Full text of "The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth century"

jil,u'lum\lit CLralntuvD, of

LAURISTON CASTLE.

Presented to the
LIBRARY of the

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

A. Huestis

THE CASTELLATED AND DOMESTIC
ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND

FROM

THE TWELFTH TO THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

Edinburgh: Printed by Thomas and Archibald Constable

FOR
DAVID DOUGLAS.

LONDON HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO.

CAMBRIDGE MACMILLAN AND BOWES.

GLASGOW JAMES MACLEHOSE AND SONS.

THE

CASTELLATED AND DOMESTIC

ARCHITECTURE

OF SGOTL.AND

^T*"\
i_vT . 1

FJKOM THE TWELFTH TO' TH$$i&HTKENTH' CENTURY

\ rr SA

DAVID MACGIBBO

EDINBURGH: DAVID DOUGLAS

MDCCCLXXXVII

All rigli fe reserved.

UB*A* Y

PREFACE.

A NUMBER of the sketches and plans which form the
illustrations in the following pages were exhibited a few
years ago in connection with papers on " Scottish Castles
and Houses," read before the Edinburgh Architectural
Association, when the attention they received suggested
the idea of the present work.

No book has hitherto been published which deals sys-
tematically with the history of Scottish Castellated and
Domestic Architecture. The late Mr. Billings' valuable
work on the Baronial and Ecclesiastical Antiquities of
Scotland is an important contribution, and his beautiful
drawings are a charming record of the edifices he
illustrates. Mr. Billings has also the merit of being
amongst the very first to recognise and draw attention to
the importance of our Scottish Domestic Architecture.
But the absence of plans is a serious drawback, and the
descriptions of the buildings, although full of interesting
matter, do not deal in a systematic manner with the
history of our Architecture, especially with the domestic
portion of it.

Mr. Fergusson has also touched slightly, in his History
of Architecture, on the subject of Scottish Domestic

PREFACE VI CASTELLATED AND DOMESTIC

Architecture, but so slightly that it is evident he has
not regarded it as an important element in the general
history of the art.

The following pages, however, show that Scotland
contains a most complete and almost unexplored series
of domestic structures, exhibiting as well the gradual
progress of Architecture from an early and rude epoch
to more modern and refined times, as the growth of our
national life and manners.

In dealing with this important series of buildings our
chief object has been to trace the development of the
Architecture, and to determine the stages of progress or
<( Periods " into which it naturally divides itself.

In order to render the historic sequence clear and
distinct, and also to follow the steps by which the
designs of one period passed into those of the period that
followed, it is essential that the plans of the buildings be
fully taken into account. We have therefore devoted
much care to the accurate representation of these im-
portant elements in the design.

Our sketches are not intended to imitate or rival
the beautiful and artistic etchings of some of our
Scottish edifices which have from time to time been
published, but simply to represent the ARCHITECTURE
in what appeared to us the most intelligible and effective
manner.

It is of great moment, in an inquiry like the present,
that the history and development of the Architecture,
as disclosed by the buildings, should be corroborated
as far as possible by written evidence. We have

ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND vii PREFACE

accordingly endeavoured to trace and collect such of
the written records of the erection or alteration of the
structures as were available. But we do not pretend
to have discovered any new information connected with
the history of Scottish Architecture, save such as can
be gathered from the internal evidence of the edifices
themselves.

One important result of the present inquiry is to
bring into prominence the fact that Scotland, like every
other country in Europe during the period from the
thirteenth to the sixteenth century, possessed a Castel-
lated or Domestic Architecture of its own, and that even
in the seventeenth century, when almost everywhere else
the Renaissance style reigned supreme, the native style
still flourished.

It may be thought that the number of buildings illus-
trated is unnecessarily large. But it is, after all, only a
small portion of the still surviving examples of Scottish
Domestic Architecture, and there is really almost no
repetition. In most of the keeps and towers there is
doubtless a great similarity in general design, but it will
be found that each furnishes some points of variety which
give to it a special interest.

It is greatly to be regretted that most of our ancient
edifices are rapidly passing away, either from natural decay
or other destructive causes. Even since our sketches were
made, many have disappeared either in whole or in part.
The neglect with which they are generally treated pro-
bably arises, to some extent, from their bearing on the
architectural and national history of Scotland not being

PREFACE Vlll CASTELLATED AND DOMESTIC

sufficiently understood and appreciated. We are not
without hope that this work may serve to direct the
attention of proprietors and others to the value of our
ancient domestic remains, and may thus help to preserve
some of them from the decay and demolition which
at present threaten speedily to overtake the greater
number. Such a result would be most gratifying, not
only to us, but to every one interested in our national
history,

We would take this opportunity of gratefully thank-
ing all those who have interested themselves in the
present work, some of whom have kindly contributed
drawings for our assistance.

To Mr. John Bryce, Architect, Edinburgh, our
thanks are due for the free and ready access he has given
us to the plans of ancient buildings made by his uncle,
the late David Bryce, R.S.A., when, in the course of his
professional practice, he was called on to consider how
to alter or add to them. Of these drawings we have
availed ourselves of some of those of Drum Castle and
Earl Patrick's Palace, Kirkwall, to which we have
referred more fully in the text. To Dr. Skene, His-
toriographer for Scotland, we are specially obliged for
placing at our disposal the voluminous MS. work by his
father, the late Mr. Skene of Rubislaw, on the Domestic
Architecture of Scotland. This work is peculiarly valu-
able from its containing numerous plans and views of
castles which no longer exist. From it we have obtained
the plans of Castle Fraser, which were not otherwise
available, and views of the extremely picturesque Castle

ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND IX

of Cluny, now no more, together with some remarkable
information regarding " lugs " and places of concealment.
We are also indebted to the Earl of Cawdor for the
use of plans of Cawdor Castle ; to the Hon. H. C.
Maxwell Stuart for the use of plans of Traquair House,
and for information regarding its history ; to the Hon.
Mrs. Henderson of Fordell for particulars connected with
Fordell Castle; to James Lorimer, Esq., LL.D., Professor
of Public Law in the University of Edinburgh, for infor-
mation in connection with Kellie Castle ; to J. Russell
Mackenzie, Esq., Architect, Aberdeen, and Messrs. C. &
P. H. Chalmers, Solicitors, Aberdeen, for the use of
plans and elevations of Fyvie Castle ; to David Douglas,
Esq., for permission to reproduce a drawing of Burgie
Castle, from the unpublished series of views in Scotland
of John Claude Nattes ; to Messrs. Wardrop & Ander-
son, Architects, for the plans and elevations of Udny
Castle (now much altered) ; to Mr. H. J. Blanc, Archi-
tect, for drawings of St. Margaret's Chapel in Edinburgh
Castle ; to Mr. Robert Murray for the plans of Neidpath
Castle, and others not yet published ; to Lord Napier
and Ettrick for useful suggestions on Stirling Castle ;
to Mr. R. Bruce Armstrong for notes on Hermitage
Castle ; to Dr. Dickson, of the Register House ; James
T. Clark, Esq., Librarian of the Advocates' Library ; and
many architectural friends for their aid and encourage-
ment in our labours.

We would also take this opportunity of acknow-
ledging the cordial and generous reception we have almost
invariably received from the proprietors and occupants of

PREFACE X ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND

the houses we have visited in pursuit of our subject, and
the free permission which has (with very few exceptions)
been accorded to us to make such measurements and
drawings as we required.

DAVID MACGIBBON.
THOMAS ROSS.

92 GEORGE STREET, EDINBURGH,
October 1886.

CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.

INTRODUCTION.

Object of the work Hitherto no systematic treatise on the
subject Mediaeval Domestic Architecture traced from place
of birth Influence of Romans on Architecture in Gaul
Works of the Visigoths Examples of Roman influence
Fortresses of the Norsemen Earthen mounds gradually con-
verted into stone walls Norman keeps Roman influence in
England Norman keeps in England and North of France
described Examples Chateaux d'Arques de Beaugency
de Loches Colchester Castle Newcastle Castle Heding-
ham Rochester Castle Dover Castle Mont du Chevalier,
Cannes Shell keeps Chateau de Gisors Norman castle
garth Erection of halls and other buildings in the court-
yard Oakham Town houses Iron-work Walls painted
Effect of Crusades Modification of keep plan Chateau
d'Etampes Chateau Gaillard Chateau de Provins Conis-
borough Castle Round towers and keeps introduced
Chateau de Loches Walls of enceinte Walls of Aigues
Mortes Chateau de St. Andre Gateway Tour du Pont
Thirteenth-century donjons Chateau de Roche Guyon
Chateau de Coucy Wooden hoards Tower of Jeanne d' Arc
The use of wood in defences traced Vaulting introduced
in every floor Other improvements English castles more
domestic than French, and the keep abandoned Edwardian
castles Carnarvon Castle Pevensey Castle Manor-houses
Charney, Stokesay, etc. Fourteenth century Advance in
attack and defence of castles Isolated defences abandoned
Castle all united under one command Donjon made in form
of a large dwelling Towers heightened and more tiers of
defences added Buildings in courtyard improved Chateau
de Pierrefonds English castles developed Interior comfort
and convenience Warwick Castle Bodiam Castle Manor-

CONTENTS - Xll CASTELLATED AND DOMESTIC

PAGE

houses Cannons in general use, 1450 Attempts to adapt old
castles to use of, and to resist, artillery found unavailing This
and influence of Italian villas make revolution in architecture
of castles Introduction of Renaissance in fifteenth century
Many old features long retained Chateau de Chambord an
imitation of a mediaeval castle Many examples in the Loire
country Chateau de Montsabert House of Francis i.
Details Effects of gunpowder in England Hurstmonceaux
Castle Imitation of castellated features Pele towers of the
Borders Manor-houses Private dining-rooms and numerous
other rooms introduced Decoration of interiors Bow win-
dows, fireplaces, etc. Elizabethan style, .... 1-60

FIRST PERIOD 1200-1300.

