The whimsy of the stucco reliefs

The seal of the castle with the date the castle was finished by Robert Howden. It is a depiction of the emblem for the town of Galashiels. It depicts two foxes climbing a plum tree, known as the Sour Plums (pronounced by Scots as soor plooms). It references an incident from 1337 when an English raiding party was slaughtered by the Scots as they were gathering plums from a tree in the area.

Is it stucco or stone?

Despite how the castle may look on the outside, it is completely made of stucco, not stones. The castle has over 30 stucco adornments and the house has approximately four different color schemes to paint the stucco to appear as stone.

We do not know the history of all the stucco reliefs, but someone in this castle's history loved dogs. If anyone reading this post has any leads on the artist or time they were created, let us know.

One of the decorated crenellations along the roof line. Noticed, the area around it more stucco formed and painted to look like individual stones.

Part of a larger relief, along the wall lining the front walkway

A decorated crenellation

This is a tile mosaic by the front door of the castle on the wall.