Castles are buildings that combine fortifications and residence, and many were built within the borders of modernScotland. They arrived in Scotland with the introduction offeudalism in the twelfth century. Initially these were woodenmotte-and-bailey constructions, but many were replaced by stone castles with a high curtain wall. During theWars of Independence,Robert the Bruce pursued a policy of castleslighting. In theLate Middle Ages, new castles were built, some on a grander scale as "livery and maintenance" castles that could support a large garrison. Gunpowder weaponry led to the use of gun ports, platforms to mount guns and walls adapted to resist bombardment.
Many of the late Medieval castles built in the borders were in the form oftower houses, smallerpele towers or simplerbastle houses. From the fifteenth century there was a phase ofRenaissance palace building, which restructured them as castle-type palaces, beginning atLinlithgow. Elements of Medieval castles, royal palaces and tower houses were used in the construction ofScots baronialestate houses, which were built largely for comfort, but with a castle-like appearance. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the military significance of castles declined, but they increasingly became tourist attractions. Elements of the Scots Baronial style would be revived from the late eighteenth century and the trend would be confirmed in popularity by the rebuilding ofBalmoral Castle in the nineteenth century and its adoption as a retreat byQueen Victoria.[1] In the twentieth century there were only isolated examples of new castle-influenced houses. Many tower houses were renovated, and many castles were taken over by theNational Trust for Scotland orHistoric Scotland and are open to the public.
Castles, in the sense of a fortified residence of a lord or noble, arrived in Scotland as a consequence of the centralising of royal authority in the twelfth century.[2] Prior to the 1120s there is very little evidence of castles having existed in Scotland, which had remained less politically centralised than in England with the north still ruled by thekings of Norway.[3]David I of Scotland (r. 1124–53) spent time at the court ofHenry I of England, becomingEarl of Huntingdon, and returned to Scotland with the intention of extending royal power across the country and modernising Scotland's military technology, including the introduction of castles.[4] The Scottish king encouraged Norman and French nobles to settle in Scotland, introducing a feudal mode of landholding and the use of castles as a way of controlling the contestedScottish Lowlands.[2][3] Historian Lise Hull has suggested that the creation of castles in Scotland was "less to do with conquest" and more to do with "establishing a governing system".[5]
These were primarily woodenmotte-and-bailey constructions, of a raised mount or motte, surmounted by a wooden tower and a larger adjacent enclosure or bailey, both usually surrounded by a fosse (a ditch) and palisade, and connected by a wooden bridge.[6] They varied in size from the very large, such as theBass of Inverurie, to more modest designs likeBalmaclellan.[7] In England many of these constructions were converted into stone "keep-and-bailey" castles in the twelfth century, but in Scotland most of those that were in continued occupation became stone castles of "enceinte" from the thirteenth century, with a highembattled curtain wall.[8] The need for thick and high walls for defence forced the use of economic building methods, often continuing the Scottish tradition of dry-stone rubble building, which were then covered with a lime render, orharled for weatherproofing and a uniform appearance.[9] In addition to the baronial castles there were royal castles, often larger and providing defence, lodging for the itinerant Scottish court and a local administrative center. By 1200 these included fortifications atAyr andBerwick.[10] In ScotlandAlexander II (r. 1198–1249) andAlexander III (1241–86) undertook a number of castle building projects in the modern style. Alexander III's early death sparked conflict in Scotland and English intervention underEdward I in 1296. The resultingWars of Independence brought this phase of castle building to an end and began a new phase of siege warfare.[11][12]
The first recorded siege in Scotland was the 1230 siege ofRothesay Castle where the besieging Norwegians were able to break down the relatively weak stone walls with axes after only three days.[12] When Edward I invaded Scotland he brought with him the siege capabilities that had evolved south of the border, resulting in the rapid fall of major castles.Edinburgh Castle fell within three days, andRoxburgh,Jedburgh,Dunbar,Stirling,Lanark andDumbarton castles all surrendered to the English king.[13] Subsequent English sieges, such as the attacks onBothwell and Stirling, again used considerable resources including giant siege engines and extensive teams of miners and masons.[14] As a result,Robert the Bruce (r. 1306–29) adopted a policy of castle destruction (known asslighting), rather than allow fortresses to be easily retaken and then held by the English, beginning with his own castles at Ayr andDumfries,[15][16] and including Roxburgh and Edinburgh.[17] After the Wars of Independence, new castles began to be built, often on a grander scale as "livery and maintenance" castles, to house retained troops, likeTantallon, Lothian andDoune near Stirling, rebuilt forRobert Stewart, Duke of Albany in the fourteenth century.[8]
