwood, is according to MacGibbon and Ross (1887) "an excellent specimen of the smaller keeps which continued to be erected as late as the seventeenth century, although this one may have built sometime earlier".
The Barony of Braidwood was conferred upon John de Monfod by Robert the Bruce in 1326 - 27 for "homage and service". It is possible that the Tower was built by de Monfod although this cannot be substantiated. Hallbar is unlike any other building in Clydesdale, but is similar to the traditional Border Towers which can be dated fairly accurately; by an Act of 1535, every Borderer owning land to the value of £100 was required to build a tower 30 feet square as a refuge for himself and his tenants. Hallbar was certainly in existence in 1581 when it was described in an Act of Parliament of that date ratifying the transfer of the Barony of Braidwood to Harie Stewart of Gogar, brother of the Earl of Arran. The Tower of Hallbar has been in the possession of the Lockhart family since 1681, when Sir George Lockhart purchased it from James, Marquis of Douglas. Hallbar is a small, square tower built in the old Scots Baronial style, characterised by the old Norman "donjon" Its external dimensions are 24 feet 9 inches square and 58 feet high. It consists of five apartments, one above the other, accessed by straight stairs, meagrely lit, passing up through the thickness of the wall, to a battlemented flagstone roof. The stair is unusual compared with similar towers in the Borders which have spiral or turnpike stairs.
In the ground floor there is a vaulted chamber which has been converted into a kitchen, but this was probably originally used for storage. Access is also possible to the first floor directly off the barmkin wall onto a timber platform. On the first floor is the main hall, 14 feet square, with the only fireplace in the Tower. Opposite the fireplace is an interesting window, 3 feet by 1 foot 10 inches, set into the width of the wall, with an unusual window seat. In the south east corner there is a long narrow doorway leading to a closet, lit by a window slit. Originally the hall has a stone floor, over the ground floor vault but this was replaced in timber during the nineteenth century restoration. The ceiling is also timber, resting on large stone corbels.
The second floor, or upper hall contains a garde robe projected out from the wall on stone corbels. The passageway of the stairs through the wall, which has been continuous up to the second floor is now interrupted by the hall chimney and it is necessary to pass through the upper hall to gain access to the upper flight.
The third floor has a vaulted roof and is a further bed chamber. The stairs carry on up to the pyramidal turret, which gives access to the east battlement. The arrangement of this top floor of the Tower of Hallbar is also unusual. with battlements on only two sides. To the south there was a small oriel projecting on three massive corbels in the gable, "'a considerable projection of oblong square proportions... a sort of watch tower" Rankin (1874). The north gable was designed to form a dovecot, a unique aspect of the building. High up on the north gable, ranges of square pigeon holes set into the wall can be seen. It is interesting to note that the dovecot is situated in the line of the flue, to ensure that, even if all the other inhabitants of the tower were frozen, the pigeons benefited from the warmth of the flue! According to MacGibbon and Ross "the dovecot was enclosed with a wooden brattice supported on beams projected from the wall, in the form of an ancient hoarding". A door in the north wall once led out onto a timber platform giving access to the dovecot, a useful supply of food in the case of a blockade.
Hallbar was re-roofed with flagstones in the nineteenth century, as part of the restoration work carried out in 1861 by Sir Norman Mac Donald Lockhart, under the supervision of Dr Rankin of Carluke. Sir Norman was aged only 17 years old at the time of the restoration. Prior to these repairs it was recorded that the tower was ivy covered and deteriorating. The roof has been returned to its original slates state as part of the 1999 restoration. Without the two significant restorations in 1861 and 1999 Hallbar could have been merely another of Scotland's romantic ruins.