Ayton Castle is located to the east of
Ayton Ayton may refer to:
Places
* Ayton, Ontario, Canada
* Ayton, Scottish Borders, Scotland
England
* Great Ayton, a village and civil parish, Hambleton district, North Yorkshire
* Little Ayton, a village and civil parish, Hambleton district, North Yo ...
in the
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lot ...
. It is north-west of
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...
, in the former county of
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 ...
. Built around a medieval
tower house, the present castle dates largely from the 19th century. Ayton Castle is the ''
caput'' of the
feudal barony of Ayton. The castle is protected as a
category A listed building
Category, plural categories, may refer to:
Philosophy and general uses
*Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally
*Category of being
* ''Categories'' (Aristotle)
*Category (Kant)
*Categories (Peirce)
*C ...
, and the grounds are included in the
Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland, the national listing of significant parks and gardens.
History
The original castle, a
peel 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-stan ...
, had once been a stronghold of the
Home family. This castle was captured by the English in 1497, and the nearby church was the scene of the subsequent negotiation of the
treaty of Ayton
Don Pedro de Ayala also Pedro López Ayala (died 31 January 1513) was a 16th-century Spanish diplomat employed by Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile at the courts of James IV of Scotland and Henry VII of England. His mission t ...
, signed on 30 September 1497. The tower was replaced by a classical mansion, which burnt down in 1834.
The estate was subsequently purchased by William Mitchell (later Mitchell-Innes) of Parsonsgreen, Edinburgh, who had been born at
Belhelvie
Belhelvie ( gd, Baile Shealbhaigh) is a small village and civil parish in Aberdeenshire in Scotland.[Belhelv ...]
,
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland.
It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area incl ...
, in 1778. William Mitchell was Chief Cashier of the
Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail banking, retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) ...
from 1808 to 1827. After inheriting the Parsonsgreen estate, he was an extraordinary director of the bank, 1840–1841. After further inheriting the
Stow estates from a distant cousin, he hyphenated his surname and is found as William Mitchell-Innes of Parsonsgreen, an ordinary director of the bank, 1841-1853. Between these latter dates he acquired the Ayton estate, and he is recorded as William Mitchell-Innes of Ayton Castle, an ordinary director 1853-1859.

In 1851 William Mitchell-Innes commissioned
James Gillespie Graham to build a new castle at Ayton in the
Scottish Baronial
Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th century Gothic Revival which revived the forms and ornaments of historical architecture of Scotland in the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. Reminiscent of Sc ...
style in red sandstone. In 1860 architect
David Bryce extended the drawing room and added a billiard room, with further additions in 1864-7 by
James Maitland Wardrop. Extensive interior redecoration was carried out in 1875 by Bonnar & Carfrae, still largely extant, with stencilled imitation silk damask. In addition to the elaborate offices and stables block, all in red sandstone, Ayton Castle boasts a beehive type sixteenth century
dovecote
A dovecote or dovecot , doocot (Scots Language, Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house Domestic pigeon, pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or ba ...
, restored in 1745 and 2015, and a magnificent South Lodge in Scots Baronial with archway and screen walls in red sandstone. Mention must be made of the visit to the castle in 1873 by
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
who insisted upon buying the Dining Room fireplace mantel; it is now in the
Mark Twain House & Museum in
Hartford, Connecticut, having been repaired and moved there after a fire that destroyed Twain's
Stormfield villa where it had been installed. The present castle fireplace dates from that occurrence.
Following William Mitchell-Innes's death at the castle in January 1860, it passed to his eldest son and heir, Alexander Mitchell-Innes of Ayton and Whitehall (near
Chirnside) (1811–1886), a
Deputy Lieutenant and
Justice of the Peace for Berwickshire. He continued the family's building works at Ayton by commissioning James Maitland Wardrop to build a new parish church with a spire, and stained glass windows by Ballantine & Sons.
Alexander Mitchell-Innes married (1) Charlotte (1818–1848), daughter of
Sir Thomas Dick Lauder of Fountainhall, 7th Bt. She died in childbirth having their sixth child. He remarried (2) Fanny Augusta (1821–1902) daughter of James Vine, in
Puckaster,
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...
. They had a further nine children. Inevitably there were inheritance disputes. Strangely, Alexander Harold Mitchell-Innes of Ayton & Whitehall was served heir of entail to his grandfather, Alexander Mitchell-Innes of Ayton & Whitehall, on 21 November 1892. In 1895 he sold the barony of Ayton, its castle and lands, for £90,000 to Henry Liddell-Grainger of Middleton Hall,
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a ceremonial counties of England, county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Ab ...
(1856–1905). Alexander Mitchell-Innes had apparently shared his entire estate with his very large family and they were accordingly all paid out following the sale of Ayton Castle. The family retained Millbank House and grounds, not far from the castle, as well as the now-derelict Whitehall Manor, near Chirnside.
Ayton Castle was the residence of
David Liddell-Grainger (1930-2007), a Scottish politician, husband of a descendant of Queen Victoria and father of
Ian Liddell-Grainger
Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in ...
(b. 1959). The family sold the castle in 2015.
The castle and most of the preexisting estate is now owned by a property developer, Richard Syred, and another.
References
External links
Ayton Castle website
{{Authority control
Houses in the Scottish Borders
Scottish baronial architecture
Castles in the Scottish Borders
Tourist attractions in the Scottish Borders
Berwickshire
Category A listed buildings in the Scottish Borders
Listed castles in Scotland
James Gillespie Graham buildings
Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes