Oxenfoord Castle is a country house in Midlothian,

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 ...

. It is located north of

Pathhead, Midlothian Pathhead village is a conservation area in Midlothian, Scotland. Location Pathhead is located around south east of Dalkeith and south of Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh. It lies above the east bank of the River Tyne. The name of the ...

, and south-east of Dalkeith, above the Tyne Water. Originally a 16th-century

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 ...

, the present castle is largely the result of major rebuilding in 1782, to designs by the architect

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...

. Oxenfoord was the seat of the

Earl of Stair Earl of Stair is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1703 for the lawyer and statesman John Dalrymple, 2nd Viscount of Stair. Dalrymple's father, James Dalrymple, had been a prominent lawyer; having served as Lord President ...

from 1840, and remains in private ownership. It is protected as a category A

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 ...

, while the grounds are included in the

Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland The ''Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland'' is a listing of gardens and designed landscapes of national artistic and/or historical significance, in Scotland. The Inventory was originally compiled in 1987, although it is a cont ...

History

The lands of Oxenfoord were owned by the Riddel family in the 12th century. By the 16th century the MacGills owned the estate, and built the original tower house. In 1651, James MacGill was elevated to the peerage as

Viscount of Oxfuird Viscount of Oxfuird is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1651 for Sir James Makgill, 1st Baronet, along with the subsidiary title of Lord Makgill of Cousland, also in the Peerage of Scotland, with remainder to his "heirs mal ...

. Oxenfoord passed through the family until it was inherited by Thomas Hamilton of Fala. His daughter and heiress, Elizabeth Hamilton, married

Sir John Dalrymple, 4th Baronet Sir John Dalrymple of Cousland, 4th Baronet FRSE FSA(Scot) (1726 – 26 February 1810) was a Scottish advocate, judge, chemist and author, best known for his ''Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland from the dissolution of the last parliament of C ...

, in 1760, and they inherited the estate in 1779. Sir John, a lawyer, scientist, and historian, published ''Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland'' (1771), and ''Essays on Different Natural Situations of Gardens'' (1774), an influential book at the time. A friend of

, he commissioned the architect to rebuild his tower house at Oxenfoord in 1780. The L-plan tower was absorbed into the new building, in a similar manner to Adam's

Culzean Castle Culzean Castle ( , see yogh; sco, Cullain) is a castle overlooking the Firth of Clyde, near Maybole, Carrick, in South Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. It is the former home of the Marquess of Ailsa, the chief of Clan Kennedy, but is ...

. A new approach bridge was built around this time by Alexander Stevens, an Adam associate. The bridge is also a category A listed building. Sir John's son, in 1840, inherited the title 8th Earl of Stair. He commissioned

William Burn William Burn (20 December 1789 – 15 February 1870) was a Scottish architect. He received major commissions from the age of 20 until his death at 81. He built in many styles and was a pioneer of the Scottish Baronial Revival,often referred ...

to remodel the castle in 1842. A new wing and entrance was added in the style of Adam's work. The 8th and 9th Earls established a pinetum on the grounds of the house. In 1864 the 10th Earl inherited Lochinch Castle in

Galloway Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. A native or ...

, and made his principal home there rather than at Oxenfoord. From 1931 until 1993 the house was used by Oxenfoord Castle School, founded by Lady Marjorie Dalrymple, sister of John Dalrymple, 11th Earl of Stair.Martine, Rodd
Oxenfoord Castle - A Fine Ancestral Home
Scotland Magazine, Retrieved 15 October 2014 Since 1993, the house has reverted to private use by the Dalrymple family and has been used as a wedding venue, for private parties, and for corporate events.

References

External links

*{{Official, http://www.oxenfoord.co.uk/ Oxenfoord Castle School building and students (1964)

Category A listed buildings in Midlothian Listed houses in Scotland Robert Adam buildings Houses completed in 1782 Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes 1782 establishments in Scotland