Scottish style similar to that of England and France Few early
examples These earthen mounds and mottes The Broch
Connection of the latter with Scottish Architecture
Influx of Normans No Norman keeps in Scotland but
imitations of them at later date Castles built by Alex-
ander i. and David i. Prosperity of thirteenth century
Many castles erected List of these Scottish thirteenth-
century castles described Sites Imitations of castles of
the period in France and England Some exceptions, . . 6l

Descriptions of the following examples :

Castle Roy, .... Inverness-shire, ... 65

Kinclaven Castle, . . . Perthshire, . . . . 67

Lochindorb Castle, . . Elginshire, .... 70

Loch-an-Eilan Castle, . . Inverness-shire, ... 73

Inverlochy Castle, . . Do., . . . . 73

Lochmaben Castle, . . Dumfriesshire, ... 78

Rothesay Castle, . . . Buteshire, .... 80

Dunstaffnage Castle, . . Argyllshire, . . . . 85

Bothwell Castle, . . . Lanarkshire, .... 93

Kildrummie Castle, . . Aberdeenshire, . . .108

Dirleton Castle, . . . Haddingtonshire, . . .114

Yester Castle, . . . Do., . . . .116

Hailes Castle, . . . Do., . . . .122

Caerlaverock Castle, . . Dumfriesshire, . . . 127

Tarbert Castle, . . . Argyllshire, . . . .136

ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND Xlll CONTENTS

SECOND PERIOD 1300-1400.

PAGE

Complete change in style of castles after War of Independence
Country exhausted Bruce's policy A strong tower all
that was required for a residence The Norman keep formed
the model Fourteenth-century towers described Found
too limited -Accommodation increased by adding a wing,
forming the L plan Difficulty of fixing date Courtyards
Buildings erected round walls at late date Mode of develop-
ment of plans of Scottish castles, . . . . . .143

Descriptions of the following examples :
1st, Simple Towers

Lochleven Castle, . . Kinross-shire, . . .146

Drum Castle, . . . Aberdeenshire, . . .150

Alloa Tower, . . . Clackmannanshire, . . 155

Hallforest, .... Aberdeenshire, . . .157

Threave Castle, . . . Kirkcudbrightshire, . . 157

Dundonald Castle, . . Ayrshire, . . . .167

Torthorwald Castle, . . Drumfriesshire, . . .175

Clackmannan Tower, . . Clackmannanshire, . . 178

Neidpath Castle, . . . Peeblesshire, . . .183

2d, Keeps extended into Courtyards

Craigmillar Castle, . . Midlothian, . . . .189
Castle Campbell, . . . Clackmannanshire, . . 202

Crichton Castle, . . . Midlothian 209

Comparison of Scottish castles of this period with those of France

and England The keep plan universal in Scotland, . . 221

THIRD PERIOD 1400-1542.

About 1400 a few castles built on courtyard plan During reigns
of the five Jameses large castles all on this plan Keeps
retained, but of larger dimensions than those of Second
Period, as in France Courtyard plan described Defensive
features gradually become more domestic -Old keep plan
also still retained, and some keeps converted into castles
surrounding a courtyard Keep plans similar to those of
Second Period L plan becomes common, with tower in re-
entering angle Abundance of wall chambers The pit or
prison The defences described Parapets and bartizans

CONTENTS

XIV CASTELLATED AND DOMESTIC

roofed-in in late examples Introduction of artillery Great
port-holes for guns Interior omament The chapel Ex-
ceptional examples The order in which the castles are
described, ..........

I. SIMPLE KEEPS :

Liberton Tower, .
Mearns Tower,
Elphinstone Castle,
Comlongan Castle,
Cardoness Castle, .
Newark Castle,
Affleck or Auchenleck Castle,
Craignethan Castle,
Sauchie Tower,
Kinnaird Tower, .
Burleigh Castle, .
Duffus Castle,

Redcastle, ....
Dunolly Castle,
Benholme Tower, .
Drummond Castle,
Rosyth Castle,
Leven Castle,
Inverkip Castle, .
Craigneil Castle, .
Kilkerran Castle, .
Whittingham Tower,
Balquhain Castle, .
Darnaway Castle, .
Badenheath Castle,
Cairnbulg Castle, .
Farme Castle,

Midlothian, .
Renfrewshire,
Haddingtonshire, .
Dumfriesshire,
Kirkcudbrightshire,
Selkirkshire, .
Forfarshire, .
Lanarkshire, .
Clackmannanshire,
Perthshire, .
Kinross-shire,
Elginshire, .
Forfarshire, .
Argyllshire, .
Kincardineshire, .
Perthshire, .
Fifeshire,
Renfrewshire,

Do.,
Ayrshire,

Do., .

Haddingtonshire, .
Aberdeenshire,
Elginshire, .
Dumbartonshire, .
Aberdeenshire,
Lanarkshire,

II. KEEPS WITH ONE OR Two WINGS :-

Auchindoun Castle,

Preston Tower,

Castle Huntly,

Gight, or Formantine Castle,

Niddrie Castle,

Craig Castle,

Dundas Castle,

Balvaird Castle,

Borthwick Castle,

Banffshire,
Haddingtonshire,
Perthshire, .
Aberdeenshire,
Linlithgowsh ire,
Aberdeenshire,
Linlithgowshire,
Fifeshire,
Midlothian, .

222

226
230
233
237
243
24?
250
255
265
270
275
279
280
281
284
285
289
295
296
297
298
300
303
304
307
309
313

314
317
320
322
324
326
328
335
344

ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND XV CONTENTS

PAGE

Avondale Castle, . . . Lanarkshire, .... 352

Struthers Castle, . . . Fifeshire, .... 353
Stoneypath Tower, . . Haddingtonshire, . . .355

Federate Castle, . . . Aberdeenshire, . . . 357

III. KEEPS ENLARGED IN VARIOUS WAYS BY ADDITIONS

1st, Keeps enlarged into Castles surrounding a Courtyard

Edzell Castle, . . . Forfarshire, .... 359

Rosslyn Castle, . . . Midlothian, .... 366

Balgonie Castle, . . . Fifeshire, .... 377
Kilchurn Castle, . . . Argyllshire, . . . .382

Kilravock Castle, . . . Nairnshire, .... 384

Balveny Castle, . . . Banffshire, .... 386

Kilbirnie Castle, . . . Ayrshire, .... 390

Ruthven Castle, or Huntingtower, Perthshire, . . . 395

Dean Castle, Kilmarnock, . Ayrshire, . . . . . 401

Falside Castle, . . . Haddingtonshire, . . . 409

Haining, or Almond Castle, . Linlithgowshire, . . . 413

Sanquhar Castle, . . . Dumfriesshire, . . . 415

2d, Castles designed as buildings surrounding a Courtyard
These characteristic of the Third Period Royal palaces and
important castles built on this model Later examples contain
enlarged accommodation and ornament similar to foreign
castles of the period Fine designs Domestic more promi-
nent than Ecclesiastical architecture Description of the
following, viz.

Doune Castle, . . . Perthshire, . . . .418

Tantallon Castle, . . . Haddingtonshire, . . . 429

Dirleton Castle, . . Do., .... 435

Spynie Palace, . . . Elginshire, .... 439

Edinburgh Castle, . . Edinburgh, .... 445

Stirling Castle, . . . Stirlingshire, . . . 464

Linlithgow Palace, . . Linlithgowshire, . . . 478

Falkland Palace, . . . Fifeshire, . . . . 501

House of the Knights Hospitallers, Linlithgow, . . . 508

Dunfermline Palace, . . Fifeshire, . . . . 514

Bishop's Palace, Kirkwall, . Orkney, . . . . 519

Third Period Exceptional modifications of the Keep Plan Ex-
amples described, viz.

Hermitage Castle, . . Roxburghshire, . . . 523

Crookston Castle, . . Renfrewshire, . . . 533
Ravenscraig Castle, . . Fifeshire, . . . .538

Morton Castle, . . . Dumfriesshire, . . . 545

CONTENTS XVI ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND

PAGE

Tullyallan Castle, . . . Perthshire, . . . .550
Rait Castle, .... Nairnshire, . . . .558
Arbroath Abbey, . . . Forfarshire, . . . .561

Example illustrative of all changes of Domestic Architecture from
fifteenth to seventeenth century viz.

Dunnottar Castle, . . Kincardineshire, . . . 562

INDEX, - . 577

FROM THE TWELFTH TO THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.

INTRODUCTION.

THE object of this treatise is to endeavour to trace the historical
sequence of the various phases of Architecture which have prevailed in
the old castles and houses of Scotland, and to try to define and explain
the different styles of building adopted at different periods from the
twelfth century till the revival of classic architecture in modern times.
The various styles of our ecclesiastical architecture have been well ascer-
tained, and their distinctive features defined, and every one knows how
much additional interest is given to the study of our old churches by
a knowledge of the history of their architecture. On visiting an ancient
church, one not only admires its beauties, but naturally and at once assigns
it to one or other of the Gothic periods, and marks wherein its details
resemble or differ from those of other contemporary examples. An
infinite variety of interest is thus imported into every portion of the
building, into every ornament and every moulding.

Although many excellent and well-known illustrations of our baronial
and domestic architecture have been published, there is no systematic
treatise on their architectural history. It is scarcely even recognised
that the architecture of our castles and houses has a definite historical
sequence. The interest of these buildings would therefore be very
largely increased if their various styles and epochs, with the character-
istics of each, can be distinctly defined. One would then know what
points to specially examine, and what to look for, in order to be able to
place each building, or portion of a building, in its appropriate niche, and
to compare the various examples with each other, and with the corre-
sponding buildings of other countries. Besides, nothing can be more
interesting and instructive than to follow the records of our national
history contained in these old castles, and to note the manners and
customs of our ancestors at different epochs as reflected in them.

INTRODUCTION 2 ROMAN BUILDINGS

The architectural history of Scotland does not date from a very
remote period. The Roman occupation of the country was partial and
of short duration, and left behind few or no buildings which might serve
as models for the native inhabitants. Nor had the inhabitants been long
enough under Roman rule to have acquired the art of imitating Roman
skill and workmanship.

It was not till the returning tide of civilisation had reached Scotland
from the South, in the tenth and eleventh centuries,, bringing with it
the revived arts, especially that of Architecture, that we find any traces
of the building art in this country. It is therefore desirable, before
entering on the consideration of Scotch Architecture, to trace shortly
the rise and progress of the castellated and domestic architecture of the
middle ages in the places of its birth, and thereafter to mark the steps by
which it was gradually introduced from other countries into Scotland. 1
We will therefore first consider shortly the rise and progress of the
mediaeval civil and military architecture of France and England.

