There are a number of castles in West Lothian, Scotland. They range from medieval mottes, through tower houses and Renaissance laird's houses, to relatively modern castellated mansions.
Many of the earliest castles are long since abandoned, and are either visible as earthworks, or only known from historical record. Later medieval and early modern buildings are often ruined, though several have been restored from a ruinous condition. Among those which have been continuously occupied are Bridge, Ochiltree and House of the Binns. Also within West Lothian is the ruined royal palace of Linlithgow, built on the site of an earlier fortification, but elaborated as one of the principal royal residences of the Scottish monarchy.
William de Avenel held the lands of Abercorn in the 12th century, and the castle was later a stronghold of the Black Douglases. In 1455 James II moved to curb the power of the Douglases, capturing several of their castles, and on 18 April Abercorn Castle was destroyed following a siege. The site of the castle is within the grounds of Hopetoun House and was excavated in the 1960s. What was thought to be a motte was revealed as a later mound, covering the remains of 15th- and 16th-century buildings.[1]
Walter, High Steward of Scotland, received the barony and castle of Bathgate as part of the dowry assigned to his bride Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert the Bruce, in 1314. Walter died there in 1327, and the castle may have been little used afterwards. The only traces are a mound ringed by a double ditch, located within a golf course.[4]
Constructed as a tower house in the 16th century, Bridge was the property of William Livingstone, 6th Lord Livingston, from 1578 and stayed in the family until their attainder in 1715. It was subsequently enlarged, then remodelled by Brown and Wardrop in 1886. In use as a hotel in the 1970s, it is now subdivided as apartments.[5][6]
The remains of the 15th-century castle of the Crichton family stand beside Harperrig Reservoir in the Pentland Hills. Cairns was built for Sir George Crichton (d.1454), who served as Lord High Admiral of Scotland and was created Earl of Caithness in 1452.[7] Originally an L-plan tower house, it comprised a main tower with a smaller stair tower to the south-west. The ruins stand around 9 metres (30ft) high.[8][9]
In 1553 Robert Gib of Carribers was a baillie at the port of Newhaven near Edinburgh. Carribber Castle is the remains of a 16th-century manor house, and is unlikely to have been fortified due to its thin walls (less than 1 metre (3ft 3in) thick). Relatively little remains above ground, though the outlines of a courtyard and surrounding buildings can be traced, overlooking the steep Carribber Glen.[10]
Built at some point between the 15th and 17th centuries, Couston was an L-plan structure, owned by the Sandilands family. By the early 20th century it had been reduced to a fragmentary ruin adjacent to a farmyard. The remaining structure was declared dangerous in 2006 and was demolished. The only artifact recovered during demolition was a piece of Medieval redware pottery within the mortar.[11]
James Durham was granted the Duntarvie estate in 1588, and the house was built afterward. A long, symmetrical house of the Scots Renaissance style, it later became part of the Hopetoun Estate. Roofless in the 1920s, restoration of the house began in 1995, though still incomplete in 2014.[12]
Site of a castle since the 15th century, The Binns was purchased by the Dalyell family in 1612 and rebuilt in the 1620s. The original building was extended several times, and remodelled entirely in the early 19th century.[13] Notable residents include 17th-century general Tam Dalyell of the Binns, and the current occupant is former Labour MP Tam Dalyell. The house and parks have been managed by the National Trust for Scotland since 1944.[14]
The Stewart kings James II and James IV are said to have had a hunting lodge at Illieston. The present three-storey house is probably of late 16th century or early 17th century date. It was purchased by John Ellis, an advocate in Edinburgh, around 1663. He added a Renaissance gateway inscribed with his initials and the date 1665. Later it became the property of the Earl of Hopetoun. It is now a private house.[15][16]
A fortification known as The Peel was built here by Edward I of England in 1302. Rebuilt as a palace in 1424 by James I of Scotland and elaborated into a grand quadrangular complex by subsequent monarchs. One of the principal royal residences in Scotland until the accession of James VI to the throne of England in 1603.[17] Afterwards it was seldom used, and the palace burned down while occupied by the Duke of Cumberland in 1746. Now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland.[18]
