Dairsie Castle is a restored

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 ...

located south of

Dairsie Dairsie, or Osnaburgh, is a village and parish in north-east Fife, Scotland. It is south-southwest of Leuchars Junction, and east-northeast of Cupar on the A91 Stirling to St Andrews road. The village grew out of two smaller settlements (cal ...

in north-east Fife,

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 castle overlooks the River Eden.

History

The first castle built here was the property of the bishops of St Andrews, and may have been constructed by

William de Lamberton William de Lamberton, sometimes modernized as William Lamberton, (died 20 May 1328) was Bishop of St Andrews from 1297 (consecrated 1298) until his death. Lamberton is renowned for his influential role during the Scottish Wars of Independence. ...

, bishop of St Andrews from 1298 to 1328. A Scottish parliament was held at the castle in early 1335. The castle was rebuilt in the 16th century by the Learmonth family. In March 1572, during the

Marian Civil War The Marian civil war in Scotland (1568–1573) was a period of conflict which followed the abdication of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her escape from Lochleven Castle in May 1568. Those who ruled in the name of her infant son James VI fought against ...

, the Laird of Dairsie, who was Provost of St Andrews, invited two English ambassadors Thomas Randolph and

William Drury Sir William Drury (2 October 152713 October 1579) was an English statesman and soldier. Family William Drury, born at Hawstead in Suffolk on 2 October 1527, was the third son of Sir Robert Drury (c. 1503–1577) of Hedgerley, Buckinghamsh ...

to banquet at they castle. They refused to come, and, it was said, instead he invited the new archbishop of St Andrews Gavin Hamilton, the minister of St Andrews, Robert Hamilton and William Skene to enjoy the feast he had prepared.

James Douglas, 4th Earl of 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 b ...

, then

regent of Scotland A regent is a person selected to act as head of state (ruling or not) because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there is only one ruling Regency in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein. The following is a list of rege ...

, laid siege to the castle in 1575. King James VI of Scotland stayed at Dairsie Castle in 1583 following his escape from the

Raid of Ruthven The Raid of Ruthven was a political conspiracy in Scotland which took place on 22 August 1582. It was composed of several Presbyterian nobles, led by William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie, who abducted King James VI of Scotland. The nobles intende ...

in June 1583. In the 17th century it was sold to

John Spottiswoode John Spottiswoode (Spottiswood, Spotiswood, Spotiswoode or Spotswood) (1565 – 26 November 1639) was an Archbishop of St Andrews, Primate of All Scotland, Lord Chancellor, and historian of Scotland. Life He was born in 1565 at Greenbank in ...

(1565–1639), Archbishop of St Andrews, who built

Dairsie Old Church Dairsie Old Church, formerly St Mary's Church, is the former parish church of Dairsie, in north-east Fife, Scotland. It is located around south of Dairsie village. The present church was built in 1621, and is an unusual example of post-Scottish ...

next to the castle in 1621. Dairsie Castle became ruinous in the 19th century, but was rebuilt in the 1990s, and is now operated as holiday accommodation. It is 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 ...

, and was formerly a

Scheduled Ancient 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 ...

, having been de-scheduled in 1997 prior to the restoration works.

Citations

References

* {{cite book , author=Webster, Bruce , year=1998 , chapter=Scotland without a King, 1329–1341 , title=Medieval Scotland: Crown, Lordship and Community , publisher=Edinburgh University Press , location=Edinburgh , isbn=0-7486-1110-X , editor1=Grant, Alexander , editor2=Stringer, Keith J

External links

Dairsie Castle website
Castles in Fife Category B listed buildings in Fife Listed castles in Scotland Scottish parliamentary locations and buildings