Tinnis Castle or Tynnis Castle was formerly a Scottish tower house or castle at Old Tinnis in the parish of

Yarrow, Scottish Borders Yarrow is a place and parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland and in the former county of Selkirkshire.The name "Yarrow" may derive from the Celtic word ''garw'' meaning "rough" or possibly share a derivation with the English name "Jarro ...

, or former county of

Selkirkshire Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk ( gd, Siorrachd Shalcraig) is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. It borders Peeblesshire to the west, Midlothian to the north, Roxburghshire to the east, and Dumfriesshire to the south. ...

. There also a "Tinnis Castle" at

Drumelzier Drumelzier (), is a village and civil parish on the B712 in the Tweed Valley in the Scottish Borders. The area of the village is extensive and includes the settlements of Wrae, Stanhope, Mossfennan and Kingledoors. To the north is Broughton an ...

. Tynnis in Yarrow was part of the dower lands of Ettrick Forest given to Scottish queens. It was used as the house of the royal forest official, the Ranger or Master Currour of

Yarrow ''Achillea millefolium'', commonly known as yarrow () or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Other common names include old man's pepper, devil's nettle, sanguinary, milfoil, soldier's woundwort, and thousand seal. The ...

in the 15th century. A property charter shows there was a tower at Tinnis and ruins of another tower remain at nearby Deuchar. In December 1520,

Margaret Tudor Margaret Tudor (28 November 1489 – 18 October 1541) was Queen of Scotland from 1503 until 1513 by marriage to King James IV. She then served as regent of Scotland during her son's minority, and successfully fought to extend her regency. Marg ...

, the widow of

James IV of Scotland James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauchi ...

who had married the

Earl of Angus The Mormaer or Earl of Angus was the ruler of the medieval Scottish Provinces of Scotland, province of Angus, Scotland, Angus. The title, in the Peerage of Scotland, is held by the Duke of Hamilton, and is used as a courtesy title for the eldes ...

, granted the forest stead lands of Tynnis and the tower and place of Tynnis, with the adjacent forest stead of Deuchar to

Lady Agnes Stewart Lady Agnes Stewart (died 1557) was a Scottish noble. She was born the illegitimateG.E. Cokayne et al (eds), ''The Complete Peerage'', vol. 2 (Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), p. 238. daughter of James Stewart, 1st Earl of Buchan and Margaret Murray. ...

, Countess of Bothwell, for nine years. The lands of Tinnis in Ettrick continued to provide an income for

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 ...

. In July 1592,

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...

gave orders to William Stewart of

Traquair Traquair ( gd, Cille Bhrìghde) is a small village and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in the Scottish Borders; Counties of Scotland, until 1975 it was in the county of Peeblesshire. The village is situated on the B709 road south of Inn ...

to demolish the "place and houssis of Tynneis", and also ordered the demolition of Harden and Dryhope. James Stewart of Tinnis and

Walter Scott of Harden Walter Scott of Harden (1550 – 1629), also known as Auld Wat, was a notorious border reiver along the Anglo-Scottish border in the 16th century. Life The son of William Scott of Harden, Wat was born in 1550, when he was recognised as his ...

had joined in the rebellion of

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 ...

at the Raid of Falkland. It is not clear if this was "Tinnis" in Yarrow or the castle in Drumelzier, and in the next year

Lord Home Earl of Home ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1605 for Alexander Home of that Ilk, 6th Lord Home. The Earl of Home holds, among others, the subsidiary titles of Lord Home (created 1473), and Lord Dunglass (1605), in ...

sold Tinnis tower in Yarrow to John Home, a royal servant and brother of the Laird of

Manderston Manderston House, Duns, Berwickshire, Scotland, is the home of The Rt Hon. The 4th Baron Palmer. It was completely rebuilt between 1901 and 1903 and has sumptuous interiors with a silver-plated staircase. The proprietor, Sir James Miller, 2 ...

. He sold the tower and lands to James Pringle. The former site of "Tynneis", as marked on early maps, was between the Yarrow Water and the Lewenshope Burn.James Adair, Sherifdome of Ettrick, NLS
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References

{{coord missing, United Kingdom Castles in the Scottish Borders Yarrow Valley Tower houses in Scotland