When the Romans retired from Gaul, during the fourth and fifth
centuries, they left in that country many structures indicative of their
capacity as builders and engineers, as well as numerous examples of
their style of decorative architecture. The remains of the amphitheatres,
aqueducts, gateways, and other works still existing in the centre and
south of France, .serve to show the size and extent of the edifices
erected by the Romans in this part of their dominions. Although the
number of the Roman buildings still surviving is comparatively small,
there can be no doubt that at the time of the various invasions of the
Goths and Franks the country was to a large extent covered with
towns, villages, country houses, and castles, all built on the Roman
model. Up to the tenth century the old Roman buildings continued in
many cases to be occupied, while others were built in imitation of them,
although in certain districts modifications were introduced by the Franks
and other foreign invaders. As the Romans gradually withdrew their
troops, they built several chains of castles and forts for the defence of
the provinces they still retained. These are supposed to have served as
models for the earliest of the mediaeval towers. Although the northern
races who invaded France used earthen mounds, and ditches with wooden
superstructures, as their defensive works, still the Roman standing camp,
with its ditch and mound, probably also contributed to the design of the
earthworks which formed the principal defences of the earlier fortresses
of the middle ages.

In the south of Gaul the Visigoths were the successors of the

1 In the following summary the authors have freely availed themselves of the interesting
works of Viollet-le-Duc and De Caumont on the Architecture of France, and of the equally
interesting and very careful and comprehensive volumes of G. T. Clark and John Henry
Parker on the Castles and Domestic Architecture of England.

GALLO-ROMAN WORKS 3 INTRODUCTION

Romans. They became amalgamated with the inhabitants, and con-
tinued much of the civilisation they had acquired from them. Their
country houses were built after the form of the Roman villae. These
comprised an outer court, or villa rustica, containing detached buildings
for storing corn and other purposes connected with agriculture, and
houses for the farm-servants, artificers, and others ; while the inner court
formed the villa urbana, and was the residence of the proprietor and his
family. This arrangement was afterwards followed in the mediaeval
castles, with their outer and inner wards.

The influence of the Roman forms of plans and design may also be
traced in many other directions. A striking example of this is the
mediaeval monastery, which was, in general plan, a direct imitation of a
Roman house. The cloister with its pillars surrounding an open court,
having apartments opening off it, is clearly derived from the Roman
peristyle of the town house, and the villa urbana of the country mansion
the part of the house reserved for private use. The outer court, with
its stables, granaries, etc., corresponds with the villa rusiica of the Roman
country house. The tablina becomes the chapter-house. The kitchen
and refectory are in both cases situated on the outer side of the court.
The style of workmanship used in the masonry of buildings erected up
to the eleventh century was also of Roman origin. The town of Carcas-
sonne in Languedoc still retains its Roman walls and towers, and traces
of Roman works utilised and incorporated in mediaeval structures are to
be found in the walls of Aries and many other localities in the southern
parts of Gaul, where the Roman influence was strongest. In the northern
parts of Gaul the destruction of Roman buildings was more complete, owing
to the devastation caused by the incessant invasions of the Norsemen.

Under the Carlovingians a similar form of plan for house-building to
that of the South, above referred to, was adopted throughout other parts
of the Empire, but with modifications in different localities. A large
outer court contained all the buildings connected with the cultivation of
the soil, and the workshops of the necessary tradesmen ; and where a
Prankish chief resided there arose in the midst of the court a hall, set
upon a mound, which formed the house of the chief and his family.
The whole " villa " or castle was enclosed with a ditch and palisade for
defence. These establishments were generally on the plain, for the
convenience of agricultural pursuits, in which case the hall was set for
security on the top of an artificial mound or motte, thi'own up from the
ditch which was dug around it. In that situation the hall and other erec-
tions were generally of wood. Such fortifications were common to the
Northmen, both on the Continent and in England. Numerous examples of
castles with defences composed of earthen mounds and ditches are illus-
trated by M. de Caumont in France, and Mr. Clark in England. These
were provided with wooden palisades, and the chief's hall was also built in

INTRODUCTION 4 NORMAN KEEPS

wood. The wooden erections have now of course disappeared, but the
enclosing ditches and mounds and the central motte may still be traced.

The wooden castle on the top of the motte, with the steps leading
up to it, may be seen depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, and other
mediaeval designs.

In the hilly parts of the country the castles were naturally situated
on a height, or the edge of a cliff, and the shape of the enceinte was
necessarily regulated by the configuration of the ground, its slopes or
precipices being made available for defence. The hall or keep was set
either on the most elevated point, or so placed as to defend the weakest
places. In mountainous districts, where stone abounded, it naturally soon
came to replace wood as the building material. The space afforded by
special sites was frequently not large enough to contain all the dependen-
cies. In such cases the various out-buildings wereerected at the base of the
hill or escarpment, and were included within an outer enclosing wall, or
palisade and ditch, thus forming a second court or basse-cour. The keep
was usually so placed as to command and defend these out-buildings.

It was soon found that the keep in the centre of the court was not
conveniently situated for defence, and that it was better placed next the
outer wall, so as to allow the garrison to make sorties and take the
enemy by surprise, and also to permit the garrison in case of need to
escape. We find the keep thus placed from the eleventh century. This
was also the case in the fortresses composed of earthworks, the motte
being usually placed on one of the lines of the enclosing mounds.

The Normans adopted a similar arrangement of their defences from
the eleventh century. Till nearly the middle of that century the
fortresses of Normandy consisted entirely of earthworks, with wooden
palisades and buildings, but from that date square towers or keeps began
to be built. The Normans devoted their attention chiefly to making
these keeps of great strength, while the outworks were of comparatively
small importance, and did not include the extensive courtyards common
in other parts of Frankia. One reason for this may have been that the
Normans worked together, and placed their castles so as to occupy
strategic points, and protect one another and the country round about them.
The Frank castles, on the other hand, were isolated and independent,
each being constructed for the defence of the lord and his retainers, with
their families and possessions. The latter castles were therefore neces-
sarily of great extent, and the outer works are of first importance.

The first idea of the Norman keep was pi'obably a wooden block-house
for the protection of valuables, booty, etc., defended with ditches or
earthworks. When the Normans had more thoroughly established them-
selves in the country, they began to build their castles of stone, and by the
time of the Conquest of England the north of France was well supplied
with castles, some consisting of the earthworks above referred to, and

TYPICAL ARRANGEMENTS 5 INTRODUCTION

others of quadrangular stone-built keeps of the usual well-known Norman
type.

In England the Roman influence was much less marked than in
Gaul, nearly all the Roman buildings having been destroyed by the
Danes in their frequent invasions. A few buildings, however, such as
Porchester Castle and Pevensey, still remain, and have been incorporated
by the Normans in their castles. The fortresses of the inhabitants up to
the eleventh century consisted of earthen mounds and ditches defended
by wooden palisades, such as we have seen were common at the same
period in the north of France. As in the latter, the hall or castle of the
chief was built of wood, and stood on the top of the motte or earthen
mound thrown up from the excavation of the ditch surrounding it. It
was approached by a straight wooden stair up the slope of the mound,
and protected by a drawbridge. There are hardly any traces of building
in stone and lime before the Norman Conquest. After that date the
erection of Norman keeps became common, but the old wooden towers
and other defences were in many cases long retained.

Of Norman keeps there are abundant examples remaining both in
Northern France and England. After the Conquest, England was covered
with castles of this type, such as Dover, Rochester, Newcastle, the Tower
of London, etc. These Norman keeps are always square or rectangular
in plan. They have generally flat pilasters on the exterior, the angle
pilasters being carried up above the parapet in the form of a square or
round turret at each corner. The walls terminate in a crenelated parapet
about 2 feet thick and 5 feet high, carried up flush with the face of the
wall, and concealing the roof. The roof is of the simple coupled form,
with a gable at each end, but the ridge does not rise above the parapet.
There are no projecting corbels with machicolations between, the only
machicolations used being long openings in the floors. The merlons are
broad and the embrasures narrow. The larger keeps have the entrance
protected by a forework. This is a building the full width of the keep,
and attached to one end of it. It contains a straight stair leading to
the true entrance of the keep, which is on the first or second floor. The
entrance to the forework is protected by strong oak doors, and bars
running into the wall, and sometimes with a portcullis. A tower rises
above the doorway, from which missiles may be thrown on an enemy
attempting to ascend the straight stair. There are also sometimes
intermediate doors with towers above them, and at the top of the stair
a vestibule, well defended, and sometimes approached by a moveable
bridge. In the upper floors of the forework was occasionally placed the
chapel, and the prisons were often under the stair.

The interior of the keep was very simple in its general arrangements.
The door on the first or second floor leads into the chief room or hall,
where all the garrison lived and slept. From the hall a stair conducts

INTRODUCTION

NORMAN KEEPS

down to the ground floor, which contained the stores, and another stair
leads to the upper floors and battlements. The upper floor is generally
appropriated as the owner's private apartment or bedroom. Many of
the older keeps have been raised a story in Norman times to obtain addi-
tional accommodation, and a flat leaden roof introduced, which was useful
for working military engines. This was managed without heightening
the building, by utilising the space formerly occupied by the gabled roof.
The French keeps are similar in general idea, but varied in
details. In some of them there is a large open top story, where all
the garrison might assemble for the defence of the parapets. The
Norman keeps have always walls of great thickness, and trust to the
passive resistance they thus offer to attack. The idea of defending the

=^S^3-4C^

FIG. 1. Keep of Chateau d'Arques from the North-East.

keep by flanking towers has not yet been recognised. The ground floor
is sometimes vaulted, and the upper floors are invariably of wood. There
are usually only small loops or air-holes on the ground floor, and the
windows in the upper floors are small externally, although with wide
bays internally, generally containing stone seats. In large halls there is
sometimes an upper passage in the thickness of the wall, with a row of
windows in the outside wall, and arches in the inner wall next the hall,
like the triforium arcade of a church. The interior stairs are spiral, and

FRENCH EXAMPLES

INTRODUCTION

carried up in the thickness of the walls, usually at the angles. There
are also frequently small chambers constructed in the thickness of the
walls, used as bedrooms, garde-robes, etc. These generally enter from
the ingoings of windows. The well is frequently under one of the walls,
and a circular opening is carried up to the first floor, and sometimes to
all the floors, for the supply of water.

Large keeps, like Rochester, are divided by a wall, which has often
wide-arched openings on the principal floor so as to form one large hall,
while the upper and lower floors are divided into two apartments with
doors between. The passages and stairs are generally arranged so as to
puzzle a stranger, and so that no one can go out or in without passing
through the hall and being seen. Secret passages and exits are provided

Fio. 2. Chateau d'Arques. Exterior, showing Ditch.

for escape, and there are frequently subterranean passages and stairs cut
in the rock beneath the castles, giving exit to the ditches and outworks.

