Ballencrieff Castle, also known as Ballencrieff House, is a large tower house at Ballencrieff, East Lothian, Scotland. It is located three miles north west of Haddington, and one mile south of Aberlady.
The castle was built in 1507 when King James IV ordered his private secretary James Murray to build himself a fortified house at Ballencrieff. It was destroyed in or around 1545.
From around 1550 to 1580 the house was owned (and presumably rebuilt) by David Borthwick, Lord Lochill who renamed it Lochill Castle. In 1608 the Ballencrieff estate was bought by Sir Bernard Lindsay and then to Sir Patrick Murray in 1632, In 1679 it passed to Sir Peter Wedderburn.
General James Murray, a Governor of Canada, was baptised in Aberlady, and is said to have been born at Ballencrieff, in 1721. If so this suggests that his father Alexander, 4th Lord Elibank, George's father, was then resident there. The house burnt down accidentally in 1868, and a small garden cottage was built using the stone from the castle. The cottage still currently stands within the grounds of the walled garden. The castle stood roofless until it was restored between 1992 and 1997. It is now privately owned, and it is situated next to a free range rare breed pig farm.
The long, rectangular-plan, tower has three storeys, including a vaulted basement, with a near-symmetrical north front. The tall, narrow south-east wing has crow-step gables. The castle, along with its walled garden and pavilion, is a category B listed building. [1] During restoration works, 16th-century gun holes and wooden draw-bars on the windows, were discovered in the ruins. The remains of two early 17th-century moulded plaster ceilings with the initials and heraldry of Gideon Murray, [2] and the remnants of an elaborate fireplace, were found on the first floor. [3]
Dunbeath Castle is located on the east coast of Caithness, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of Dunbeath, in northern Scotland. Although a castle has stood here since the 15th century, the present building is of mainly 17th-century origin, with 19th-century extensions. The castle is a 19,669 sq ft (1,827.3 m2) Category A listed building and the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.
Gosford House is a neoclassical country house around 2 miles (3 km) northeast of Longniddry in East Lothian, Scotland, on the A198 Aberlady Road, in 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) of parkland and coast.
Ballencrieff is a rural community in East Lothian, Scotland. It is located between the towns of Aberlady, Drem, Haddington and Longniddry and is approximately 20 miles from Edinburgh. The name comes from the Gaelic Baile na Craoibhe, meaning "stead of the tree".
Kingston is a small hamlet near North Berwick in East Lothian, Scotland.
Hawthornden Castle is located on the River North Esk in Midlothian, Scotland. The castle lies a mile to the east of Roslin at grid reference NT287637, and is just downstream from Roslin Castle. Hawthornden comprises a 15th-century ruin, with a 17th-century L-plan house attached. The house has been restored and now serves as a writer's retreat. Man-made caves in the rock beneath the castle have been in use for much longer than the castle itself.
Haltoun House, or Hatton House, was a Scottish baronial mansion set in a park, with extensive estates in the vicinity of Ratho, in the west of Edinburgh City Council area, Scotland. It was formerly in Midlothian, and it was extensively photographed by Country Life in September 1911.
Kames Castle is a 16th-century tower house located on the shore of Kames Bay near Port Bannatyne, on the Isle of Bute, Scotland. The castle, which is set in 20 acres (81,000 m2) of planted grounds, includes a 2-acre (8,100 m2) 18th-century walled garden. It is extended through the addition of a range of stone cottages. The castle, cottages, walled garden and other estate buildings are category B listed buildings.
The House of the Binns, or simply the Binns, is a historic house in West Lothian, Scotland, the seat of the Dalyell family. It dates from the early 17th century, and was the home of Tam Dalyell until his death in January 2017.
Hamilton House, also known as Magdalen's House, is a 17th-century "Laird's House" in the town of Prestonpans in East Lothian, Scotland. It is an exemplar of this type of architecture and has retained its crow-stepped gables and corner towers. It is owned by the National Trust for Scotland and is a Category A Listed Building.
Northfield House is a seventeenth-century historic house at Preston, East Lothian, Scotland, UK. It is situated very close to Hamilton House and Preston Tower, and one mile east to Prestongrange House and the Royal Musselburgh Golf Club. It is a Category A listed building.
Niddry Castle is a sixteenth-century tower house near Winchburgh, West Lothian, Scotland. It is situated near the Union Canal, and between two large oil shale bings, or waste heaps. Historically it was known as Niddry Seton or West Niddry to distinguish it from Niddry Marischal in Midlothian and Longniddry in East Lothian.
Saltoun Hall is an historic house standing in extensive lands off the B6355, Pencaitland to East Saltoun road, about 1.5 miles from each village, in East Lothian, Scotland. The house is reached by way of an impressive gateway and is situated at grid reference NT461685.
Winton Castle is a historic building set in a large estate between Pencaitland and Tranent in East Lothian, Scotland. The castle is situated off the B6355 road approximately 0.5 miles (0.80 km) north of Pencaitland at grid reference NT437694.
Bankton House is a late 17th-century house situated south of Prestonpans in East Lothian, Scotland. The house is located between the A1 road and the East Coast Main Line railway at grid reference NT394736.
Garleton Castle is a courtyard castle, dating from the sixteenth century, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of Haddington, just north of the Garleton Hills in East Lothian, Scotland.
Yester House is an early 18th-century mansion near Gifford in East Lothian, Scotland. It was the home of the Hay family, later Marquesses of Tweeddale, from the 15th century until the late 1960s. Construction of the present house began in 1699, and continued well into the 18th century in a series of building phases. It is now protected as a category A listed building, and the grounds of the house are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland, the national listing of significant gardens.
Cakemuir Castle is an historic house situated 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Pathhead, in the Lammermuir Hills, Midlothian, Scotland. The name may be connected with the provision of shelter and hospitality to pilgrims on their way to Melrose Abbey. The castle remains a private house, and is protected as a category B listed building.
David Borthwick, Lord Lochill was a 16th-century Scottish landowner, Senator of the College of Justice and Lord Advocate of Scotland.