Carriden House is a mansion in the parish of Bo'ness and Carriden, in the

Falkirk council area Falkirk (; sco, Fawkirk; gd, An Eaglais Bhreac) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas of Scotland. It was formed on 1 April 1996 by way of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 from the exact boundaries of Falkirk District, one ...

, east central

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 on the

Antonine Wall The Antonine Wall, known to the Romans as ''Vallum Antonini'', was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twe ...

east of

Bo'ness Borrowstounness (commonly known as Bo'ness ( )) is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Historically part of the county of West Lothian, it is a place within the Falki ...

, and north-east of

Linlithgow Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a ...

, in the former

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of West Lothian. The earliest part of the house is an early 17th-century

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 ...

, which was extended in the 17th and 19th centuries. Carriden House is protected as a category A

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 ...

Etymology of name

''Carriden'' is etymologically a

Cumbric Cumbric was a variety of the Common Brittonic language spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North" in what is now the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland and northern Lancashire in Northern England and the souther ...

name. The first element is agreed to be *''kair'' 'fortification'. The second element is more doubtful, but seems fairly likely to be the same regional name

Eidyn Eidyn was the region around modern Edinburgh in Britain's sub-Roman and early medieval periods, approximately the 5th–7th centuries. It centred on the stronghold of Din Eidyn, thought to have been at Castle Rock, now the site of Edinburgh Ca ...

that also appears in ''Edinburgh''.

History

Carriden House is located west of the site of an Antonine

Roman fort In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...

. This formed the eastern end of the Antonine Wall. It is the only Antonine Fort whose Latin name, Veluniate, is known. A centurion's stone was reported as built into the house, according to Sir George Macdonald who wrote about it. Finds from the

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

include some window fragments. One suggested interpretation is that Carriden formed a chain of Lothian forts along with

Cramond Cramond Village (; gd, Cathair Amain) is a village and suburb in the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland, at the mouth of the River Almond where it enters the Firth of Forth. The Cramond area has evidence of Mesolithic, Bronze Age and Roman ac ...

and

Inveresk Inveresk (Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic: ''Inbhir Easg'') is a village in East Lothian, Scotland situated to the south of Musselburgh. It has been designated a Conservation area (United Kingdom), conservation area since 1969. It is situated on s ...

. A tower probably stood on this site in the 16th century, and this was rebuilt or replaced in 1602 by John Hamilton of Lettrick. The tower was purchased later in the 17th century by the Mylne family, a prominent dynasty of masons and architects, and a west wing was added by Alexander Mylne. During the 18th century the house had many owners, and landscaping works were carried out in the grounds. In 1814, the house was bought by Admiral Sir George Johnstone Hope (1767–1818), a veteran naval officer. His son Sir James Hope (1808–1881) made further alterations to the building, and also established the estate village of Muirhouses. The estate changed hands several more times, and by the 1970s was owned by the

South of Scotland Electricity Board The South of Scotland Electricity Board (SSEB) generated, transmitted and distributed electricity throughout the south of Scotland, including the former regions of Strathclyde, Lothian, Fife, Central, Borders and Dumfries and Galloway and a few t ...

. Demolition was contemplated, to allow the building of a new power station on the site. This proposal was rejected and the house fell into disrepair. It the latter part of the 20th century the house was purchased from the SSEB by the Barkhouse family and restored as a private residence. The house has since undergone further renovation and modernisation, and continues to be a private family residence. Carriden House 2

Description

The house is on an L-plan, and comprises the original tower house and the 17th-century wing. The tower house, dated 1602, is of three storeys and was remodelled in the 19th century. The two-storey wing added by Alexander Mylne is to the west, and bears a 1682 date stone. The study on the first floor has a 17th-century plaster ceiling described as "particularly exceptional". The porch in the angle of the L is also a 19th-century addition.

References

{{reflist

External links

West Lothian Archaeology
Category A listed buildings in Falkirk (council area) Listed houses in Scotland Bo'ness