Early gunpowder weapons were introduced to Scotland by the 1330s.[18] The new technology began to be installed in Scottish castles by the 1380s, beginning with Edinburgh.[19] In the fifteenth century,gunpowder weaponry fundamentally altered the nature of castle architecture. Existing castles were adapted to allow the use of the new weapons by the incorporation of "keyhole" gun ports, platforms to mount guns and walls that were adapted to resist bombardment.Ravenscraig, Kirkcaldy, begun about 1460, is probably the first castle in the British Isles to be built as anartillery fort, incorporating "D-shape" bastions that would better resist cannon fire and on which artillery could be mounted.[20] It also used "letter box" gun-ports,[21] common in mainland Europe, although rarer in England, they rapidly spread across the kingdom. Scotland also led the way in adopting the newcaponier design for castle ditches, as constructed atCraignethan Castle.[22]
The largest number of late Medieval fortifications in Scotland built by nobles, about 800,[23] were of the tower house design.[11][12] Smaller versions of tower houses in southern Scotland were known aspeel towers, or pele houses.[24] The defences of tower houses were primarily aimed to provide protection against smaller raiding parties and were not intended to put up significant opposition to an organised military assault. This has led historian Stuart Reid to characterise them as "defensible rather than defensive".[25] They were typically a tall, square, stone-built, crenelated building. They were often also surrounded by abarmkyn orbawn, a walled courtyard designed to hold valuable animals securely, but not necessarily intended for serious defence.[26][27] They were built extensively on both sides of the border with England from the fourteenth century.James IV's (1488–1513) forfeiture of theLordship of the Isles in 1494 led to an additional burst of tower building across the region.[28][29] A number were also built in Scottish towns.[30]
An option for small landholders and farmers was thebastle house, a form of fortified house that combined the functions of a tower house and a barmkyn. They were usually two-storey houses with the ground floor acting as abyre into which animals could be driven, while the living space on the upper floor could only be reached by a removable ladder. Most are within 30 miles (48 km) of the border and were built around the turn of the sixteenth century.[31]
An extensive building and rebuilding of royal palaces probably began underJames III (r. 1460–88) and accelerated under James IV, reaching its peak underJames V (r. 1513–42). They used exceptional one-off revenues, such as theforfeiture of key lands, to establish their power across their kingdom in various ways including constructing grander castles by extending and modifying existing fortifications. These works have been seen as directly reflecting the influence of Renaissance styles.Linlithgow was first constructed under James I, under the direction of master of work John de Waltoun and was referred to as a palace, apparently the first use of this term in the country, from 1429. This was extended under James III and began to correspond to a fashionable quadrangular, corner-towered Italian signorial palace of apalatium ad moden castri (a castle-style palace), combining classical symmetry with neo-chivalric imagery and usingharling to give them a clean, Italian appearance. There is evidence of Italian masons working for James IV, in whose reign Linlithgow was completed and other palaces were rebuilt with Italianate proportions.[32] According to architectural historian John Dunbar, the results were the "earliest examples of coherent Renaissance design in Britain".[33]
The shift in architectural focus reflected changing political alliances, as James V had formed a close alliance with France during his reign.[34] He encountered the French version of Renaissance building while visiting for his marriage toMadeleine of Valois in 1536 and his second marriage toMary of Guise may have resulted in longer term connections and influences.[35] Work from his reign largely disregarded the insular style adopted in England underHenry VIII and adopted forms that were recognisably European, beginning with the extensive work at Linlithgow.[36] This was followed by re-buildings atHolyrood,Falkland,Stirling andEdinburgh,[37] described by Roger Maison as "some of the finest examples of Renaissance architecture in Britain".[38]