These keeps are generally provided with fireplaces, and there is
usually an oratory or chapel. The kitchen is frequently not observable,
but is usually on the level of the hall, or even in the upper floors.

The following examples of Norman keeps in France and England
will explain and illustrate the above general descriptions :

The Castle of Arques (Fig. 1), in the north of France, comprises one of

INTRODUCTION

NORMAN KEEPS

the earliest keeps on record, having been built by William of Arques, uncle
of the Conqueror, in 1 039-43. The entrance is by a forework (at the right
hand in the view), the stair commencing at the north-west angle, passing
through a buttress, and then up the west side, where it was strongly

FIG. 3. Chateau de Beaugency.

defended. The buttresses in this instance project much more than usual.
The interior is divided by a central wall, and M. Viollet-le-Duc shows
how this was made available in the defence of the keep.

The general view (Fig. 2) shows the immense ditch, about 60 feet deep,

FRENCH EXAMPLES - 9 - INTRODUCTION

cut in the chalk rock, which surrounded the enceinte, and the crest of
which was fortified with a strong palisade. The dotted lines indicate the
probable finish of the top of the keep, and the ruins of the bridge which
crossed the ditch from the postern are also visible. There are numerous
sub-ways cut in the chalk rock under the wall of the enceinte, some of
which are now visible from the exterior. These were intended to coun-
teract the mining operations of the besiegers. It will be observed that
the keep is so placed as to touch the wall of the enceinte.

Beaugency (Fig. 3), on the Loire, is another French keep of great
size and height, belonging to the eleventh century. The narrow pro-
jecting buttresses are unusual features, but somewhat resemble those of
Arques. The mullioned windows, which are large compared to the
Norman openings, are evidently insertions of the sixteenth century.
The entrance door is on the first floor, without any forework.

The keep of the ancient royal castle of Loches (Indre et Loire) is
large and imposing.

The pilasters on the faces (Fig. 5) are of a form unusual in castles,
but more frequent in Ecclesiastical Architecture. The forework is also
of peculiar form, being here developed so as to form a building of the
L-plan (Fig. 4), so often adopted in later castles.

FIG. 4. Loches Keep. Plan of Basement.

There has been an external flight of steps up to the door of the fore-
work, which was on the first-floor level. The forework itself forms a
vestibule, with a staircase to the second or principal floor running round
the walls on three sides, the steps being partly overhung. There was
also a door to the first floor from the vestibule. The basement floor of

INTRODUCTION

NORMAN KEEPS

aailpii

,jp4-i , n l ;. i ,-i.J-il-' -i , 'Vr~ I , . .=

Hr5?,J,,j'.l- H : ' ! , i1 - r I \- '. : 1 4 ': I

ANGLO-ROMAN WORKS

INTRODUCTION

the vestibule was probably a prison, and the chapel was situated above
the staircase.

The walls surrounding this castle are of great extent, and are a fine
illustration of the style of the thirteenth century, and will be referred to
further on.

A greater number of Roman buildings seem to have survived the
ravages of the Norsemen in England than in Northern Gaul. At
Por,chester and Pevensey the old Roman walls and towers, with the dis-
tinctive small dressed blocks .of stone bound together with bands of thin
tiles, still remain. These old walls, built in Roman times, have since

'^ ''"'' -==^- - ^* s

Fio. 6. Colchester Castle. Exterior.

witnessed the innumerable descents of the Saxons, and the landing of the
Normans under the Conqueror. They have played an important part in
the wars between the Norman kings and their subjects ; they have seen
the sea retire for miles from their walls ; and they still subsist, in all their

INTRODUCTION

NORMAN KEEPS

solid strength, to attest the vigour and power of their originators. But
in England, as in Northern Gaul, after the tenth century, the Roman
manner of building was but little followed. Some examples, however,
remain where Roman workmanship and materials have been closely
imitated.

Colchester Castle, in Essex, for example (Fig. 6), has so great a resem-
blance to Roman work, that it was for long supposed to be a Roman build-
ing, and to have been erected as a shrine for some Pagan deity. There
seems now, however, to be no question as to its being a Norman castle,
built largely, like the priory adjoining, with bricks formed in imitation of
the Roman pattern. The Norman entrance doorway, shown on the
sketch, is a later addition ; the original keep probably dates from the
end of the eleventh century. The entrance door was then, no doubt,
on the first floor, immediately over the inserted Norman doorway. The
extent of the building and its lowness are very unusual Norman features,
but these may have been suggested by some previous Roman work on
the site. The exterior walls were cased with ashlar, which has been
to a great extent stripped off, and thus the interior construction of
the masonry becomes visible, showing courses of bricks or tiles binding
the rubblework together.

FIG. 7. Colchester Castle. Interior.

The sketch of the interior of the keep (Fig. 7) gives a fine example
of the "herring-bone" method of building with brick, derived from
Roman times, and not uncommon in Norman brick-work, as at Guildford
Castle and elsewhere.

ENGLISH EXAMPLES

INTRODUCTION

The sketch of the keep of Newcastle (Fig. 8), although the building
has been to some extent altered and restored, gives a good idea of the

FIG. S. Newcastle Keep.

appearance of a complete Norman keep with its forebuilcling, armed with
its several towers guarding the stair leading up to the main entrance on
the upper floor.

Fio. 9. Castle Hedingham.

Castle Hedingham, in Essex, is a fine and very perfect late Norman
keep. The plan (Fig. 9) shows that it is almost square, and divided into
two compartments by a central wall. The keep has the usual broad

INTRODUCTION

NORMAN KEEPS

pilasters at the angles (Fig. 10), with a square sinking on the corners, and
narrower pilasters in the centre of each face, all springing from a broad
splayed plinth. The forebuilding is much destroyed, but its outline can
still be traced, containing the stair to the main entrance on the first floor.
This doorway has recessed shafts with good Norman caps and bases, and
chevron mouldings round the arch. From this point a newel stair leads
up to the second floor, which contains the great hall, and down to the

FIG. 10. Castle Hedingham from the West.

basement, which, together with the first floor, contained the stores. The
windows are all small externally, with chevron mouldings round the
arches, but have wide square recesses internally, with full centred vaults.
In the hall they are provided with stone seats in the recesses, and the
wall arches are adorned with bold chevron ornaments. The hall is
38 feet long by 33 feet wide. We have here a fine example of the
removal of the central wall so as to form one great hall on the principal
floor. At Rochester this is effected by means of several arches, but at

ENGLISH EXAMPLES

INTRODUCTION

Hedingham the whole of the wall on the principal floor is omitted, and
the centra] wall above is supported on one grand arch which spans
the whole width of the keep, or 33 feet. This arch is enriched with

FIG. 11. Rochester Castle from the South-West.

Norman mouldings, and springs from bold caps and corbels in the side
walls.

The hall is two stories in height, and has the usual gallery running

INTRODUCTION

NORMAN KEEPS

round the upper floor, with arches in the inner wall to permit the hall to
have the benefit of light from the windows. This is probably the finest
hall of any Norman keep in England, and we regret that we are unable
to give a view of it, all sketching being most strictly prohibited.

The Castle of Rochester (Fig. 1 1) is one of the noblest of the Norman
keeps in England. Mr. Clark fixes the date of its erection in 1126.

It has the usual pilasters at the angles and on the face of the walls,
the former carried up as turrets above the roof. The windows are small,
and enriched with Norman ornament. The forework is much destroyed,
but shows how the entrance was planned and defended. The stair
(Fig. 12) commences on the west face, and has a landing at the north-
west angle, where there are the remains of the arch forming the first
door, over which there was a tower.

FIG. 12. Rochester Castle. Plan of Keep.

The stair then continues along the north front till it reaches the
level of the first floor. There the entrance to the vestibule was defended
by a moveable bridge, with a pit beneath. The staircase was roofed in,
and the passage over the drawbridge* was defended by the outer wall,
which was carried over the pit on an arch. The vestibule forms an outer
post of defence before the entrance to the keep itself is reached. The
plan shows the building divided by a wall near the centre. The well is
under the centre of this wall, and from it a circular tube in the masonry

ENGLISH EXAMPLES

imAf

INTRODUCTION

"
>

FIG. 13. Rochester Castle. Interior of Keep.

is carried up to the various floors for the supply of water. The ground
floor, and probably the first floor, were used as stores.

INTRODUCTION 7

NORMAN WORKS

From the main entrance a newel stair in the north-east angle leads
to the upper floors.

The view of the interior (Fig. 13) is taken at the level of the second, or
principal floor, where the central wall is pierced with four arches, so that
the whole might form one large hall. It appears, however, to have been
divided by a lower arcade inserted between the pillars. Over the lower
windows of this floor is a second tier of windows, between which and
the arches in the inner wall a gallery runs round the building. The
windows of the upper and lower floors are also seen. There are fire-
places on the principal floor, the chimneys from which are carried through
the wall, and find vent in the angles of the outer buttresses. None of
the floors are vaulted ; the holes in the walls show where the wooden
beams rested. The vestibule is carried up as a tower, and contains the
chapel on the upper floor, and two tiers of prisons beneath the vestibule.
The south-east angle was undermined in the siege by King John,
and rebuilt in a round form. Near this point there was a door giving
access to the battlements of the enceinte by a drawbridge from the
keep.

Dover Castle (Fig. 1 4) contains a very large and perfect keep of the
reign of Henry n.

PIG. 14. Dover Castle from the North-West.

The view shows the usual external characteristics of the Norman
keep. On the left of the keep are seen the three towers of the forework,
which here is very perfect, and leads up to the main floor of the building,
which is on the second story. Surrounding the keep are the walls and
towers of the inner or Norman ward, and the whole enceinte is enclosed

IN ENGLAND

INTRODUCTION

with the lofty walls and round towers of the thirteenth century. These

Pio. 15. Mout du Chevalier, Cannes. Keep Tower from the North-West.

are now shorn of their battlements, for which modern works are substi-
tuted. To the right is a picturesque group of buildings of later date

INTRODUCTION

KEEPS ON THE RIVIERA

(fourteenth century), called the " Constable's Gateway/' with its draw-
bridge, which formed the principal entrance to the castle.

The enceinte is surrounded on this, the most exposed side, with a
wide and deep ditch. The round tower rising in the centre of the ditch
was an outwork, dominating the higher ground to the north-west, and
communicating with the north-west angle of the enceinte by means of a
covered way, and also with a spur work erected by Hubert de Burgh in
1216 for the protection of this weak point in the defences, and now con-
verted into a modern ravelin.

