Merchiston Tower

Last updated

Merchiston Castle
Merchiston, in Edinburgh, Scotland
NT2417071800
Merchiston Castle.jpg
Merchiston Castle in 2012
Type L-Plan tower house
Site information
Owner Napier University
Open to
the public
No
Site history
Builtc. 1454
Built byprobably Alexander Napier
In use15th century to 21st century
MaterialsStone

Merchiston Tower, also known as Merchiston Castle, was probably built by Alexander Napier, the 2nd Laird of Merchiston around 1454. It serves as the seat for Clan Napier. It was the home of John Napier, the 8th Laird of Merchiston and the inventor of logarithms, who was born there in 1550.

Contents

The tower stands at the centre of Edinburgh Napier University's Merchiston campus.

History

Merchiston Tower as it appeared in 1829, showing the addition to the front made by the Merchiston Castle School, which occupied it at that time. Merchiston tower.jpg
Merchiston Tower as it appeared in 1829, showing the addition to the front made by the Merchiston Castle School, which occupied it at that time.

The lands surrounding the castle were acquired before 1438 by Alexander Napier (1st Laird of Merchiston), and remained in the Napier family for most of the following five centuries.

Merchiston Castle was probably built as a country house, but its strategic position and the turbulent political situation required it to be heavily fortified – with some walls as much as six feet thick – and it was frequently under siege. During restoration in the 1960s, a 26-pound cannonball was found embedded in the Tower, thought to date from the struggle in 1572 between Mary, Queen of Scots, and supporters of her son, James VI.

In March 1584 Edinburgh town council sold Archibald Napier of Edinbellie a piece of land to extend his garden. [1] In 1659, the castle was sold to Ninian Lowis, in whose family it remained until 1729, when it was sold to the governors of George Watson's Hospital (the Merchant Company of Edinburgh). The tower was reacquired by the Napier of Merchiston family when Francis Napier, 6th Lord Napier bought it in 1752.

In 1772, a year before the sixth Lord's death, the Tower was sold to a relative, Charles Hope-Weir, second son of John Hope, 2nd Earl of Hopetoun. Weir sold it in 1775 to Robert Turner, a lawyer, who sold it in 1785 to Robert Blair, a professor of astronomy at the University of Edinburgh.

The Napier family again came into possession of Merchiston Castle in 1818, when it was purchased by William Napier, 9th Lord Napier.

In 1833, Lord Napier let the Tower to Charles Chalmers, who founded the Merchiston Castle School. It was sold outright to the school in 1914 by The Honourable John Scott Napier, fourteenth Laird of Merchiston (son of Francis Napier, 10th Lord Napier). The school vacated the building in 1930, moving to a site some three miles away.

In 1930 the property returned to the ownership of The Merchant Company, who used nearby playing fields for George Watson's College, which was soon itself to move nearby. Then in 1935 the tower passed to Edinburgh City Council. It remained unoccupied (except for war service) until 1956, when it was suggested as the centrepiece of a new technical college. Restoration work began in 1958, highlights of which were the discovery of the entrance drawbridge and the preservation of a seventeenth-century plaster ceiling.

It now stands at the centre of Edinburgh Napier University’s Merchiston campus.

Design

Images of Merchiston Tower as it appeared in 1883, after renovations done by the Merchiston Castle School. Merchiston1883.jpg
Images of Merchiston Tower as it appeared in 1883, after renovations done by the Merchiston Castle School.

The Tower is an interesting and elaborate example of the medieval tower house, being built on the familiar "L" plan with a wing projecting to the north. It was originally vaulted at the second floor and the roof. Among several remarkable features is the unusual elaboration of the main entrance, which is at the second floor level in the south front. The tall shallow recess in which the doorway is set undoubtedly housed a drawbridge which must have rested upon an outwork some 14 feet above ground level and 10 feet from the Tower.

Shortly after being let to Merchiston Castle School it was considerably altered with the addition of a castellated Gothic-style two-story extension (see picture) and a basement, which has since been removed.