Much of this castle rebuilding was planned and financed byJames Hamilton of Finnart (c. 1495–1540), in addition to his work atBlackness Castle,Rothesay Castle, the house atCrawfordjohn, the "New Inn" in theSt Andrews Cathedral Priory and the lodging atBalmerino Abbey for the ailing Queen Madeleine.[39] Rather than slavishly copying continental forms, most Scottish architecture incorporated elements of these styles into traditional local patterns,[37] adapting them to Scottish idioms and materials (particularly stone and harl).[40] Similar themes can be seen in the private houses of aristocrats, as inMar's Wark, Stirling (c. 1570) andCrichton Castle, built for theEarl of Bothwell in 1580s.[41]
In the period of French intervention in the 1540s and 1550s, at the end of theRough Wooing, Scotland was given a defended border of a series of earthwork forts and additions to existing castles. These included the erection of singlebastions at Edinburgh, Stirling and Dunbar.[42]
The unique style of great private houses in Scotland, later known as Scots baronial, has been located in origin to the period of the 1560s. It kept many of the features of the high walled Medieval castles that had been largely made obsolete by gunpowder weapons and may have been influenced by the French masons brought to Scotland to work on royal palaces. It drew on thetower houses andpeel towers,[43] with theirparapets,corbels, andbartizans.[44] The new estate houses built from the late sixteenth century by nobles and lairds were primarily built for comfort, not for defence, although they were often called castles. They retained many of these external features which had become associated with nobility, but with a larger ground plan. This was classically a "Z-plan" of a rectangular block with towers, as atColliston Castle (1583) andClaypotts Castle (1569–88).[43] The internal layout included a sequence of rooms of increasing privacy. The hall was often on the first floor. When used for dining, the owner of the castle sat at the top table or "high board". Beyond the hall, a more private room, often a bed chamber, was known as the "chamber of dais", and had feudal connotations.[45] The term appears in inventories, and in legal records.[46] In 1601,James Wood broke into his father's castle at Bonnyton in Angus, intent on stealing legal documents from a chest in the chamber of dais.[47] Larger castles had further bed chambers, sometimes in a vertical jamb or wing, and a gallery at attic level for family leisure.[48]
Particularly influential was the work ofWilliam Wallace, the king's master mason from 1617 until his death in 1631. He worked on the rebuilding of the collapsed North Range of Linlithgow from 1618,Winton House forGeorge Seton, 3rd Earl of Winton and began work onHeriot's Hospital, Edinburgh. He adopted a distinctive style that applied elements of Scottish fortification and Flemish influences to a Renaissance plan like that used atChâteau d'Ancy-le-Franc. This style can be seen in lord's houses built atCaerlaverlock (1620),Moray House, Edinburgh (1628) andDrumlanrig Castle (1675–89), and was highly influential until the baronial style gave way to the grander English forms associated withInigo Jones in the later seventeenth century, which were used to produce classically inspired and comfortable country houses.[43]
In 1603James VI of Scotland inherited the crown of England, bringing a period of peace between the two countries. The royal court left for London, and as a result – with the exceptions of occasional visits – building work on royal castles north of the border largely ceased.[49][50] Some castles continued to have modest military utility into the eighteenth century. The royal castles ofEdinburgh,Dumbarton and Stirling, along withDunstaffnage,Dunollie,Blackness andRuthven Castle, continued in use as practical fortifications.[28][51] Tower houses were being built up until the 1640s. After theRestoration the fortified tower house fell out of fashion, but the weak state of the Scottish economy was such that, while many larger properties were simply abandoned, the more modest castles continued to be used and adapted as houses, rather than rebuilt.[52][53]
In theBishop's Wars castles that held out for the king against theCovenanters, includingCaerlaverock andThreave in 1640, wereslighted, with their roofs removed and walls breached to make them uninhabitable. Tantallon was used as a base for Scottish attacks onOliver Cromwell's advancing army in 1651. As a result, it was pounded into submission by theNew Model Army's siege train, losing its end towers and ceasing to be a residence from that point.[54] The sequence ofJacobite risings from 1689 threatened the Crown in Scotland, culminating in therebellion in 1745.[28] Stirling was able to withstand the Jacobite attack in 1745 and the siege ofBlair Castle, at the end of the rebellion in 1746, was the final castle siege to occur in the British Isles.[55][56] In the aftermath of the conflictCorgaff and many others castles were used as barracks for the forces sent to garrisonthe Highlands.[53]Kildrummy,Huntly andDoune were destroyed as a result of their part in the rebellion.[54]
