Old Woodhouselee Castle was a 16th-century tower house located approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northeast of Penicuik, Midlothian, Scotland. It was situated south of the River Esk, near a dismantled railway track. [1]
It is suggested that Old Woodhouselee Castle was built by Oliver Sinclair in the first half of the 16th century, though Historic Environment Scotland dates it more broadly to the 16th or early 17th century. [2] The property belonged to the Hamiltons of Bothwellhaugh. According to reports, Regent Moray expelled Lady Hamilton and her young from the castle, leaving them naked; the child subsequently died, and Lady Hamilton reportedly went mad. Her husband, James Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh and Woodhouselee, later assassinated Regent Moray at Linlithgow in 1570. [1] The castle was demolished in the late 17th century, with its materials used to construct Woodhouselee, a building that has since also disappeared. [1]
The castle was situated on a high rock. [2] Today, only three cellars and a ruined wing of an L-plan tower remain. [1] The surviving structure measures 63.5 feet (19.4 m) in length, 20.75 feet (6.32 m) in width, and 8.75 feet (2.67 m) in height. A small structure at the site is believed to have served as a kitchen. [2]
According to legend, the ghost of Lady Hamilton, dressed in white and constantly looking for her missing child, haunts the ruins of Old Woodhouselee Castle. [1]
The Battle of Langside was fought on 13 May 1568 between forces loyal to Mary, Queen of Scots, and forces acting in the name of her infant son James VI. Mary’s short period of personal rule ended in 1567 in recrimination, intrigue, and disaster when, after her capture at Carberry Hill, she was forced to abdicate in favour of James VI. Mary was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle, while her Protestant half-brother, James Stewart, Earl of Moray, was appointed Regent on behalf of his nephew. In early May 1568 Mary escaped, heading west to the country of the Hamiltons, high among her remaining supporters, and the safety of Dumbarton Castle with the determination to restore her rights as queen. Mary was defeated and went into exile and captivity in England. The battle is generally considered the start of the Marian civil war.
James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray was a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland. At times a supporter of his half-sister Mary, Queen of Scots, he was the regent of Scotland for his half-nephew, the infant King James VI, from 1567 until his assassination in 1570. He was the first head of government to be assassinated with a firearm.
Doune Castle is a medieval stronghold near the village of Doune, in the Stirling council area of central Scotland and the historic county of Perthshire. The castle is sited on a wooded bend where the Ardoch Burn flows into the River Teith. It lies 8 miles northwest of Stirling, where the Teith flows into the River Forth. Upstream, 8 miles further northwest, the town of Callander lies at the edge of the Trossachs, on the fringe of the Scottish Highlands.
Hamilton Palace was a country house in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It was the seat of the Dukes of Hamilton and is widely acknowledged as having been one of the grandest houses in the British Isles. The palace dated from the 14th century, was rebuilt in the Baroque style between 1684 and 1701 and was subsequently much enlarged in the Neoclassical style between 1824 and 1832.
Dumbarton Castle has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Scotland. It sits on a volcanic plug of basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is 240 feet (73 m) high and overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton.
Smailholm Tower is a peel tower at Smailholm, around five miles (8 km) west of Kelso in the Scottish Borders. Its dramatic situation, atop a crag of Lady Hill, commands wide views over the surrounding countryside. The tower is located at grid reference NT637346, just west of Sandyknowe farm, and is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument in the care of Historic Environment Scotland. In June 2007, it was awarded the maximum "five-star" status as a tourist attraction from VisitScotland, a rating bestowed on only eight other sites in Scotland.
Craignethan Castle is a ruined castle in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located above the River Nethan, a tributary of the River Clyde, at NS816464. The castle is two miles west of the village of Crossford, and 4.5 miles north-west of Lanark. Built in the first half of the 16th century, Craignethan is recognised as an excellent early example of a sophisticated artillery fortification, although its defences were never fully tested.
Preston Tower is a ruined L-plan keep in the ancient Scottish village of Prestonpans. It is situated within a few metres of two other historic houses, Hamilton House and Northfield House.
Seton Palace was situated in East Lothian, a few miles south-east of Edinburgh near the town of Prestonpans. Often regarded as the most desirable Scottish residence of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the palace was erected in the 15th century by George, 4th Lord Seton.
Midhope Castle is a 15th-century tower house in Scotland. It is situated in the hamlet of Abercorn on the Hopetoun estate, About 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the west of South Queensferry, on the outskirts of Edinburgh. It is a Category A listed building.
Agnes Keith, Countess of Moray was a Scottish noblewoman. She was the wife of James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, regent of Scotland and the illegitimate half-brother of Mary, Queen of Scots, making her a sister-in-law of the Scottish queen. As the wife of the regent, Agnes was the most powerful woman in Scotland from 1567 until her husband's assassination in 1570.
Lennox Tower is a ruinous fifteenth-century tower house at Lymphoy, near the Water of Leith, between Balerno and Currie, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) south-west of Edinburgh, Scotland.
James Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh and Woodhouselee was a Scottish supporter of Mary, Queen of Scots, who assassinated James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, Regent of Scotland, in January 1570. He shot Moray from the steps of his uncle Archbishop John Hamilton's house in Linlithgow.
Bothwellhaugh was a Scottish coal mining village, which housed Hamilton Palace Colliery workers and their families. Locals referred to the village as The Pailis, and it was located near the towns of Motherwell, Bellshill and Hamilton, in Lanarkshire. The village was occupied from the mid-1880s, until it was demolished in 1965.
Hoddom Castle is a large tower house in Dumfries and Galloway, south Scotland. It is located by the River Annan, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south-west of Ecclefechan and the same distance north-west of Brydekirk in the parish of Cummertrees. The castle is protected as a category A listed building.
Kenmure Castle is a fortified house or castle in The Glenkens, 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the town of New Galloway in Kirkcudbrightshire, Galloway, south-west Scotland. The site was occupied from the Middle Ages, and the house incorporates part of a 17th-century castle. This was remodelled in the 19th century, but the house has been derelict since the mid-20th century. It was the seat of the Gordon family of Lochinvar, later raised to the peerage as Viscounts of Kenmure. The ruin is a scheduled monument.
Harden Castle is a 16th century tower house, about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) west of Hawick, Scottish Borders. It is alternatively known as Harden House or Harden Tower.
Woodhouselee is an estate in Midlothian in the parish of Glencorse. It has been owned by gentry including William Tytler and Alexander Fraser Tytler. There is a mansion, now called Firth House, and the ruined 16th-century castle of Old Woodhouselee which was owned by James Hamilton, who assassinated the Regent of Scotland – the first recorded assassination with a firearm.
Boghall Castle was a 14th-century castle to the south of Biggar, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Boghall became ruinous in the 19th century.
Corsbie Castle is a ruined 16th-century tower house, about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west of Gordon, Scottish Borders, Scotland, and north of the Eden Water. It was also known as Corsbie Tower. It has been designated as a scheduled monument.