Earlshall Castle is a restored 16th century courtyard castle, near

Leuchars Station Leuchars Station is a British Army installation located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland, near to the historic town of St Andrews. Formerly RAF Leuchars, it was the second most northerly air defence station in the United Kingd ...

about east of

Leuchars Leuchars (pronounced or ; gd, Luachar "rushes") is a small town and parish near the north-east coast of Fife in Scotland. The civil parish has a population of 5,754 (in 2011) Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Popula ...

, 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 ...

Coventry, Martin (2001). ''The Castles of Scotland''. Musselburgh: Goblinshead. p. 164 Lindsay, Maurice (1986) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Constable. p. 219-221 It has been described as “a perfect example of a 16/17th century mansion”.

History

The castle was built by Sir William

Bruce The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...

, a survivor of the

Battle of Flodden The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton, (Brainston Moor) was a battle fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, resulting in an English ...

, in 1546. One member of the family died at the

battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell d ...

in 1651. Another, Sir Andrew, gained himself the name “Bloody Bruce” by hacking off the hands and head of Covenanter Richard Cameron after defeating him at the battle of Airds Moss during the Killing Time. The Bruce line was extinct by 1708. Henderson of Fordell inherited the castle and kept it until 1824. Due to lack of maintenance, the structure became derelict. In 1890, the property was purchased by Robert Mackenzie, a bleacher from

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, who hired

Sir Robert Lorimer Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Gothi ...

to complete a restoration in 1892. The property has passed through several hands since, and is still occupied. The

tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

, paintings and Lorimer furniture have been dispersed.

Structure

There is a main block of three storeys and a garret. There is a large tower at one corner, with a small stair-turret in the angle with the main block. On the other corner a round stair tower is corbelled out to square; at the top is a watch-chamber. The dormer

pediments Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedime ...

are decorated by carved heraldic devices, and inscribed with the initials W.B. and S.A.C. The vaulted basement is reached through the entrance in the stair-tower. On the first floor is the hall, which has panelled walls, and a large carved fireplace, wide. The second floor ceiling is decorated in tempera; this dates from 1620. The decoration includes paintings of an

ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There ...

and an armadillo, and mottoes such as “A NICE WYF AND A BACK DOORE OFT MAKETH A RICH MAN POORE”. The ceiling was carefully taken down and the missing parts replaced during the restoration by Lorimer. The main block, with a slightly higher wing, occupies two sides of the courtyard; there is a separate tower with three storey, the lower two vaulted, and some buildings dated to the 17th century. The courtyard is entered through an archway, dated 1546, bearing the arms of Sir William Bruce. There is a formal garden, replanted since the restoration of 1892. It has yew hedges and topiary. The castle is a category A listed building. As of August 2020 the castle was for sale. Reports indicate that there are 10 bedrooms and 8 reception rooms" and features such as "royal coats of arms decorating a vaulted ceiling and an arched gatehouse ... wooden panelling and period fireplaces".

References

{{commons category Listed castles in Scotland Castles in Fife Category A listed buildings in Fife