Fa'side Castle (Faside Estate) has previously been known as Fawside, Falside, Ffauside, Fauxside, or Fawsyde and is a 15th-century

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

located in

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 ...

. The castle is approximately southwest of

Tranent Tranent is a town in East Lothian (formerly Haddingtonshire), in the south-east of Scotland. The town lies 6 miles from the boundary of Edinburgh, and 9.1 miles from the city centre. It lies beside the A1 road, the A1 runs through the parish ...

, and southeast of

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; sco, Musselburrae; gd, Baile nam Feusgan) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It has a population of . History The name Musselburgh is Ol ...

. The building was restored in the 1980s and is now protected as 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 ...

History

The name dates from 1189, when the monks of

Newbattle Abbey Newbattle Abbey ( gd, Abaid a' Bhatail Nuaidh) was a Cistercian monastery near the village of Newbattle in Midlothian, Scotland, which subsequently become a stately home and then an educational institution. Monastery It was founded in 1140 by mo ...

granted land to

Saer de Quincy, 1st Earl of Winchester Saer de Quincy, 1st Earl of Winchester (c. 11553 November 1219) was one of the leaders of the baronial rebellion against John, King of England, and a major figure in both the kingdoms of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of England, Engla ...

to build the castle on the site. It was in the possession of

Alan la Zouche, 1st Baron la Zouche of Ashby Alan la Zouche, 1st Baron la Zouche of Ashby (9 October 1267 – shortly before 25 March 1314) was born at North Molton, Devonshire, the only son of Roger La Zouche and his wife, Ela Longespée, daughter of Stephen Longespée and Emmeline de ...

, the son in law of

Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester (c. 1195 – 25 April 1264), (Roger de Quincy is a subarticle in his father's article.) His dates are given as 1195?-1265 at the beginning of the subarticle, but his death date is given as 25 April 12 ...

, on behalf of his wife, when it was besieged by Sir William Douglas in 1288. The land was lost to

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...

after the De Quincy family declared their loyalty to

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Bruce granted the lands to the Seton family. The Fawsydes of that Ilk acquired land in the area from the Setons in 1371. The earliest part of the present building was constructed by the Fawsydes in the 15th century. The castle was burned by the English before the

Battle of Pinkie Cleugh The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh ( , ), took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the Union of the Cro ...

, which was fought nearby on 10 September 1547, suffocating or burning all those inside.

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

left Fa'side on the morning of 15 June 1567 for the

Battle of Carberry Hill The Battle of Carberry Hill took place on 15 June 1567, near Musselburgh, East Lothian, a few miles east of Edinburgh, Scotland. A number of Scottish lords objected to the rule of Mary, Queen of Scots, after she had married the Earl of Bothwell, ...

. She changed into a short skirt and left her fine clothes behind in a chest. The castle was rebuilt and extended to the south in the late 16th century. On 5 November 1620 a number of local and neighbouring landowners had dinner with Janet Lawson, Lady Fawside, at the castle and illegally combined together to set and raised the price of coals from their coalmines. The

Privy Council of Scotland The Privy Council of Scotland ( — 1 May 1708) was a body that advised the Scottish monarch. In the range of its functions the council was often more important than the Estates in the running the country. Its registers include a wide range of ...

found their actions unlawful and the lairds were ordered to pay a fine of £2,000 and be imprisoned in

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

. In defence the landowners claimed their coal was unprofitable, that the workings of Little Fawside (belonging to the Master of Elphinstone) were on fire, and the Fawside coal mine had bankrupted the old laird. The Fawsydes sold the castle in 1631 to an Edinburgh

burgess __NOTOC__ Burgess may refer to: People and fictional characters * Burgess (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Burgess (given name), a list of people Places * Burgess, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Burgess, Missouri, U ...

and

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

called Hamilton. By the 19th century it had fallen into ruin, and was close to being demolished altogether in the 1970s. However, the castle was bought and restored by Thomas Moodie Craig. Author and historian

Nigel Tranter Nigel Tranter OBE (23 November 1909 – 9 January 2000) was a writer of a wide range of books on castles, particularly on themes of architecture and history. He also specialised in deeply researched historical novels that cover centuries of Sco ...

set up the Fa'side Restoration Society in 1970 through the St. Andrews Society of East Lothian, and introduced Craig to the castle in 1975. After investigation it was discovered that the original name of the castle was Fawside Castle. The restoration work began in 1976 was completed by 1982. The castle remains in private ownership. Faside Estate includes a stud farm and a bed & breakfast business. The building has five bedrooms while the tourist accommodation is in a tower and two cottages.Spectacular Scottish castles and estates for sale
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Description

Fa'side is a L-plan building, being a fifteenth-century four-storey keep with a later turreted block added. There is a vaulted basement. The castle stands on a high ridge with extensive views over East Lothian and the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...

Additional Photos

References

Bibliography

* Coventry, Martin (2001) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Goblinshead. * Lindsay, Maurice (1986) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Constable. *

External links

{{Commons category, Fa'side Castle
Faside Estate web site
(Official)
Faside Stud web site
(Official)
Faside Castle
RCAHMS Castles in East Lothian Category B listed buildings in East Lothian Listed castles in Scotland Lowland castles Tower houses in Scotland Tranent