Dalhousie Castle is a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

Cockpen Cockpen is a parish in Midlothian, Scotland, containing at its north-west corner the town of Bonnyrigg, which lies south-west of Dalkeith. It is bounded on the west and north by the parish of Lasswade, on the east, by Newbattle and on the south ...

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east- central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinbu ...

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 ...

. Dalhousie Castle is situated near the town of

Bonnyrigg Bonnyrigg ( sco, Bonnyrigg) is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, eight miles (13 kilometres) southeast of Edinburgh city centre. The town had a population of 14,663 in the 2001 census which rose to 15,677 in the 2011 census, both figures based o ...

, 8 miles (13 km) south 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 ...

. The castle was the seat of the Earls of Dalhousie, the chieftains of

Clan Ramsay Clan Ramsay is a Lowland Scottish clan.Way, George and Squire, Romily. ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). Published in 1994. Pages ...

History

The patriarch of the clan was Simundus de Ramesie (Simon of Ramsey), an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

of Norman descent from the

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popu ...

village of Ramsey. Simundus, a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerai ...

of David, Earl of Huntingdon, followed his lord to Scotland in about 1140, when David inherited the Scottish crown. He is considered the founder of the Ramsay clan and the first to have lands at Dalwolsey. The first castle at Dalhousie was constructed by him. The red stone castle is situated in a strategic spot overlooking the River Esk. The drum tower, the oldest part of the current structure, an L Plan Castle, dates to the mid 15th century. The majority of the current castle dates to the 17th century. There was originally a dry moat surrounding the castle. The moat was later filled in but partially excavated in the late 20th century. Dalhousie Castle has seen much history.

King Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...

(Longshanks) stayed at the castle on his way to meet Sir William Wallace at the

Battle of Falkirk The Battle of Falkirk (''Blàr na h-Eaglaise Brice'' in Gaelic), on 22 July 1298, was one of the major battles in the First War of Scottish Independence. Led by King Edward I of England, the English army defeated the Scots, led by William Wa ...

. In 1400, Sir Alexander Ramsay withstood a six-month

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

at Dalhousie by English forces led by King Henry IV.

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three ...

used the castle as a base for his invasion of Scotland. Many Earls of Dalhousie have taken an active part in British political and military leadership. Around 1800, Walter Nicol designed the new layout of the walled garden. At the turn of the 20th century, the seat of Clan Ramsay was moved to Brechin Castle, although the Ramsay family continued to retain ownership of the castle until 1977. At the time of the sale, Dalhousie had been in the same family for more than eight centuries, longer than any other castle in Scotland. Throughout the 20th century, the castle was leased out to a series of tenants, including a boarding school. In 1972, the castle was converted into a hotel. In 2003, Dalhousie Castle was purchased by the Von Essen Hotels company for a reported price of £10 million. On 26 June 2004, a major fire erupted in the castle's roof area. The building was evacuated and the Lothian and Borders

Fire Brigade A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

were called to extinguish the blaze. The damage was significant but limited to a relatively small area of the building, and no major structural damage occurred. The damage was repaired and the hotel resumed normal operations. In April 2011, Von Essen Hotels fell into administration, and the hotel was available with a guide price of £7.5 million. In March 2012, it was announced that Robert Parker, owner of Doxford, Eshott and Guyzance Hall in Northumberland, had purchased Dalhousie Castle for an undisclosed sum. Image:Dalhousie Castle.jpg, From the hillside File:Dalhousie Castle 353.jpg, From the rear File:Dalhousie Castle from the side.jpg, Dalhousie Castle Midlothian

References

External links

*
Dalhousie Castle Luxury Castle Hotel and SpaClan Ramsay
{{coord, 55, 51, 37.89, N, 3, 4, 55.85, W, type:landmark, display=title Castles in Midlothian Category A listed buildings in Midlothian Hotel spas Listed castles in Scotland Clan Ramsay Bonnyrigg and Lasswade

History

See also

References

External links