From the above covered way, and in various other places, tunnels are
cut through the chalk rock to assist in the defences, as at Arques.

From an early period square towers, somewhat similar to the Norman
keeps, were in use on the coast of the Mediterranean. Many of them
still exist in the towns along the Riviera, as at Cannes, Antibes, and
many other places. These are built with solid masonry, carefully dressed
on the joints, but left rough on the face, after the Roman manner of
construction. The tower of the Mont du Chevalier, at Cannes, is a good
example. It is built on a detached and rocky promontory jutting out
into the bay, and was surrounded with a strong wall enclosing a court-
yard, which contained a chapel and other buildings.

MONT Oil CHEVALIER

CANNES

UAt>tMir<i I-T.AN FIRST FLOOR OLAN ?fCTfI5W

FIG. 16. Mont du Chevalier, Cannes.

The plans and view (Figs. 15, 16) explain its design. The basement
was vaulted, and had no windows, the only access to it being from a
trap-door in the floor above. The entrance to the tower was on the
first floor, and was reached by a wooden stair, the projecting step for
receiving the top of which still remains. From this level a stone stair,

NORMAN SHELL KEEPS 21 INTRODUCTION

corbelled out from the interior of the wall, and running round the sides
of the apartments, led to the upper floors. The roof was probably flat,
and had a parapet with crenelations, which was only destroyed some
years ago when the tower was struck by lightning.

The openings for light are small and narrow longitudinal slits in the
masonry, without splay or ornament, and they have no internal bay, but
are mere oblong holes passing through the walls.

This tower was built in the twelfth century.

The design of these southern towers was probably derived from that
of similar Roman buildings, just as the northern keeps of the Normans
may be another descendant from the same original. It will be afterwards
pointed out how the same simple form continued for several centuries to
be the ordinary plan of castles and houses in Scotland. It would thus
appear that in all places, and at all times, the simple square tower seems
to have been adopted as the most natural form in which to build a tower
of defence.

Besides these Rectangular Keeps the Normans erected another kind
of stronghold, called the Shell Keep. For several centuries before the
Norman Conquest (as already mentioned) the castles of Northern Gaul
and England consisted of earthworks with ditches and palisades, the
buildings within these strongholds, like all the domestic buildings of the
Saxons and Norsemen, generally being of wood.

A large number of these fortresses existed and were occupied at the
time of the Conquest.

They were generally well situated for defence, and, like the early
establishments of the Roman Gauls above described, they comprised an
extensive enceinte, within which was a lofty mound or motte, with its
ditch, having the chiefs house built with wood on the top. It now
(eleventh century) became the fashion with the Normans to substi-
tute stone for wood in their castles, and, finding that a solid square
keep could not safely be erected on the mottes of forced earth, they
built a wall round the top of the mound and placed their dwellings
as lean-to's against the interior of this wall, leaving a courtyard in the
centre. These Shell Keeps are polygonal or curved in form to suit the
ground.

As a rule, the Shell Keeps are always on an old mound, natural or
artificial, while the Rectangular Keeps are on new sites without mounds,
and the two forms of keep rarely occur together.

The Shell Keep, like the Rectangular Keep, is generally situated on
the enceinte, and has its own ditch and drawbridge, and a steep flight
of steps leading up the mound to the door.

Of the Shell Keep, the Castle of Gisors, near Vernon, in the north of
France, may be taken as an illustration. It has the lofty artificial mound
or motte, situated in the centre of a large enceinte surrounded with lofty

INTRODUCTION

NORMAN SHELL KEEPS

walls, the fine gateways of which still exist. On the top of the motte
is the shell (Fig. 17) or wall of polygonal form, with flat pilasters on
the angles. The entrance door is seen on the left, a plain archway, to
which a straight flight of steps led up from the level ground below,
where there was, no doubt, a drawbridge over a ditch which surrounded
the motte, but is now filled up. There is a small keep or tower opposite
the entrance, and the remains of a Norman chapel with circular apse
against the wall of the shell.

FIG. IT. Gisors Castle. Motte and Keep.

The other buildings would be erected round the wall on the various
sides. This keep was probably built in the latter half of the twelfth
century.

The great tower of Windsor Castle (now rebuilt) gives an idea of the
effect of a great shell keep raised on a lofty mound. Berkeley Castle,
Gloucestershire, Durham Castle, and numerous other shell keeps, are
fully described by Mr. Clark in his work on the Castles of England.

Norman keeps had always one or more castle garths or courtyards
attached to them, enclosed with a curtain wall connecting with the
keep, but not generally giving access to it from the wall battlements.
Sometimes, as at Rochester, the keep is placed near the wall of the
enceinte, but not touching it, so that it may either be joined to it by

NORMAN HALLS AND HOUSES 23 INTRODUCTION

means of a moveable bridge, or separated as required. There were
square flanking towers at the corners of the enceinte, and at intervals
along the curtains. These had usually wooden floors and stairs. The
ditches are large and deep, and the counterscarp is protected by a
palisade, as at Arques. The gateways are not important, and there does
not appear to have been any outer barbican protecting them.

The enclosing walls, like the keeps, had no machicolated parapets,
but it is probable that they were armed in some cases with projecting
wooden hoards or breteches, such as we shall see were so prominently
used in the succeeding styles.

These keeps must certainly not have been very comfortable or luxu-
rious places of residence, and as the Norman nobles became more settled
in their possessions, they gradually began to build themselves more
comfortable dwellings in the inner courtyard, reserving the keep as a
place of last retreat in case of siege. The principal building in the
inner court was the hall, with its appendages. The hall was a large
building of stone or wood. It was either on the ground floor, or
placed above a half-sunk story. In some of the larger examples the
roof was supported either with one row of stone or wooden pillars down
the centre,* or with two rows of pillars, dividing the building into a
central nave and side aisles like a church. Of this class we have still a
fine example at Oakham, in Rutlandshire. (See Parker.) There was
also erected in the court a solar or lord's room, generally over a cellar.
The kitchen seems to have been originally a temporary wooden erection
left open above. The buttery, pantry, etc., were also in use, but their
position is not quite distinct ; they were, however, probably near the
entrance to the hall. It should be kept in mind that these were all
detached erections, and that the offices, lodgings for soldiers, guests, etc.
were usually temporary wooden structures, put up as they were required,
and as speedily removed. In the outer court were situated a chapel for
the garrison, barracks for the men, stables and sheds for horses and
cattle, etc. The halls were sometimes defended with thick walls,
crenelated pai'apets, and buttresses with projecting bartizans.

In towns the houses were almost universally of wood, and thatched,
and only one story high. In London this was the case previous to the
great fire in Stephen's reign, when regulations were made as to
building party walls of stone. Some houses, however, still exist
built with stone, and two stories in height, such as the Jew's house
at Lincoln, a house at Southampton, etc. In these cases the living-
rooms were on the first floor, the ground floor being probably used for
stores. Fireplaces are usual, and the flues seem to have been (as at
Lincoln) in the side walls, not the gables. The iron-work of this period
is of the florid description usual throughout the middle ages. One
striking peculiarity is that the external ashlar work of good buildings

INTRODUCTION

MODIFICATIONS OF

appears to have been painted the alternate stones of different colours,
like a chess-board and in order to carry this idea out the masonry was
frequently plastered. This may perhaps have been a tradition from the
Saxon times, when the wooden buildings then in use were undoubtedly
painted externally.

In all the civil buildings of the period (twelfth century) there are
abundance of characteristic Norman mouldings and enrichments, corre-
sponding in style with the ecclesiastical edifices of the same date. The
Norman style of castles continued till the close of the twelfth century.
In that century considerable advancement had been made in the military
art. During the Crusades the soldiers of the West had been taught
many valuable lessons in the East, and in particular the use of improved
military engines for the attack and defence of places. From about 1150
there were introduced powerful machines for throwing great stones,
strong cats, or sheds on wheels, for defending the miners during their
operations at the base of the walls, moveable towers for attacking the
parapets of the curtains, etc.

It was then found that the angles of the square keeps were weak,
and presented a tempting point for the attack of the miners w T hile there
were no flanking works to defend them. This led to the adoption of various
modifications of the form of plan with the view of overcoming these de-
fects. Of these modifications of plan we have a fine example at fitampes,
between Paris and Orleans. This keep is built on plan (Fig. 1 8) in the form
of a quatrefoil. The keeps of York and Warwick were also of that form.

Sprint/in^ fffatktt

FIG. 18. Chateau d'Etampes. Plan.

Ktampes belongs to the latter half of the twelfth century. The
details of the caps and bases of the columns of the upper story are of that

THE KEEP PLAN

INTRODUCTION

date. Here the entrance (Fig. 19) (now destroyed, but restored in the
drawing) was on a landing half-way between the basement and the first-
floor level, and was approached by
a drawbridge from the wall of the
enceinte. The aperture over the
door opens into a small room in the
thickness of the wall, from which the
drawbridge was worked. A stair in
the thickness of the wall leads to
the upper floor, and also descends to
the basement, where the well is still
to be seen. The upper floors were
vaulted in a peculiar manner ; the
imposts of the arches still exist.

M. Viollet-le-Duc gives a very
interesting restoration of this build-
ing, showing how the upper floors
were utilised in connection with the
defence of the keep.

The sketch indicates (to the left)
the probable appearance of the keep
in time of peace, and also (to the
right) the " hoards " or overhanging
wooden defences with which it was
armed in time of siege.

The Chateau Gaillard, on the
Seine, built by Richard i. at the end
of the twelfth century, is a splendid

example of the castles of this transition period. It is situated on a lofty
and detached promontory of chalk rock overlooking the course of the
Seine, and defending the passage from the royal domain into Normandy.

The disposition of the various parts of the buildings and defences
may still be distinctly traced, although the buildings are now much
ruined. The plan of the Castle is given in M. Viollet-le-Duc's Dictionary.

The keep (Fig. 20) is of a rounded form, but it has the wall strength-
ened with a sharp angle or keel jutted out opposite the weakest side. It
is placed on the enceinte at the highest and most precipitous part of
the cliff. The defensive works are peculiar, and consist of a parapet
with large machicolations, an invention which M. Viollet-le-Duc attributes
to King Richard. The parapet is set on the top of buttresses, which rise
out of the sloping wall of the building, and the arches thrown across
between these buttresses left a long opening or machicolis between them
and the wall, from which missiles could be thrown on besiegers.

