The Castle continued...
In 1618 the castle was leased by James I to one of his courtiers, Alexander Stephenson, who allowed houses to be built within the castle walls. The castle was briefly refortified at the time of the civil war, and was the last stronghold of the Royalist defenders of the town in the siege of 1644. Restoration of the remaining castle walls and buildings began in the 19th century and has continued to the present day.
The keep has been restored on a number of occasions,
principally in 1810, 1812 and 1848, and again between the 1960s and 1980s
when crumbling outside stonework was replaced and the interior cleaned.
Despite these changes the keep remains one of the best examples of its
type in the country.
Its function was two fold, the principal strongpoint of the castle and
the dwelling of the commander of the garrison. The accommodation consisted
of one large room on each floor (there are now three but may have been
originally four) with subsidiary rooms, garderobes (toilets), stairs and
galleries contained within the thickness of the walls. For reasons of
defence it was entered on the second floor by an external stair.