Markle Castle, or Markle is a ruined

14th-century As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was a century lasting from 1 January 1301 ( MCCCI), to 31 December 1400 ( MCD). It is estimated that the century witnessed the death of more than 45 million lives from political and n ...

castle, about near the hamlet of Markle, north west of

East Linton East Linton is a village and former police burgh in East Lothian, Scotland, situated on the River Tyne and A199 road (former A1 road) five miles east of Haddington, with an estimated population of in . During the 19th century the populatio ...

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 ...

, near the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...

.Coventry, Martin (1997) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Goblinshead. p.253

History

Óengus II Óengus mac Fergusa (Angus MacFergus; Irish ''Onuist'', Latinized ''Hungus'') was king of the Picts from 820 until 834. In Scottish historiography, he is associated with the veneration of Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. Although, this ...

is reputed to have rested his army in this area before the battle in 832 at which the Cross of St Andrew was said to have appeared. Markle was built by the Hepburns. Its ownership was closely associated with

Hailes Castle Hailes Castle is a mainly 14th century castle about a mile and a half south-west of East Linton, East Lothian, Scotland. This castle, which has a fine riverside setting, belonged to the Hepburn family during the most important centuries of it ...

, which is nearby. The English burnt Markle in 1401 and 1544. In the first attack in 1401,

Henry Percy (Hotspur) Sir Henry Percy (20 May 1364 – 21 July 1403), nicknamed Hotspur, was an English knight who fought in several campaigns against the Scots in the northern border and against the French during the Hundred Years' War. The nickname "Hots ...

was colluding with George de Dunbar, 11th Earl of Dunbar & March. The second attack was during the

Rough Wooing The Rough Wooing (December 1543 – March 1551), also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following its break with the Roman Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland, partly to break the ...

, when the English were led by Lord Hertford. Markle was burnt on the morning of 17 May 1544 by the

English army The ...

, after they had set fires in Leith and Edinburgh. On the same day, Haddington,

Stenton Stenton ( sco, Staneton) is a parish and village in East Lothian, Scotland. It is bounded on the north by parts of the parishes of Prestonkirk and Dunbar, on the east by Spott and on the west by Whittingehame. The name is said to be of Saxon ...

, "Bentestoun" (Stevenson), and

Prestonpans Prestonpans ( gd, Baile an t-Sagairt, Scots: ''The Pans'') is a small mining town, situated approximately eight miles east of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the Council area of East Lothian. The population as of is. It is near the site of the 1745 ...

were burnt. By 1588, Markle was shown as a

Clan Stewart Clan Stewart (Gaelic: ''Stiùbhart'') is a Scottish Highland and Lowland clan. The clan is recognised by Court of the Lord Lyon; however, it does not have a Clan Chief recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. Because the clan has no chief it ...

property in the Register of the

Great Seal of Scotland The Great Seal of Scotland ( gd, Seala Mòr na h-Alba) is a principal national symbol of Scotland that allows the monarch to authorise official documents without having to sign each document individually. Wax is melted in a metal mould or matrix ...

; the last reference to it in the register is for 1635. Markle was in the possession of the rebel earl

Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome * Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural ...

, and in September 1594

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

gave

Morham Morham, East Lothian, sometimes spelt Moram, Morum, or Morhame in old records, is the smallest (agricultural) parish in Scotland, sandwiched between five other parishes: Haddington, Garvald, Yester, Whittingehame, and Prestonkirk, in the undul ...

, Traprain, and Markle to Walter Scott of Buccleuch. In November 1600, Robert Hepburn was resident at the "Place of Markle" when his kinsmen abducted Margaret Carkettle from Monkrigg (near

Lennoxlove Lennoxlove House is a historic house set in woodlands half a mile south of Haddington in East Lothian, Scotland. The house comprises a 15th-century tower, originally known as Lethington Castle, and has been extended several times, principally in ...

) and brought her to Markle, treating her in "abominable and destable form".

Maureen Meikle Maureen M. Meikle is an academic historian. Her 1988 Phd thesis at the University of Edinburgh was titledLairds and gentlemen: A study of the landed families of the Eastern Anglo-Scottish Borders c.1540-1603. She is writing a new biography of Ann ...

, ''The Scottish People 1490-1625'' (Lulu, 2013), p. 111.

Structure

A few fragments of the walls of Markle remain on a rocky mound. The remains of the 14th 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 ...

forms a

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

with the 16th-century

hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gr ...

. There was once a fortified

ditch A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ar ...

. There were monastic buildings of which no traces remain.

References

{{coord , 55.9889, N, 2.6755, W, display=title Castles in East Lothian

History

Structure

See also

References