The enceinte of the inner bailey is of a remarkable form, consisting

FIG. 19. Chateau d'Etampes.

INTRODUCTION

MODIFICATIONS OF

THE KEEP PLAN

INTRODUCTION

of a series of curved projections or rounds, so designed that every part of
the base could be seen and defended from several parts of the parapet.
The whole was further strengthened by a deep ditch cut in the rock.

The outer ward had also a lofty wall and deep ditch, and was fortified
with round towers.

A triangular outwork to the east, also furnished with lofty round
towers, guarded the approach from that quarter where the promontory
joins the mainland.

In 1204 this castle stood a memorable siege by Philip Augustus, by
whom it was taken from King John.

Fid. 21. Chateau de Provins. Plan.

The Castle of Provins (south-east of Paris) is another instance of the
various forms which were tried in the twelfth century. It is an octagon
on plan (Fig. 21), four of the sides being smaller than the others, and
having semicircular projections upon them. These in the upper stories
become detached circular turrets, connected in their upper part by a
flying buttress with the main keep (Fig. 22).

The entrance to the keep was by a drawbridge from the wall of the
enceinte. M. Viollet-le-Duc supposes that there were drawbridges from
the projecting ledge at the doors on the four sides to the enceinte. A

INTRODUCTION

MODIFICATIONS OF

covered way for defence runs round the keep above the first-floor level,
and above this were hoards projected out to a great distance. These,,
together with the angle turrets, enabled the garrison to attack the
assailants on all sides and guard the keep in every direction.

FIG. 2-2. Chateau de Provins.

The existing upper story of the keep is modern, and the space within
the enclosing wall or chemise was filled up by the English, when they
took the place in the fifteenth century, in order to form a platform for
their guns.

Of the transition period at the end of the twelfth century, England
possesses one very fine example in Conisborough Castle, Yorkshire (Fig. 23).

This castle has been well illustrated and described by Mr. Clark. It

THE KEEP PLAN

INTRODUCTION

stands on the top of a steep rocky promontory, which was originally a
Saxon stronghold, with its great ditch and palisaded crest, and lofty
motte crowned with a wooden castle. The present castle appears to
have been built by Hamelin Plantagenet, who held the Earldom of
Warren from 1163 to 1201. The keep is circular, but has six buttresses,
half hexagons in form, projecting from it, and giving it at a distance very
much the appearance of the older square keep of the Normans.

Fio. 23. Conisborough Castle.

The keep is 66 feet in diameter, and measures 80 feet over the but-
tresses. The walls are 15 feet thick, and 90 to 100 feet high. The
entrance door is 20 feet above the ground, and the stairs to the upper
floors wind round in the thickness of the walls. The basement floor is
vaulted, and has a deep well in the centre, and an aperture in the vault
above to enable the water to be drawn up. Neither the basement nor

INTRODUCTION

13TH CENT. ROUND TOWERS

first floor have any loopholes for light ; these must therefore have both
been used as stores.

The hall is on the second floor,, and the private room on the third
floor. Above this there was also a room entering from the parapet walk
for the garrison.

FIG. 24. Conisborough Castle. Chapel.

The hall and private room have both fine chimneys, and the former
has a window with full-centred recess and stone seats, such as are usual
in Norman keeps, and which we shall find common in Scotch keeps to a
very late period. Off the private room there is a beautiful little oratory
built in the thickness of one of the buttresses. The style of ornamenta-
tion fixes distinctly the date of the building towards the end of the
twelfth century.

The buttresses are carried up as turrets above the parapet, and one
of them is fitted up with an oven, so that the baking may have been

AND WALLS OF ENCEINTE 31 INTRODUCTION

done thei'e, and the room in the roof may have been used as the kitchen.
Another turret seems to have been designed for a dovecot, a mode
of providing for the wants of the besieged which was also adopted in
Scotch castles.

There is a large inner ward connected with the keep, in which the
hall and other domestic apartments were situated. The keep was evi-
dently not intended for a residence, but only as a place of last refuge in
case of siege.

The above peculiar forms were ultimately superseded by Round
keeps and towers, which were, for the same reason as the above
varieties, introduced in place of square keeps by Philip Augustus ;
square towers being vulnerable at the angles, while no part of the
circle was more exposed to the operations of the sapper than another.
The round form was also more convenient for vaulting, which it was
now found desirable to substitute for wooden floors, to render the
building secure against fire. Along with the introduction of the
round form of tower, the number of towers used for the defence of
the enceinte was also greatly increased, and these towers were themselves
frequently of great size and strength. By degrees the keep came to
hold a secondary place in the defences, and chief reliance was placed
on the towers and other subsidiary works, or rather the whole castle
became a great keep, of which all the parts were artfully combined
in such a manner as to be independent, while yet protecting one
another. The law now came to be applied, that " that which defends
should itself be defended." Each tower and separate part of the castle
was self-contained, and possessed complete means of resistance, being
provided with its own garrison and commander, with the necessary
munitions and victuals, and free exit for assuming the offensive or for
escape, while at the same time every tower was defended by its neigh-
bours, and the curtains were flanked by the towers. The various towers
were garrisoned in time of danger by the vassals, each tower being
generally named after the vassal whose duty it was to defend it. The
proprietor, shut up in his keep with his chosen band of followers, was
thus independent of his vassals, in whom he could not always place full
reliance. This system was in complete operation about the year 1200,
and prevailed during the thirteenth century.

In the view of Loches, given above (Fig. 5), the walls of the enceinte,
with their strengthening towers, are well illustrated. We have also
here the keel or sharp angle on the face of the round towers, which
was a favourite feature in France, but was never adopted in England.
There is, however, an example at Bothwell Castle, in Scotland. The
accompanying sketch of the gate and walls of Aigues Mortes (Fig. 25)
shows the enceinte of a thirteenth-century town in wonderful preserva-
tion. This town was the port of France in the Mediterranean at the

INTRODUCTION

WALLS OF ENCEINTE

FRENCH EXAMPLES, 13TH CENT. 33

INTRODUCTION

time of St. Louis, and it was from here that he sailed on his last crusade.
The walls were begun by him, and finished by Philippe le Hardi, and
they still remain almost as entire as the day they were completed in the
thirteenth century.

In further illustration of the walls of enceinte of the thirteenth
century, we give a general view of the Castle of St. Andre (Fig. 26), on
the west side of the Rhone, immediately opposite Avignon.

FIG. 26. Chateau de St. Andre, Villeneuve lez Avignon.

This castle was built by Philip the Fair, at the end of the thirteenth
century, for the defence of his territory on the right bank of the river.
The general effect of these walls is similar to that of some of our English
castles, such as Pevensey, and, as will be hereafter seen, has a striking
resemblance to some of the early Scotch castles, notably that of Dun-
staffnage. The round tower at the angle is only slightly pi-ojected
beyond the face of the wall, being on a rocky platform like Dunstaffnage.
It has not the bold relief which distinguishes the round towers of the
period, as at Pevensey, when not limited by the nature of the site.

The gateway (Figs. 27, 28) is a splendid specimen of this class of
building of the fourteenth century, and we shall find as we proceed that
similar gateways were not unknown in Scotland.

The Tour du Pont (Fig. 29), at Villeneuve, also erected by Philip the
Fair in 1307, to guard the passage into his dominions from Provence by

INTRODUCTION

WALLS OF ENCEINTE

the Bridge of St. Benezet at Avignon, is given as a striking example of
a simple fort of the fourteenth century, and as presenting a remarkable

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resemblance to many of the fourteenth and fifteenth century keeps of
Scotland, such as Clackmannan.

During this century the internal domestic arrangements continued

AND GATEWAYS, 13jH CENT.

INTRODUCTION

FIG. 28. Chateau de St. Andre, Villeneuve lez Avignon. Gateway.

very much as in the later Norman castles, except that the lords began to
isolate themselves and families from the garrison. Each castle contained.

INTRODUCTION

13TH CENT. DONJONS

besides the donjon (or place of retreat in danger), the hall, where the
master and his retainers all lived and had their meals together, with the
kitchen, buttery, and pantry at one end, and the lord's chamber or
" solar " at the other, generally on an upper floor above a cellar.

FIG. 29. Tour du Pont, Villeneuve.

The donjons were planned with great diversity of arrangements for
secrecy ; they were not occupied in time of peace, and no strangers were
admitted to them. Roche Guyon, between Paris and Rouen, is a good
example of the care taken in the defence of the donjon. The habitable
castle is built at the base of a lofty chalk cliff close to the Seine, and the
donjon on the summit is approached by subterranean passages cut
through the rock, which have stairs and pitfalls in them. From these
the passage ascends to the rampart of the outer wall ; it crosses thence to
the rampart of the inner defending wall or chemise of the donjon by a
moveable wooden bridge, and from the chemise to the door of the donjon
by another moveable bridge. The north side of this donjon being over-

FRENCH EXAMPLES 37 INTRODUCTION

looked by higher ground, the walls, both of the donjon and the enceinte,

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WfpP

^rjafttfiw?

are thickened enormously, and run out to a sharp point or " bee " opposite
the dangerous place (like the angle of the keep of Chateau Gaillard).

INTRODUCTION

13TH CENT. FORTIFICATIONS

Of this period is the great Chateau de Coucy (Fig. 30), the circular
keep of which M. Viollet-le-Duc justly calls the grandest military structure
in Europe. The aspect of this immense keep and the massive towers and
walls, when seen from a distance, is most impressive. This castle was
built by the Duke Enguerrand in., 1223-30. The plan (from M. Viollet-
le-Duc's Dtetionntatre) shows the great extent of the buildings, and the
numerous halls and domestic buildings erected round the courtyard, as well
as the great towers boldly projected at the angles for the defence of the

FIG. 31. Chateau de Coucy. Plan.

curtains, everything being on the most gigantic scale (Fig. 31). Here
the great round donjon does not profess to be a residence, it is simply
a redoubt or last refuge in case of siege. This immense tower is
about 95 feet in diameter, and 215 feet high, and the walls are 25 feet
in thickness. It is surrounded by a separate ditch, with its chemise or
enclosing wall, from which a moveable bridge leads to the entrance door.
The interior contains one vast apartment or hall on each floor, and all
were vaulted with groined arches, which had a circular aperture in the
centre of the vault, through which materials of war might be hoisted to

WOODEN HOARDS 39 INTRODUCTION

the roof, where the defences were situated. There are only three
stories in the height of the building, so that each floor is very lofty, the
great hall being about 40 feet to the crown of the vault. The principal
hall, which is on the second or highest floor, is of great size, with a
raised gallery in the thickness of the wall all round, and could contain
an assembled garrison of several hundred men. The openings in the
walls are small till the parapet is reached. There we find a series of
large stone corbels for carrying the hoards, and doors in the parapet for
access to them. Above these the wall is crowned with a. carved and
foliated cornice.