Lochcote Castle comprises the remains of an angle tower, which were subsequently re-used as a doocot. The castle was replaced by Lochcote House, which was itself demolished in the 19th century.[19]
Built as a tower house in the late 16th century when it belonged to the Drummond family. Midhope was rebuilt and extended by John Hope when he acquired it in 1678, and is now part of the Hopetoun Estate. In 1926 the building was subdivided for apartments, but was afterwards empty. The interior contains plasterwork ceilings, though wall paintings were destroyed during consolidation work in the 1980s.[20]
Built as a tower house in the 16th century, Murieston was rebuilt as a folly in 1824, and few of its original features now remain. The two-storey structure now stands within a farmstead.[21]
Niddry was a seat of the Seton family, and was constructed in the 15th-16th century. The 7th Lord Seton was one of the principal supporters of Mary, Queen of Scots, whom he brought here after her escape from Loch Leven. In the 17th century the tower was extended upwards, and it passed to the Hopes of Hopetoun around 1680. The ruined tower was subject to archaeological investigation in the 1980s, and was subsequently restored, though without the 17th-century upper floor.[22]
Ochiltree was held by the Stirling family of Keir, and the house bears the initials of Sir Alexander Stirling and his wife Dame Grizel. It was built in the later 16th or early 17th century in the Scottish Renaissance style, and subsequently altered in the later 17th century.[23] It is described as a "very fine example" of its type.[24]
In the 12th century, Ogilface was owned by the Veteri Ponte family. In November 1203, William de Veteri Ponte [Vieuxpont] grants to Holyrood Abbey in free and perpetual alms his teinds on his land of Oggelfast and on his hunt, and the teinds of the men living on said land. Ref No: GD45/13/245 NAS. It later passed to the Earl of Linlithgow, and is said to have been used by the Covenanters during the religious conflicts of the 17th century.[25] Now entirely ruined, archaeological surveys indicate a tower similar to Cramond Tower once stood on the site.[26]
The Peel of Livingston was established in the 14th century, and housed an English garrison in the Wars of Scottish Independence. In the 18th century the remains of earthwork defences could be observed, possibly a homestead moat, with a later house built inside. By the middle of the 19th century these remains had been removed, and the area is now built up as part of the new town of Livingston. Excavations in the 1960s failed to uncover significant remains, and the precise site is now uncertain.[27]
Although it may have once been a substantial building, nothing now remains of Pumpherston Castle, the ruins of which were removed in the late 18th century.[28] It was the seat of a branch of the Douglas family from 1489 to the close of the 17th century.[29]
Staneyhill was built in the 17th century for the Sharp family: the architect may have been Sir James Murray of Kilbaberton.[30] William Sharp of Staneyhill was the brother of James Sharp, Archbishop of St Andrews, who was murdered by Covenanters in 1679.[31] Only the stair tower now remains standing, with ruined lower walls of the house.[30]
The lands of Strathbrock were given to Freskyn, a Flemish nobleman, by David I in the 12th century. By the early 15th century it was in the hands of the Douglas family, and in 1524 the rector of Strathbrock Church lived there. The castle may have been a motte, with later stone buildings, and its remains were visible in the early 18th century. The area, to the south of Uphall's Main Street, is now built up.[32]
Tartraven may have been a small castle or manor, and belonged to a family called Ross. The ruins were still visible in the early 19th century, but nothing now remains. The site is adjacent to Castlepark Farm, which may incorporate stone from the castle.[33]
West Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geographically by the Avon to the west and the Almond to the east. The modern council area occupies a larger area than the historic county. It was reshaped following local government reforms in 1975: some areas in the west were transferred to Falkirk; some areas in the east were transferred to Edinburgh; and some areas that had formerly been part of Midlothian were added to West Lothian.
