Ballencrieff Castle, also known as Ballencrieff House, is a large

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

at Ballencrieff,

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It is located three miles north west of Haddington, and one mile south of Aberlady.

History

The castle was built in 1507 when King

James IV James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauchi ...

ordered his private secretary James Murray to build himself a fortified house at Ballencrieff. It was destroyed in or around 1545. From around 1550 to 1580 the house was owned (and presumably rebuilt) by

David Borthwick, Lord Lochill David Borthwick, Lord Lochill (c. 1505 – 1581) was a 16th-century Scottish landowner, Senator of the College of Justice and Lord Advocate of Scotland. Life He was born in Fife around 1505 and studied Canon Law and Civil Law at St Leonards Coll ...

who renamed it Lochill Castle. In 1608 the Ballencrieff estate was bought by Sir Bernard Lindsay and then to Sir Patrick Murray in 1632, In 1679 it passed to Sir Peter Wedderburn. General James Murray, a Governor of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, was baptised in Aberlady, and is said to have been born at Ballencrieff, in 1721. If so this suggests that his father Alexander, 4th

Lord Elibank Lord Elibank, of Ettrick Forest in the County of Selkirk, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1643 for Patrick Murray, 1st Lord Elibank, Sir Patrick Murray, 1st Baronet, with remainder to his heirs male whatsoever. He had alr ...

, George's father, was then resident there. The house burnt down accidentally in 1868, and stood roofless until it was restored between 1992 and 1997. It is now privately owned, and it is situated next to a

free range Free range denotes a method of farming husbandry where the animals, for at least part of the day, can roam freely outdoors, rather than being confined in an enclosure for 24 hours each day. On many farms, the outdoors ranging area is fenced, ...

rare breed In modern agriculture, a rare breed is a breed of poultry or livestock that has a very small breeding population, usually from a few hundred to a few thousand. Because of their small numbers, rare breeds may have a threatened conservation statu ...

pig farm. The long, rectangular-plan, tower has three storeys, including a vaulted basement, with a near-symmetrical north front. The tall, narrow south-east wing has

crow-step A stepped gable, crow-stepped gable, or corbie step is a stairstep type of design at the top of the triangular gable-end of a building. The top of the parapet wall projects above the roofline and the top of the brick or stone wall is stacked in a ...

gables. The castle, along with its walled garden and pavilion, is a category B

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. During restoration works, 16th-century gun holes and wooden draw-bars on the windows, were discovered in the ruins. The remains of two early 17th-century moulded plaster ceilings with the initials and heraldry of Gideon Murray, and the remnants of an elaborate fireplace, were found on the first floor.

References

External links

Nigel Tranter Albavision Video of Ballencrieff Castle restoration

Geograph photo of Ballencrieff Castle

Pre-restoration view of Ballencrieff Castle
{{Authority control Castles in East Lothian Category B listed buildings in East Lothian Listed castles in Scotland Tower houses in Scotland

History

See also

References

External links