We have here a good opportunity of examining the hoards or wooden
defences already several times referred to. These were universally
adopted in the castles of the thirteenth century. They consist of
Wooden boardings projected from the face of the parapet for the pro-
tection of the defenders, and in order to enable them the better to see
and command the base of the curtains and towers. The boarding is
carried by wooden beams run out from holes in the walls made to
receive them, and these are supported and strutted by stays resting
on wooden putlogs or stone corbels. The Tower of Jeanne d'Arc, at
Rouen (Fig. 32), has been restored in imitation of old examples, and
is armed with hoards as of old.

It is curious to trace the history of the use of wood in the con-
struction and defences of mediaeval castles. At first we find the whole
of the erections in the castle, with its dependencies and enclosing pali-
sade, constructed entirely of wood. The first change was the introduc-
tion of stone for the construction of the keep or chief stronghold, which
was thus rendered secure against fire. Then it was found desirable to
prevent the enclosing fortifications from being easily destroyed with fire,
and a stone wall is substituted for the wooden palisade. Wooden
defences are still adhered to, but they are now raised to the top of the
walls in the form of hoards. At Aigues Mortes the apertures for the
putlogs used for supporting the hoards are perfectly preserved. (See
sketch.) By and by the engines of attack became powerful enough to
throw missiles which destroyed these hoards, and fire-balls which set them
on fire. It then became necessary to make the hoards of stone likewise ;
but this change is introduced very gradually. First stone corbels are
used instead of wooden putlogs to support the wooden stays, then larger
corbels are substituted for the wooden struts (as at Coucy), and finally
the hoarding or parapet itself is built with stone. This last change did
not take place till about the beginning of the fourteenth century.

The general adoption of vaulting in keeps arose from the same desire
to avoid conflagration. Norman keeps were often floored entirely with
wood. Sometimes the basement only was vaulted, the other floors being
of wood. But now, with the introduction of the circular form of tower,

INTRODUCTION

1STH CENT. CASTLES

vaulting was simplified, and was adopted for every floor, so that keeps
and towers thus treated were rendered practically fireproof.

Fro. 32. Tour ile Jeanne d'Arc, Rouen.

Other improvements were rapidly introduced during the great
building epoch of the thirteenth century, till at the close of the century
we reach the point at which the castle and the palace are combined in
one. We have seen above that the great enclosing walls of the enceinte
contained originally, besides the keep, only offices hastily constructed in
wood, and thrown into the centre of the court so as to allow the military
engines to be used close to the curtains. These offices were subsequently
built in stone against the walls, and gradually improved upon and joined
to one another with covered corridors, till at last they were drawn to-
gether so as to form a compact dwelling.

Up to this point the castles are more works of military engineering
than of architecture, but from the thirteenth century they become
fine specimens of domestic architecture. Such castles as Coucy are
magnificent residences as well as strong castles, provided with all the
apartments necessary for the life of a nobleman living on his domains,
and surrounded by his court and garrison.

At this period feudalism had reached its height in France. From

ENGLISH EXAMPLES

INTRODUCTION

this time the power and riches of the great independent nobles were
gradually lost and destroyed, and that of the Crown increased. St.
Louis induced the nobles to engage in Crusades in order to occupy
them and their warlike dependants. These expeditions resulted in great
losses to the nobility, and a crippling of their power and resources.
Hence few castles were built in France between 1240 and 1340.

Similar changes to those in France took place at this time in England
in the construction of castles. In the reign of Henry in. few new
castles were built, the country having been well supplied during the
Norman times. The Norman castles were, however, added to and
improved. The enceinte was enlarged, and the outworks strengthened.
The palisades gave place to stone walls, and mural towers and gateways
of great strength were added. These were sometimes concentric round
the keep, and sometimes the keep was attached to the walls, either
outer or central. During the thirteenth century manor-houses increased,
and the castles became more domestic. The keep was abandoned and

ui. 33. Carnarvon Castle from the North-West.

often allowed to become ruinous. The hall and chambers, chapel, etc.
(as at the end of the twelfth century), were built in the inner bailey, and
buildings of wood and plaster for the immediate requirements of large

INTRODUCTION

13TH CENT. CASTLES'

establishments, were reared within the enceinte ; but these buildings,
formerly detached, were now connected with covered corridors. The end
of the thirteenth century and part of the fourteenth is, however, marked
by the erection of the great castles of the Edwardian period. These
consist of lofty fortified walls enclosing one or more courtyards ; there are
generally two, called the outer and inner wards. These walls are flanked
and strengthened by towers, generally round, and rising high above the
curtains. These round towers were introduced about the middle of the
Early English period. The keeps erected at this time are also frequently
round, and strengthened with buttresses, like Conisborough. The door
is usually on the first floor, and is entered by an external stair of stone
or wood, or by a drawbridge, and is frequently defended by a portcullis.
The battlements are provided at first with wooden hoards, and after-
wards with stone corbels and parapets.

Carnarvon Castle (Fig. 33), in North Wales, is one of the finest of the
Edwardian castles. It is of great extent, and in plan is shaped some-
what like an hour-glass, to suit the form of the site. The enceinte is of
great height and strength, and contains three tiers of defences, viz., two
galleries with loop-holes in the thickness of the walls, and the parapet
walk above. The towers are here octagonal in form. The sketch shows
the Eagle Tower, which is the largest, and seems to have been intended
as a kind of redoubt. This castle was begun by Edward i. in 1283, and
finished by Edward n. in 1322. The similar great castles of Conway,
Beaumaris, Harlech, and Caerphilly were built about the same time to
keep Wales in subjection.

FIG. 34. Pevensey Castle, Sussex.

Pevensey has already been referred to as exhibiting Roman work in
its outer walls. But within the Roman walls a portion of the site was in
Saxon times cut off by a deep ditch, and a motte erected within this
defence.

ENGLISH EXAMPLES 43 INTRODUCTION

Still later in the thirteenth century a mediaeval wall of enceinte
(Fig. 34) was erected within the moat, and strongly fortified with salient
round towers, similar to those in use at this time in France, and not
unlike some we shall meet with in Scotland.

The English round towers of this period are, however, greatly
inferior, both in size and richness, to those of France. But much was
done in England at this time to improve the comfort of the castles.
These are generally of a smaller type than the French ones, and rather
resemble fortified residences. The power of the sovereign, being
sooner established in England than in France, may account for the
comparative inferiority of the English castles ; the royal fortresses, how-
ever, such as the Edwardian castles above referred to, were of great
extent, but the nobles did not attempt to rival them.

Fireplaces become general in all the apartments, though these, being
often only made of lath and plaster, are in many instances not now dis-
coverable. The rooms are decorated with fresco painting. Glass is
gradually introduced in the windows, although glass was not manufac-
tured in England till the fifteenth century. There is a steady growth in
wealth and luxury, and the lords and ladies forsake the gloomy donjons
for the pleasanter apartments built round the walls. The manor-houses
of this century also show an improvement on those of the twelfth century.
They have now a larger number of chambers, as for instance at Charney,
where the -buildings form three sides of a quadrangle, and are two
stories in height, the upper floor being habitable apartments, and the
lower floor cellars, etc. The entrance to the upper floor was by an
outside stair, usually of wood, with penthouse roof. Stokesay, Shrop-
shire, is an excellent example of the fortified manor of this period
(about 1300), also Somerton Castle, Lincolnshire, which belonged to
Anthony de Bee (licensed 1281), and presents a good example of the
round towers of the period. (See Parker.) The mouldings used give
some indication of the date of the buildings, but plain splays are often
employed. In the early English castles the buttresses are bold, and the
nook-shafts, ribs of the groins, etc., indicate the same date as similar
features of ecclesiastical architecture.

During the course of the fourteenth century, military and domestic
architecture made still further progress.

As the science of attack and defence advanced, it was found that the
old system of multiplying and complicating the difficulties of access,
notwithstanding the great skill displayed in arranging the details of the
defence, was a mistake in principle. The works proved too crowded ;
there was not sufficient space for the defenders at the critical points ;
the obstacles accumulated in a small space were found to do more harm
than good, by preventing a sufficient number of men being brought into
action at once ; and these obstacles, when taken, gave shelter and

INTRODUCTION 44 14TH CENT. CASTLES

protection to the besiegers. For instance, when the enceinte was taken,
and the defenders had to retire for safety to the keep, they were unable
with sufficient rapidity to climb the narrow ladder leading to the lofty
door,' and were exposed to be cut off.

It was thus found necessary to abandon the system of isolated
defences. The garrison was no longer divided up into independent
detachments, each occupying its own post ; the whole were united under
one central command. Now, therefore, every facility was given for
moving men from one part of the works to another, and the outer
fortifications strengthened by every means the architect's ingenuity
could devise. A smaller garrison of picked men was then found more
suitable than the large garrisons of earlier times, composed of untrained
vassals. The donjon was still retained, but it was now constructed
more in the form of a dwelling than of a redoubt, and relied for security
not so much on its own strength of construction, as on the numerous
defences which surrounded it. The outer works adjoining the ditches
were strengthened and provided with crenelated walls and rampai-t
walks. The curtains are heightened and furnished with two stages of
defences ; first, the projecting parapet with machicolations and loops,
crowned by a second parapet with embrasures and loop-holes.

In the case of the towers, these stories of defence are increased to
three, and even five stages in height.

The extra height of the curtains guarded against escalade, and a
broad talus or ramp at the base not only strengthened the wall, but
saved it from the attack of the miner by keeping the assailants well
out, and exposing them to the missiles from above. There were no
openings in the lower part of the main walls, and the various towers
and parapets were so planned as to cover and protect one another.
The gateways were of course defended in a special manner, having
miniature castles erected beyond the ditch to cover the approach.

Behind these extensive works a skilful commander with a small garrison
could defy the attack of a large army. The defence now had the better
of the attack. But this pre-eminence did not last long, and the tables were
soon to be turned by the introduction of gunpowder in the attack of strong
places. This took place about the beginning of the fifteenth century.