Abercorn is a village and civil parish in West Lothian, Scotland. Close to the south coast of the Firth of Forth, the village is around 5 km (3.1 mi) west of South Queensferry. The parish had a population of 458 at the 2011 Census.
The River Almond is a river in Lothian, Scotland. It is approximately 28 miles (45 km) long, rising at Hirst Hill in Lanarkshire near Shotts, running through West Lothian and draining into the Firth of Forth at Cramond, Edinburgh. The name Almond/Amon is simply old Celtic for "river".
Balloch Castle is an early 19th-century country house situated at the southern tip of Loch Lomond, in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Balloch was a property of the Lennox family from the 11th century, and the old castle was built in the 13th century. In the 19th century the estate was purchased by John Buchanan of Ardoch, who demolished the ruins of the old castle and erected the present building. The Tudor Gothic architecture is the work of Robert Lugar. In 1915 Balloch was bought by Glasgow City Corporation, and has been leased by West Dunbartonshire Council since 1975. The estate was designated as a country park in 1980, and since 2002 has been part of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. Although the house has been periodically used for visitor facilities and council offices, it is now included on the Buildings at Risk Register. Balloch Castle is a category A listed building, and the estate is included on the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.
Kingston is a small hamlet near North Berwick in East Lothian, Scotland.
Winchburgh is a village in the council area of West Lothian, Scotland. It is located approximately 10 miles (16 km) west of the city-centre of Edinburgh, 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Linlithgow and 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of Broxburn.
Linlithgow is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a historic route between Edinburgh and Falkirk beside Linlithgow Loch. The town is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Edinburgh.
Murieston is a primarily residential district on the southern edge of Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland. It lies to the south-east of Bellsquarry.
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.
St. Magdalene distillery was Lowland single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Linlithgow, Scotland.
Breachacha Castle is either of two structures on the shore of Loch Breachacha, on the Inner Hebridean island of Coll, Scotland. The earlier is a 15th-century tower house that was a stronghold of the Macleans of Coll, the island having been granted to John Maclean in 1431. This castle was superseded by a new dwelling in 1750 but continued to be occupied for a time. It fell into a ruinous state only in the mid-19th century.
Duntarvie Castle is a ruined Scots Renaissance house in West Lothian, Scotland. It is located 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) north of Winchburgh and 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) east of Linlithgow, close to the M9 motorway. Constructed in the late 16th century, the building has been undergoing restoration since the 1990s. The house is protected as a category A listed building, and a scheduled monument.
Ochiltree Castle is a 16th-century tower house a few miles south east of Linlithgow in West Lothian, Scotland. It is also described as a farmhouse and lairds house. Along with its boundary wall, the castle was designated as a Category A listed building in 1971.
Murieston Castle is a ruined tower house, dating from the 16th century, 2 miles (3.2 km) west of West Calder, west of the Murieston Water, at Murieston Castle Farm, West Lothian, Scotland. It is a scheduled monument and between 1971 and 2018 it was a Category B listed building.
Illieston House, also known as Illieston Castle, is a castle located in West Lothian, Scotland, by the River Almond near Broxburn. It was built around 1600 and features a T-plan design with gabled dormers and a staircase tower. Over its history, it underwent modifications and restorations, including additions such as a new kitchen wing and modern interior amenities. It has changed ownership several times and it was renovated in 1856 by architect William Burn and underwent modernization in the 21st century. Listed as a Category B building in 1971, it attracted media attention for its sale in 2018.
Staneyhill Tower is a 17th century tower house in West Lothian, Scotland. The tower is located to the southeast of Hopetoun House. It is a scheduled monument of national importance being the "remains of a 17th-century L-plan tower house which incorporates a particularly fine and unusual hexagonal tower". The building is said to provide important information about 17th-century domestic architecture. It is also said to be evidence of 17th court life in Scotland.
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