Seafield Tower is a ruined castle on the North Sea coast of Fife in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

(). The monument is also referred to as a ' Medieval Tower House'. The tower is located on the route of the Fife Coastal Path.

History

Built in the 16th century (c. 1542), Seafield Tower lies between

Kinghorn Kinghorn (; gd, Ceann Gronna) is a town and parish in Fife, Scotland. A seaside resort with two beaches, Kinghorn Beach and Pettycur Bay, plus a fishing port, it stands on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, opposite Edinburgh. Accordin ...

and Kirkcaldy in Fife,

. The lands of Seafield and

Markinch Markinch (, (Scottish Gaelic: Marc Innis) is both a village and a parish in the heart of Fife, Scotland. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the village has a population of 2,420. The civil parish had a population of 16,530 (in 2011).Cens ...

were granted to Robert Multrare by James II of Scotland in 1443. The lands and the tower remained in the ownership of the Multray family (or Moultrie as the family name became) until 1631 when the lands were sold to

James Law James Law (ca. 1560 – 12 November 1632) was Archbishop of Glasgow. Entering the church after graduation from university, he rose to the position of Bishop of Orkney, reorganising the diocese, before rising to hold the position of Archbishop o ...

, the

Archbishop of Glasgow The Archbishop of Glasgow is an archiepiscopal title that takes its name after the city of Glasgow in Scotland. The position and title were abolished by the Church of Scotland in 1689; and, in the Scottish Episcopal Church, it is now part of ...

. With Law's death in 1632, the tower passed through various owners. The Methven family were the last known owners of the tower. Its last owner was Methven of Raith who abandoned it in 1733, leaving it to it fall into disrepair and, eventually, ruin. The completed tower was believed to be five stories high with walls thick and maximum internal dimensions of by . It was constructed in an 'L' shape configuration using local red

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

. The Tower would have had a vaulted storage area on the ground floor and a Great Hall on the first floor. The upper levels would have been the lord's accommodation. A plan from 1774 shows ancillary buildings - including a bakery, brewery and stables - which were located in an enclosure to the west of the Tower. These buildings would normally have been protected by a barmkin (curtain wall) but, unfortunately, any evidence of this has been lost due to

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landwa ...

. As it stands today, the ruin is merely a shell in derelict condition. Following a storm in January 2013, a significant part of the northwest corner of the tower collapsed.

Scheduled monument

Between 1973 and 2015 the remains of the tower were designated 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 ...

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment ...

. The tower was removed from Category B in 2015 as, since 2003, the tower and its surrounding area (which has been scheduled since 1937) have been designated as one combined

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

Images

File:Seafield Tower.jpg File:Seafield Tower - view from SW.jpg File:Seafield Tower - geograph.org.uk - 17433.jpg

References

External links

Video about Seafield Tower's history
Ruined castles in Fife Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Fife Districts of Scotland

History

Scheduled monument

Images

See also

References

Further reading

External links