Duns Castle,

Duns Duns may refer to: * Duns, Scottish Borders, a town in Berwickshire, Scotland ** Duns railway station ** Duns F.C., a football club ** Duns RFC, a rugby football club ** Battle of Duns, an engagement fought in 1372 * Duns Scotus ( 1265/66–1308 ...

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of t ...

is a

historic house A historic house generally meets several criteria before being listed by an official body as "historic." Generally the building is at least a certain age, depending on the rules for the individual list. A second factor is that the building be in ...

in Scotland, the oldest part of which, the massive

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

Keep or

Pele Tower Peel towers (also spelt pele) are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, mainly between the mid-14th century and about 1600. They were free-standing ...

, supposedly dates from 1320. The castle and most of the structures on the property are designated as 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 ...

History

The early history of the building is virtually unknown. A keep was built on the lands granted to

Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the ...

by King Robert the Bruce in 1320. That structure may have been razed by the English in the 16th century, possibly during the

Rough Wooing The Rough Wooing (December 1543 – March 1551), also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following its break with the Roman Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland, partly to break the ...

in 1545 when the nearby town of

was burned to the ground,Groome, II, p. 447 as that the part of the building claimed to date from that time has been assessed as dating from the 15th – 16th century by architectural historians. The manor and its castle appear to have passed into the hands of

Patrick V, Earl of March Patrick de Dunbar, 9th Earl of March,Anderson, William, ''The Scottish Nation'', Edinburgh, 1867, vol.iv:74 (c. 1285–1369) was a prominent Scottish magnate during the reigns of Robert the Bruce and David II. Early years The earldom, located ...

after Randolph's death in 1332. After the

Battle of Halidon Hill The Battle of Halidon Hill took place on 19 July 1333 when a Scottish army under Sir Archibald Douglas attacked an English army commanded by King Edward III of England () and was heavily defeated. The year before, Edward Balliol had seize ...

the following year the manor was granted by King

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ...

to Thomas de Bradestan. There were multiple changes of ownership afterwards. During the

First Bishops' War First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

of 1639, the castle housed General Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven. His army was quartered nearby and blocked the English from advancing into Scotland. Neither side wished to fight and negotiations began that led to the Pacification of Berwick that ended the war. In 1670 Sir James Cockburn of Cockburn bought the estate and burgh of Duns from Hume of Ayton. The manor was sold to William Hay of

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 ...

, son of John Hay, 1st Earl of Tweeddale in 1698 and it has remained in the family ever since. The original keep is claimed to have been incorporated into the building as it was expanded into a L-shaped structure at an unknown date. It was remodeled shortly its acquisition and again in 1791–1798 by the architect John Baxter. The house was transformed into a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

castle, 1818–1822, by architect

James Gillespie Graham James Gillespie Graham (11 June 1776 – 11 March 1855) was a Scottish architect, prominent in the early 19th century. Life Graham was born in Dunblane on 11 June 1776. He was the son of Malcolm Gillespie, a solicitor. He was christened as J ...

. The interior woodwork was carved by the noted sculptor, Sir

John Steell Sir John Robert Steell (Aberdeen 18 September 1804 – 15 September 1891) was a Scottish sculptor. He modelled many of the leading figures of Scottish history and culture, and is best known for a number of sculptures displayed in Edinburgh, ...

, during his

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

. There is a publicly accessible park and two man-made lakes, the Hen Poo and the smaller Mill Dam that form the

Duns Castle nature reserve Duns may refer to: * Duns, Scottish Borders, a town in Berwickshire, Scotland ** Duns railway station ** Duns F.C., a football club ** Duns RFC, a rugby football club ** Battle of Duns, an engagement fought in 1372 * Duns Scotus ( 1265/66–13 ...

. The castle and its outbuildings are currently available as a venue for weddings and corporate functions, with accommodation available for the guests.

Haunting

Alexander Hay, who was killed at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

, reputedly haunts the castle.

References

Bibliography

* Groome, F.H., ''Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical, and Historical'', VI vols, Edinburgh, 188

External links

Duns castle
{{Castles in the Scottish Borders Houses completed in the 14th century Berwickshire Country houses in the Scottish Borders Castles in the Scottish Borders Peel towers in the Scottish Borders Gothic Revival architecture in Scotland Category A listed buildings in the Scottish Borders Listed castles in Scotland Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes James Gillespie Graham buildings Reportedly haunted locations in Scotland Clan Hay Duns, Scottish Borders