Images from Morrice.
QUOTE
Dirleton Castle
Lothians: About 2 miles west of North Berwick, on minor roads north ofAl98, in Dirleton village.
NTS NT 518840 OS: 66 ***** Map: 4, no: 191
Click to view attachment
Standing on a rock in a picturesque flower garden, Dirleton Casde consists of
towers and ranges of buildings around a courtyard, which was once surrounded by a wide ditch. The old part of the castle, dating from the 13th century, is grouped around a small triangular court, and consists of a large drum tower, a smaller round tower and a rectangular tower. The chambers in the drum tower are polygonal. one on top of the other. The basement is vaulted, like a dome, and has a fireplace decorated with dog-tooth mouldings. The upper chamber would probably have been the lord's room, and is a particularly fine apartment
Click to view attachment
The entrance to the castle is by a wooden bridge across the wide ditch, and is through a gatehouse, formerly with a drawbridge and portcullis.
On one side of the castle is a range of buildings with a very thick outer wall. The basement, partly dug out of solid rock, contained the bakery, with ovens and a well, and several large vaulted cellars.
Click to view attachment
Adjacent to the bakery is the vaulted kitchen with two huge fireplaces and a service room leading to the hall. The hall, on the first floor, was very large, and one end is raised and was probably screened. A stair linked the hall and cellars at one end, and at the other a stair led down to the dungeon, beneath which is a pit-prison, A wing also ran along the other side of the courtyard.
Click to view attachment
The castle was built in the 13th century by the Vaux family. It was captured after a hard siege in 1298, when the English employed large engines, but retaken by the Scots in 1311 and partly demolished. In the 15th century the castle passed to the Halyburton family, who extended it; and in the 16th century to the Ruthvens who again remodelled much of the castle. After the forfeiture of the Ruthvens in 1600, following the 'Gowrie Conspiracy', the lands were acquired by Thomas Erskine of Gogar. In 1649 several women and men, who had confessed to witchcraft after the witch-finder, John Kincaid, had found 'devil's marks' on them, were imprisoned in the castle, later to be strangled and burned at the stake.
In 1650 the castle was besieged by General Monck during Cromwell's invasion of Scotland. A party of mosstroopers had been attacking Cromwell's lines of communication, with some success, but they were quickly forced to surrender, Three of the leaders were subsequently shot. The castle had been damaged in the attack, and was probably slighted. In 1663 the property was bought by Sir John Nisbet, who built the house of Archerfield to replace the castle.
OPEN: Open all year: Apr-Sep, daily 9.30-18.30; Oct-Mar, Mon-Sat 9.30.16.30, Sun 14.00-16.30; last ticket sold 30 mins before closing; closed 25/26 Dec and 1/2 Jan. Administered by Historic Scotland. Explanatory displays Gift shop. WC nearby. Limited disabled access. Parking nearby Tel: 01620 850330 Fax: 0131668 8888 Email: hs.explore@scotland.gov.uk Web: www.historic-scotland.gov.uk
Lothians: About 2 miles west of North Berwick, on minor roads north ofAl98, in Dirleton village.
NTS NT 518840 OS: 66 ***** Map: 4, no: 191
Click to view attachment
Standing on a rock in a picturesque flower garden, Dirleton Casde consists of
towers and ranges of buildings around a courtyard, which was once surrounded by a wide ditch. The old part of the castle, dating from the 13th century, is grouped around a small triangular court, and consists of a large drum tower, a smaller round tower and a rectangular tower. The chambers in the drum tower are polygonal. one on top of the other. The basement is vaulted, like a dome, and has a fireplace decorated with dog-tooth mouldings. The upper chamber would probably have been the lord's room, and is a particularly fine apartment
Click to view attachment
The entrance to the castle is by a wooden bridge across the wide ditch, and is through a gatehouse, formerly with a drawbridge and portcullis.
On one side of the castle is a range of buildings with a very thick outer wall. The basement, partly dug out of solid rock, contained the bakery, with ovens and a well, and several large vaulted cellars.
Click to view attachment
Adjacent to the bakery is the vaulted kitchen with two huge fireplaces and a service room leading to the hall. The hall, on the first floor, was very large, and one end is raised and was probably screened. A stair linked the hall and cellars at one end, and at the other a stair led down to the dungeon, beneath which is a pit-prison, A wing also ran along the other side of the courtyard.
Click to view attachment
The castle was built in the 13th century by the Vaux family. It was captured after a hard siege in 1298, when the English employed large engines, but retaken by the Scots in 1311 and partly demolished. In the 15th century the castle passed to the Halyburton family, who extended it; and in the 16th century to the Ruthvens who again remodelled much of the castle. After the forfeiture of the Ruthvens in 1600, following the 'Gowrie Conspiracy', the lands were acquired by Thomas Erskine of Gogar. In 1649 several women and men, who had confessed to witchcraft after the witch-finder, John Kincaid, had found 'devil's marks' on them, were imprisoned in the castle, later to be strangled and burned at the stake.
In 1650 the castle was besieged by General Monck during Cromwell's invasion of Scotland. A party of mosstroopers had been attacking Cromwell's lines of communication, with some success, but they were quickly forced to surrender, Three of the leaders were subsequently shot. The castle had been damaged in the attack, and was probably slighted. In 1663 the property was bought by Sir John Nisbet, who built the house of Archerfield to replace the castle.
OPEN: Open all year: Apr-Sep, daily 9.30-18.30; Oct-Mar, Mon-Sat 9.30.16.30, Sun 14.00-16.30; last ticket sold 30 mins before closing; closed 25/26 Dec and 1/2 Jan. Administered by Historic Scotland. Explanatory displays Gift shop. WC nearby. Limited disabled access. Parking nearby Tel: 01620 850330 Fax: 0131668 8888 Email: hs.explore@scotland.gov.uk Web: www.historic-scotland.gov.uk
