Wemyss Castle (pronounced [weems]) is situated in Wemyss on the sea cliffs between the villages of East Wemyss and West Wemyss in Fife, Scotland. Wemyss Castle is considered to be a multi-period building, and today's castle includes many elements from former periods such as the 15th century tower and the 19th century stables and gatepiers.
Accounts date the construction of the castle to 1421 when Sir John Wemyss decided to build a fortified castle to replace one destroyed by the Duke of Rothesay at Kilconquhar in 1402. The castle is thus the ancient seat of the Earls of Wemyss and their families. Historically, the castle is perhaps best known as the location where Mary, Queen of Scots, met her future husband Lord Darnley, on 17 February 1565. [1]
The court of James VI stayed at Wemyss Castle in July 1583. [2] On 11 May 1590 a party of Danish commissioners led by Peder Munk and the Scottish lawyer John Skene stayed at Wemyss Castle. Their task was to view and take sasine of Falkland Palace and Dunfermline Palace and Linlithgow Palace, the properties given to Anne of Denmark by James VI as a "morning gift". [3]
In April 1591 King James had Lilias (or Sophia) Ruthven, a daughter of William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie, shut away in Wemyss Castle to prevent her marrying Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox. [4] Lennox managed to get his bride out of the castle and marry her at Dunkeld, and after 10 days the king allowed the couple to come to court. [5]
In 1592 Sir John Wemyss of Wemyss provided a refuge at the castle for the queen's Danish lady-in-waiting Margaret Vinstarr whose partner John Wemyss of Logie had plotted with Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell against the king. [6] The incident is celebrated in a ballad, The Laird o Logie . [7]
John Wemyss was obliged to keep prisoners for the king at Wemyss, including in 1597 Archie Armstrong of Whitehaugh from the Scottish borders. Wemyss and other Lairds complained about this duty, and in April James VI wrote to him and asked him to bring Armstrong as a prisoner to be kept at Falkland Palace instead. [8]
In the 1890s the nearby Coaltown of Wemyss was established as an estate village on land belonging to Wemyss Castle, in order to house mineworkers employed in several coal mines in the area. [9]
Wemyss is an imposing castle sitting high atop cliffs with a view over the Firth of Forth. Two particular points of interest are that one of the towers from an earlier building has been re-used, first as a windmill and later as a dovecote. There is also an oval-shaped dungeon within the castle, connected to the building by a passage. [10]
Some believe Wemyss possesses, like a number of Scottish castles, a "Green Lady". Folk beliefs in Scotland and Britain have traditionally associated the colour green with misfortune. [11] Wearing green at a wedding was considered particularly unlucky, [12] with a Scottish saying recorded in 1892 explaining that "Married in May, and kirked in green / Baith bride and bridegroom winna lang be seen". [13] In the case of Wemyss, the ghost is that of a young woman wearing a trailing dress of green silk which rustles as she floats along the corridors within the castle. A news report in 2007 suggested that sightings had ceased in recent years. [14]
Falkland Palace, in Falkland, Fife, Scotland, is a royal palace of the Scottish Kings. It was one of the favourite places of Mary, Queen of Scots, providing an escape from political and religious turmoil. Today it is under the stewardship of Ninian Stuart, who delegates most of his duties to The National Trust for Scotland. The Chapel Royal in the Palace is dedicated to Thomas the Apostle, and is also open to the public and reserved for Catholic worship.
Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox and 1st Duke of Richmond, lord of the Manor of Cobham, Kent, was a Scottish nobleman who through their paternal lines was a second cousin of King James VI of Scotland and I of England. He was involved in the Plantation of Ulster in Ireland and the colonization of Maine in New England. Richmond's Island and Cape Richmond as well as Richmond, Maine, are named after him. His magnificent monument with effigies survives in Westminster Abbey.
The Raid of Ruthven, the kidnapping of King James VI of Scotland, was a political conspiracy in Scotland which took place on 23 August 1582. It was composed of several Presbyterian nobles, led by William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie, who abducted King James VI of Scotland. The nobles intended to reform the government of Scotland and limit the influence of French and pro-Catholic policy, and to prevent or manage the return of Mary, Queen of Scots from England to rule with her son in an "association". Their short-lived rule of around 10 months is known as the "Ruthven" or "Gowrie Regime".
The Laird O Logie or The Laird Of Logie is Child ballad number 182.
Alexander Home, 1st Earl of Home and 6th Lord Home was a Scottish nobleman and Lord Warden-general of all the March.
William Schaw was Master of Works to James VI of Scotland for building castles and palaces, and is claimed to have been an important figure in the development of Freemasonry in Scotland.
Sir William Stewart of Houston was a Scottish soldier, politician and diplomat.
Patrick Gray, 6th Lord Gray, known most of his life as Patrick, Master of Gray, was a Scottish nobleman and politician during the reigns of Mary, Queen of Scots and James VI of Scotland.
Thomas Erskine, 1st Earl of Kellie was a Scottish peer.
John Wemyss younger of Logie, (1569-1596), was a Scottish courtier, spy, and subject of the ballad "The Laird o Logie", beheaded for plotting to blow up a fortification at Veere in the Netherlands
John Murray, 1st Earl of Tullibardine was a Scottish courtier and leader of the Clan Murray.
Margaret Vinstarr, was a Danish or German courtier in Scotland to Anne of Denmark commemorated by the ballad "The Laird o Logie" for rescuing her imprisoned lover.
Sir James Sandilands was a courtier to King James VI and I and captain of Blackness Castle
Sir James Anstruther of Anstruther, was a Scottish landowner and courtier.
David Seton of Parbroath was a Scottish courtier and administrator.
Archibald Wauchope of Niddrie Scottish landowner and rebel.
Sir John Wemyss (1558–1621) was a Scottish landowner.
The Raid of Holyrood was an attack on Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh on 27 December 1591 by Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell in order to gain the favour of King James VI of Scotland. Bothwell subsequently staged a raid at Falkland Palace, and in July 1593 made another attempt at Holyrood.
John Boswell of Balmuto (1546–1610) was a Scottish landowner and courtier.
Dorothea Stewart, Countess of Gowrie was a Scottish aristocrat. The dates of the birth and death of Dorothea Stewart are unknown.
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