Bottleneck Dungeon

The dungeon at Dean Castle is reffered to as being of the 'bottleneck' type due to it's narrow entrance which opens into a small vaulted chamber.  The hatchway above the neck was the only way in or out of the dungeon and cannot be reached from below.  When the wooden hatch was shut there was no source of light or air except for a tiny vent in the wall. Prisoners would be dropped in, or if they were lucky lowered by rope.    Dean castle, the home of the 1st Earl of Kilmarnock, another prominent royalist, was occupied by General Thomas Dalziel and his regiment 'the Scots Greys' during the reign of Charles II.  Dalziel was Commander in Chief of the King's forces in Scotland and had been charged with suppressing the Covenanter uprisings in the area.  Prisoners captured at the battles of Bothwell Bridge and Rullion Green were imprisoned here to await execution or deportation.