From the late eighteenth century, castles became tourist attractions.Blair Castle was a popular location on account of its landscaped gardens, andStirling Castle because of its romantic historic connections.[57] Tours became increasingly popular during the nineteenth century, usually starting at Edinburgh and then spending up to two weeks further north, taking advantage of the expanding rail and steamer network.[58] Blair Castle remained popular, but additional castles joined the circuit, withCawdor Castle becoming popular once the railway line reached north toFort William.[59] Scottish castle guidebooks became well known for providing long historical accounts of their sites, often drawing on the plots ofRomantic novels for the details.[60][61] SirWalter Scott's novels set in Scotland popularised several northern castles, including Tantallon, which was featured in the poemMarmion (1808).[62]
In Scotland there was a revival of the castle in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as part of the widerGothic Revival movement, as new houses were built and existing buildings remodeled in the Gothic and Scots Baronial styles.[63]Inveraray Castle, constructed from 1746 with design input fromWilliam Adam, displays the incorporation of turrets and is among the first houses in the revived style. His sonRobert Adam's houses in this style includedMellerstain andWedderburn in Berwickshire and Seton House in East Lothian, but it is most clearly seen atCulzean Castle, Ayrshire, remodelled by Adam from 1777. These were largely conventional Palladian style houses that incorporated some external features of the Scots baronial style.[64]
Important for the adoption of the revival in the early nineteenth century wasAbbotsford House, the residence of Walter Scott. Re-built for him from 1816, it became a model for the modern revival of the baronial style. Common features borrowed from sixteenth- and seventeenth-century houses includedbattlemented gateways,crow-stepped gables, pointedturrets andmachicolations. The style was popular across Scotland and was applied to many relatively modest dwellings by architects such asWilliam Burn (1789–1870),David Bryce (1803–76),[65]Edward Blore (1787–1879),Edward Calvert (c. 1847–1914) andRobert Stodart Lorimer (1864–1929) and in urban contexts, including the building ofCockburn Street in Edinburgh (from the 1850s) as well as the NationalWallace Monument at Stirling (1859–69).[66] The rebuilding ofBalmoral Castle as a baronial palace and its adoption as a royal retreat from 1855 to 1858 confirmed the popularity of the style.[67] Scots Baronial architects frequently "improved" existing castles:Floors Castle was transformed in 1838 byWilliam Playfair who added grand turrets and cupolas.[68] The style spread south and the architectEdward Blore added a Scots Baronial touch to his work at Windsor.[69]
The Baronial style peaked towards the end of the nineteenth century, and the building of large houses declined in importance in the twentieth century. It continued to influence the construction of some estate houses, includingSkibo Castle, which was rebuilt for industrialistAndrew Carnegie (1899–1903) by Ross and Macbeth. There was a lull in building after the First World War, and social change undermined the construction of rural country houses. Isolated examples of "castles" include houses that combine modern and traditional elements, such asBasil Spence'sBroughton Place (1936) and Glenskirlie Castle, Stirlingshire (2007).[70][71]
Restoration of castles began in the early twentieth century, with projects including the renovation ofDuart Castle on Mull,[72] and the complete reconstruction ofEilean Donan from a few fragments of masonry.[73] The restoration movement grew after World War II with a fashion for renovating tower houses, includingOliver Hill's restoration ofInchdrewer Castle, near Banff in Aberdeenshire, in 1965.[70] The restoration of tower houses and smaller castles continues, with recent examples including Fenton Tower in Lothian and Ballone Castle nearPortmahomack.[72][74] Historic Scotland have launched a "Scottish Castle Initiative" aimed at encouraging private investment in the restoration of Scotland's castles, including a register of potential restoration candidates.[72] Despite these efforts, a number of castles remain on Scotland'sBuildings at Risk Register.[75]
Most of Scotland's castles, whether ruined or occupied, remain in private ownership, though many are open to the public at least occasionally. During the twentieth century a number of older castles were transferred into the care of the state, and these are now the responsibility ofHistoric Scotland, which was created as an agency in 1991. Historic Scotland cares for over 300 properties – all of which are publicly accessible – including around 65 castles.[76][77] These include some of Scotland's most famous castles including Edinburgh and Stirling, as well as numerous tower houses and ruined castles. TheNational Trust for Scotland (founded 1931) cares for several post-Medieval castles and estate houses, includingCulzean andCraigievar that were still in occupation until the twentieth century.[78] TheLandmark Trust restores and operates historic buildings as holiday homes, includingSaddell Castle,Castle of Park andRoslin Castle.[79] Several other castles are in the hands of local government, for exampleDudhope Castle in Dundee, and some are maintained by building preservation trusts and other charitable bodies, for exampleSauchie Tower, Clackmannanshire.[80][81]