Edinburgh Napier University has taken out large sections of wall on the northern extension to accommodate a corridor which runs through the Castle to other campus buildings.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edinburgh Napier University</span> University in Scotland

Edinburgh Napier University is a public university in Edinburgh, Scotland. Napier Technical College, the predecessor of the university, was founded in 1964, taking its name from 16th-century Scottish mathematician and philosopher John Napier. The technical college was inaugurated as a university in 1992 by Lord Douglas-Hamilton, becoming Napier University. In 2009, the university was renamed Edinburgh Napier University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duart Castle</span> Castle in Scotland

Duart Castle, or Caisteal Dhubhairt in Scottish Gaelic, is a castle on the Isle of Mull, beside the Sound of Mull off the west coast of Scotland, within the council area of Argyll and Bute. The castle dates back to the 13th century and is the seat of Clan MacLean. One source states that the castle was "brought back from ruin in 1911".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craiglockhart</span>

Craiglockhart is a suburb in the south west of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying between Colinton to the south, Morningside to the east Merchiston to the north east, and Longstone and Kingsknowe to the west. The Water of Leith is also to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merchiston Castle School</span> Public school in Edinburgh, Scotland

Merchiston Castle School is an independent boarding school for boys in the suburb of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has around 470 pupils and is open to boys between the ages of 7 and 18 as either boarding or day pupils; it was modelled after English public schools. It is divided into Merchiston Juniors, Middle Years and a Sixth Form.

Merchiston is a residential area around Merchiston Avenue in the south-west of Edinburgh, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Corner</span> Area of Edinburgh, Scotland

Holy Corner is a colloquial name for a small area of Edinburgh, Scotland, and is part of the area more properly known as Burghmuirhead, itself part of the lands of Greenhill. Holy Corner lies between the areas of Bruntsfield and Morningside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Napier</span> Lowland Scottish clan

Clan Napier is a Lowland Scottish clan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lauriston Castle</span>

Lauriston Castle is a 16th-century tower house with 19th-century extensions overlooking the Firth of Forth, in Edinburgh, Scotland. It lies on Cramond Road South, between Cramond, Davidson's Mains, and Silverknowes. The substantial grounds, Lauriston Castle Gardens, operate as a local park. The castle was bequeathed to the Edinburgh Corporation and hosts the Lord Provost's annual Garden Party. The house is a Category A listed building and the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culcreuch Castle</span>

Culcreuch Castle is a Scottish castle close to the village of Fintry, near Loch Lomond. It had been the home of the Barons of Culcreuch since 1699. In the 1980s the castle was converted into a hotel, which it was run as until early 2020 when it was closed to the public by the American owners thus ending over 700 years of history. It had been until January 2020 one of the most continually inhabited Castles in Central Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Guthrie</span> Scottish clan

Clan Guthrie is a Scottish clan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inverlochy Castle</span> Scottish castle

Inverlochy Castle is a ruined, 13th-century castle near Inverlochy and Fort William, Highland, Scotland. The site of two battles, the castle remains largely unchanged since its construction. It is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archibald Napier, 1st Lord Napier</span>

Archibald Napier, 1st Lord Napier, the 9th Laird Napier of Merchiston, was a Scottish politician and judge. In 1627 he was created Lord Napier of Merchiston and Baronet of Nova Scotia.

The Ian Tomlin School of Music, established 1968, is situated within the grounds of Merchiston campus at Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, Scotland. The school is home to the BMus (Classical) and BA (Popular) Music courses. The courses are taught over three or four years. The school also offers research PhDs within its Applied Music Research Centre, primarily around composition and technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prestongrange House</span>

Prestongrange House is a historic house at Prestongrange near Prestonpans, East Lothian, Scotland, UK. It is situated near to two other historic houses, Hamilton House and Northfield House.

Merchiston is an area of Edinburgh in Scotland.

Sir Archibald Napier was a Scottish landowner and official, master of the Scottish mint and seventh Laird of Merchiston.

Events in the year 1608 in Scotland.

Sir Alexander Seton of Gargunnock and Culcreuch, Lord Kilcreuch was a 16th- and 17th-century Scottish judge and Senator of the College of Justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Napier, Lord Laurieston</span>

Sir Alexander Napier, Lord Laurieston was a 17th-century Scottish landowner, judge and Senator of the College of Justice. He was half-brother of the mathematician John Napier.

Stuart Lowe Harris was a Scottish architect and historian. He worked for 34 years in the Architects Department of Edinburgh Council, where he rose to the post of Depute City Architect. He was responsible for several notable public building projects, including the Meadowbank Sports Centre and the failed plan to build an opera house in the city. He was deeply interested in local Edinburgh history, and published several books and many articles on the subject, including a definitive work on the origins of local place names.

References

  1. James Marwick, Extracts from the Records of the Burgh of Edinburgh: 1573-1589 (Edinburgh, 1882), p. 329.

Further reading

Coordinates: 55°56′0″N3°12′50″W / 55.93333°N 3.21389°W / 55.93333; -3.21389