Tower houses in Britain and Ireland

Tower houses (Irish: caisleán) appeared on the Islands of Ireland and Great Britain starting from the High Middle Ages. These house-fortifications were constructed in the wilder parts of Great Britain and Ireland, particularly in Scotland, and throughout Ireland, until at least up to the 17th century.^[1] The remains of such structures are dotted around the Irish and Scottish countryside, with a particular concentration in the Scottish Borders where they include peel towers and bastle houses. Some are still intact and even inhabited today, while others stand as ruined shells.