Whittingehame Tower, or Whittingehame Castle, is a fifteenth-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 ...

about south of

East Linton East Linton is a village and former police burgh in East Lothian, Scotland, situated on the River Tyne and A199 road (former A1 road) five miles east of Haddington, with an estimated population of in . During the 19th century the population ...

, on the west bank of Whittinghame Water in East Lothian, Scotland.Coventry, Martin (2001) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Goblinshead. p.413

History and Structure

Whittingehame Tower was built on lands belonging to the Cospatrick Earls of March. In the 14th century the lands were acquired by the Douglases. During the reign of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

, they were held by

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 ...

. The property subsequently passed through the hands of the Setons, Hays and Balfours of Balbirnie, who occupy the castle still.

Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, (, ; 25 July 184819 March 1930), also known as Lord Balfour, was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As foreign secretary in the ...

, Prime Minister from 1902 to 1905, belonged to this family.

Whittingehame Tower is an altered

L-plan An L-plan castle is a castle or tower house in the shape of an L, typically built from the 13th to the 17th century. This design is found quite frequently in Scotland, but is also seen in England, Ireland, Romania, Sardinia, and other location ...

keep, comprising a rectangular main block and small stair-wing. It has a

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...

which is corbelled out, with rounded corners. There is a

cap-house A cap-house (sometimes written cap house or caphouse) is a small watch room, built at the top of a spiral staircase, often giving access to a parapet on the roof of a tower house or castle. They provided protection from the elements by enclosin ...

, which was used as a

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...

in the 1930s. There is a vaulted basement. The hall, on the first floor, is panelled; its ceiling is finely plastered. The entrance is by the stair-wing. Some of the windows have been enlarged. The hall now houses a collection of documents and old prints. The tower is 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 ...

, the highest level of protection for a historic building in Scotland. Until the early 20th-century there was a raised terrace close to the tower reached by steps, overlooking the famous Whittinghame yew tree. This was probably a garden feature built by

who is known to have constructed gardens at

Aberdour Castle Aberdour Castle is in the village of Easter Aberdour, Fife, Scotland. Parts of the castle date from around 1200, making Aberdour one of the two oldest datable standing castles in Scotland, along with Castle Sween in Argyll, which was built a ...

and

Lochleven Castle Lochleven Castle is a ruined castle on an island in Loch Leven, in the Perth and Kinross local authority area of Scotland. Possibly built around 1300, the castle was the site of military action during the Wars of Scottish Independence (1296– ...

or one of his successors. The platform has sometimes been interpreted as a defensive feature for deploying artillery.

Tradition

According to

Regent 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 ...

's "Confession", in 1567 Morton, the Earl of Bothwell, the future husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, and

William Maitland of Lethington William Maitland of Lethington (15259 June 1573) was a Scottish politician and reformer, and the eldest son of poet Richard Maitland. Life He was educated at the University of St Andrews. William was the renowned "Secretary Lethington" to ...

, the queen's secretary, were entertained at Whittinghame by the owner, Archibald Douglas. Maitland was the laird of Whittingehame's brother-in-law. They conferred together in the shelter of a yew tree in the grounds to plot the murder of

Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (1546 – 10 February 1567), was an English nobleman who was the second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the father of James VI of Scotland and I of England. Through his parents, he had claims to both the Scottis ...

, Queen Mary's unpopular and increasingly estranged husband. Morton, just returned from exile in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

after the murder of

David Rizzio David Rizzio ( ; it, Davide Rizzio ; – 9 March 1566) or Riccio ( , ) was an Italian courtier, born in Pancalieri close to Turin, a descendant of an ancient and noble family still living in Piedmont, the Riccio Counts di San Paolo e Solbrito ...

, was unenthusiastic, and requested the queen's direct guidance. Despite the queen's reluctance to give the matter her sanction, the plot put together at Whittingehame was put into effect in due course. However, the hatching of this plot is more commonly thought to have taken place at Craigmillar Castle in late 1566. Mary's half-brother, the Earl of Moray, was received at Whittingehame by Morton and Lethington about 18 months later, and they concurred with his expression of horror at the murder of Darnley. Bothwell was by then an outlaw.Tranter, Nigel (1993) ''Tales and Traditions of Scottish Castles''. Neil Wilson Publishing. p.185 Moray certainly stayed at Whittingehame on 12 August 1567. The first cider gum (''Eucalyptus gunnii'') in Great Britain is said to have been planted in the grounds of the castle in 1853, and to have survived for over one hundred years.

References

{{coord , 55.95064, N, 2.63704, W, display=title Castles in East Lothian Category A listed buildings in East Lothian Listed castles in Scotland Fortified houses Houses completed in the 15th century Towers completed in the 15th century 15th-century establishments in Scotland Houses in East Lothian Towers in Scotland Tower houses in Scotland