Midhope Castle is a 16th-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 ...

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 situated in the hamlet of

Abercorn Abercorn (Gaelic: ''Obar Chùirnidh'', Old English: ''Æbbercurnig'') is a village and civil parish in West Lothian, Scotland. Close to the south coast of the Firth of Forth, the village is around west of South Queensferry. The parish had a pop ...

on the Hopetoun estate, About to the west of

South Queensferry Queensferry, also called South Queensferry or simply "The Ferry", is a town to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Traditionally a royal burgh of West Lothian, it is administered by the City of Edinburgh council area. It lies ten miles to the no ...

, on the outskirts of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. It is a

Category A listed building Category, plural categories, may refer to: Philosophy and general uses *Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally *Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) *Category (Kant) * Categories (Peirce) * ...

History

The derelict chateau that can be seen today represents the much-altered 5-storey, oblong tower house. In the 15th-century Midhope belonged to the Martin family. During the latter 16th century, the castle belonged to Alexander Drummond of Midhope, brother to

Robert Drummond of Carnock Sir Robert Drummond of Carnock (died 1592) was Master of Work to the Crown of Scotland from 1579 to 1583. This was the responsibility for building and repair of palaces and castles. His appointment was made to be "as Sir James Hamilton of Finnart ...

Master of Work to the Crown of Scotland The Master of Works to the Crown of Scotland was responsible for the construction, repair and maintenance of royal palaces, castles and other crown property in Scotland. The main buildings were; Holyroodhouse; Edinburgh Castle; Stirling Castle; Li ...

. A stone inscribed "AD 1582 MB" commemorates Alexander and his wife Marjory Bruce, daughter of Robert Bruce of

Airth Airth is a Royal Burgh, village, former trading port and civil parish in Falkirk, Scotland. It is north of Falkirk town and sits on the banks of the River Forth. Airth lies on the A905 road between Grangemouth and Stirling and is overlooked by A ...

. Alexander Drummond was a servant of the

Earl of Huntly Marquess of Huntly (traditionally spelled Marquis in Scotland; Scottish Gaelic: ''Coileach Strath Bhalgaidh'') is a title in the Peerage of Scotland that was created on 17 April 1599 for George Gordon, 6th Earl of Huntly. It is the oldest existin ...

. On 7 August 1573, on behalf of the Earl of Huntly, Drummond returned jewels belonging to Mary, Queen of Scots to

Regent Morton James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton (c. 1516 – 2 June 1581, aged 65) was the last of the four regents of Scotland during the minority of King James VI. He was in some ways the most successful of the four, since he won the civil war that had ...

at Holyrood Palace. Drummond was buried at Airth Old Kirk. A painted ceiling from the tower survives in the care of Historic Scotland at Edinburgh; it is planned to be put on public display at the

Palace of Holyroodhouse The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh ...

. It includes cinquefoil motifs and probably commemorates the marriage of Sir Robert Drummond, who became laird in 1619, to a Hamilton heiress. The family motto was "ad astra per ardua"The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, Bernard Burke, Harrison & Sons, 1884, p. 301 and fragments from another painted ceiling had gold stars on a blue blackgound, represented in the crest of the coat of arms. In 1678, Midhope was given a facelift when an entrance tower was removed and the extension to the east was heightened and extended. A new doorway was added along with a small courtyard, measuring , to the south. A large, two-chambered, oblong, late 17th century dovecot sits about to the southeast.

In popular culture

Midhope Castle is featured as a location in the '' Outlander'' TV series on Starz as the main character's, Jamie Fraser, family home called Lallybroch but also known as Broch Tuarach.

Photographs

Image:Midhope Castle 01.JPG, The castle from the east. File:Midhope Tower, West Lothian-geograph-2456996.jpg, Courtyard view of castle Image:Midhope Castle 07.JPG, Approach to the Castle with Dovecot to the left.

Notes

References

*Mike Salter, (1985). ''Discovering Scottish Castles''. Shire Publications Ltd. . * Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), NMRS Number: NT07NE 5.00
Photos of Midhope Castle
* Hopetoun Estate
Midhope Castle
{{Castles in West Lothian Houses completed in the 16th century Ruins in West Lothian Category A listed buildings in West Lothian Listed castles in Scotland Scheduled Ancient Monuments in West Lothian Castles in West Lothian Tower houses in Scotland