While the above changes were going on in the defences of the castles,
considerable modifications were also gradually introduced into the habita-
tions within the walls. During the fourteenth century chivalry advanced
and manners softened. The apartments were no longer limited to the
hall, with solar and kitchen, and a few other rooms. Great suites of halls,
reception rooms, private rooms, bedrooms, etc., were now introduced.

The Castle of Pierrefonds, built by the Due d'Orleans about 1400,
is a very fine example of the castle of the period, presenting a com-
plete representation of the most powerful fortification, combined with

FRENCH EXAMPLES

INTRODUCTION

14TH CENT. CASTLES

the amenities of a noble mansion. The plan of this castle (Fig. 37, from
M. Viollet-le-Duc's Dictionnaire), together with the sketches (Figs. 35, 36),
will explain the arrangements and defences of this splendid building, which
has within recent years been admirably restored by M. Viollet-le-Duc.

FIG. 36. Chateau de Pierrefonds. West Side.

The entrance gateway, provided with drawbridge, etc., is covered by
an enormous round tower forming part of the donjon or keep. This is
110 longer a simple tower or redoubt, as at Coucy, but contains an exten-
sive suite of apartments forming the residence of the lord and his family.
The entrance is by a handsome perron, or open staircase, and the rooms
are all decorated with painting and carved work. Along the west and
north sides of the courtyard there is a series of splendid reception rooms,
hall of justice, etc., and on the east side the chapel and a small courtyard

FRENCH EXAMPLES

INTRODUCTION

through which provisions, etc., were hoisted into the castle by a postern,
without the necessity of admitting strangers into the inner ward. This
courtyard also served to isolate the keep from the rest of the castle.

The towers are all of great height and strength. They are solid
below, and provided with several tiers of defences at the summit.

The view of the south front (Fig. 35) gives a general idea of the aspect
of the castle, while the sketch of part of the west side shows the various
stages of defences with which the towers and curtains are armed.

FIG. 37. Chateau de Pierrefouds. Ground-Plan.

During the fourteenth century the Castellated and Domestic Archi-
tecture of England took a somewhat different course from that of France.
Instead of devoting their attention to the perfecting of the defences, the
English architects were chiefly intent on still further improving the con-
venience and comfort of the interior accommodation. The halls were
increased in size and in number there being frequently a great hall and
a little hall, each having its separate kitchen and offices. The private
rooms were also increased in number and importance. The lord had no
longer only one solar, which acted as private room for himself and family.
There were a lord's room and a lady's room, family bedroom and guests'
apartments. Bath-rooms were also in use. These apartments were
placed in wings attached to the hall. Parlours and private dining-rooms
were also now introduced, and large rooms for wardrobes. The chapel
was also an important chamber, and had peculiar arrangements. The
chancel was lofty, and was provided with a large east window. But con-
nected with it there was sometimes a nave or room of two stories in the
height of the chancel the upper part, or "oriel," being used by the lord
and his family, and the lower part by the domestics. The hall was the

INTRODUCTION

14TH CENT. CASTLES

prominent feature in every dwelling, and it was then arranged exactly as
it has continued to be till the present day in the halls of the various
Colleges and Inns of Court. It had a raised dais at one end, with lofty
oriel window, and communicated with the lord's apartments and the
chapel. At the other end was the screen, made of wood, which formed
the passage from the entrance, and over which was situated the minsti-els'
gallery. The screen was frequently richly carved and ornamented. At
the opposite side of the screen from the hall were generally three doors
the central one leading to the kitchen, while the side doors led, one
to the pantry, the other to the buttery. In the screens was placed a
lavatory for washing hands, and sometimes also a stone sideboard, both
of which were often highly enriched.

The dais and private rooms were sometimes adorned with tapestry
hangings, which were introduced in the fourteenth century.

FIG. 38. Warwick Castle.

The hall was generally heated by a large hearth in the centre^ the
smoke escaping by the louvre in the roof. The hall was either on the
ground floor or first floor (with cellars under), but always had an open
timber roof. It had either a porch at the entrance or an outside stair, as
required, the latter having a penthouse roof.

ENGLISH EXAMPLES 49 INTRODUCTION

The detached kitchens, bakehouses, brewhouses, etc., beautifully con-
structed in stone, which still exist at Glastonbury, Stanton Harcourt, and
elsewhere, are a remnant of the old fashion of building all the offices
apart from the main building.

The Castle of Warwick (Fig. 38), rebuilt by Thomas Beauchamp, Earl
of Warwick, in 1360-69, illustrates the dispositions of the various halls
and other apartments at that time. (See plans in Parker.) We have here
the great hall and the little hall, a separate dining-room and drawing-
room, private rooms, numerous bedrooms, etc. The enceinte is fortified
with two great towers at the angles, called Caesar's Tower and Guy's
Tower, with a large gatehouse between, provided with a barbican or
outer fortification. The sketch of Caesar's Tower (Fig. 38) shows that the
English Castellated Architecture of the period was but little inferior
to that of France, and forms a good companion picture to the view of
the Western Towers of Pierrefonds.

Bodiam Castle, Sussex (Fig. 39), is also a good example of an English
castle of the end of the fourteenth century, the licence to build it having
been granted in 1385. The building consists of a quadrangle 152 feet
by 138 feet over the walls, which rise directly from the water of the moat
which surrounds it. This has been formed artificially, by excavation on
one side and damming up on the other, and is still in good preserva-
tion. The sketch shows the north and east fronts, with the principal
entrance to the castle in the centre of the former, approached by a cause-
way with drawbridge and barbican, the remains of which are visible.
The curtain walls are 40 - 6 high, and the towers are 56 feet high, and
are provided with stone parapets and machicolations.

The entrance gateway is finely vaulted, and has the usual portcullis
and gates. The hall and kitchen occupy the south side of the quadrangle ;
the passage through the "screens," which has three service doors, leads
to a postern opening on the moat. Everything here betokens a castle
built for strength. There are few and small openings to the exterior,
all the principal windows being to the courtyard ; but, although strong,
it is manifestly very inferior as a fortress to such buildings as Pierre-
fonds. The chapel and private I'ooms occupied the east side, and bar-
racks and offices the west side.

Manor-houses were frequently erected in the form of a quadrangle,
having the hall and principal apartments on one side, stables and offices
on other two sides, and the gatehouse on the fourth side. They are
invariably surrounded with a moat, and protected by a drawbridge and
portcullis. The wings sometimes form towers of three or four stories
in height. The outbuildings are still frequently of wood. Every house
of any importance is fortified, so that it is difficult to draw the line
between the house and the castle or fortress, the latter having always
habitable parts, and the former being strongly fortified.

INTRODUCTION

50 15TH CENT. MODIFICATIONS

:.-^; '. .; . &i38i '

CAUSED BY GUNPOWDER 51 INTRODUCTION

Many manors had towers attached to them, both for security and as
adding dignity, in the same way as the towns marked their rank and
freedom by their belfries.

Another class of manors were built in the form of a tower, generally
of three stories in height, and with windows on all sides. These had
turrets at the angles, which contained bedrooms, offices, closets, and
staircases. They also had a wall or palisade enclosing a court, surrounded
by a moat, with gatehouse, etc. -

In disturbed districts these tower houses had the ground floor vaulted.
The hall and rooms above were entered by an outside stair to the first
floor, as in the older keeps. The guard-room and prison were generally
on the ground floor.

Although gunpowder had been used to a considerable extent during
the fourteenth century, it was not till the fifteenth century that it was
made available in the form of siege artillery. About the year 1400
cannons were employed chiefly in the field against troops. By 1430 the
Royal armies had begun to use cannon against fortresses, and, by the
middle of the century, it was recognised as a principle in the construc-
tion of castles that they should be built so as to resist artillery. But
the feudal nobles were hard to convince that their magnificent castles,
which had been reared at so much expense and with so much care, were
not impregnable ; and they still clung to the old and cherished forms of
lofty towers and curtains, crowned with parapets and machicolations.

For some time efforts were made to defend castles against artillery
by the erection of outworks, like barbicans, in front of the gates. These
were armed with guns, the loopholes being pierced at the base of the
walls. Outworks were also constructed in advance of the walls, so as to
keep the guns of the besiegers at a distance, and so save the walls ;
but it was soon found, as the science of artillery improved, that these
outworks were of no use, and that the walls could be battered by guns
from a much greater distance.

Attempts were also made to arm the towers and walls with cannons.
Flat platforms were substituted for the old conical roofs of the towers,
and cannons were placed upon them ; but the towers were too weak and
too small in diameter for guns of any useful size, and the plunging fire
from such a height did little harm.

At length, towards the end of the fifteenth century, large siege-guns
came into use, and then the nobles had, however unwillingly, to accept
the position, and admit themselves convinced that their castles could no
longer resist this new means of attack. It now became clear that hence-
forward fortresses must be large, with extended works, too great for single
individuals to carry out, and that such constructions must therefore be
national, and undertaken by Royalty only.

Thus it came about that the nobility, finding their castles useless for

INTRODUCTION 52 15TH CENT. CASTLES

defence, gradually did away with the ponderous and gloomy walls which
surrounded them, and opened them up for their own pleasure and
comfort.

At this time also many of the French nobles who had been engaged
in the wars in Italy had there seen and appreciated the delightful open
villas of that country, and on their return home to France they hastened
to make their own castles as like them as possible. They threw down
the curtain walls, and erected convenient domestic buildings instead,
with large windows, commanding the finest views over the country,
without reference to defensive requirements.

But the old habits and traditions were not easily overcome, and it
was not till the days of Louis xiv. that the symmetrical Italian fagade
completely displaced the old mediaeval style. For long the plan and
distribution of the apartments remained perfectly French, although the
details began gradually to show signs of an Italian feeling. The castles
still preserved their complicated entrances, with moat, drawbridges,
flanking towers, projecting bartizans, machicolations, etc.

But these were not built for the purpose of resisting a siege, but
rather in imitation of the features of the feudal fortress, and as symbols
of the power and importance which had once belonged to these forti-
fications.

Hence it resulted that these features, no longer employed for their
old uses, but merely for ornament, came to be fancifully disposed, and
infinitely multiplied. The covered passages, for instance, formerly required
for the service of the machicolations, were still continued, but only used
as passages of communication to the various rooms. The great corbels,
which formerly carried the overhanging parapet, now only supported an
ornamental cornice, and were therefore soon broken up into small and
fanciful mouldings. The parapets themselves became mere decorative
features, the eaves of the roof being raised to the top of them, and so
with all the other features of the mediaeval castle. These Renaissance
castles are characteristic of the early part of the sixteenth century.
They were generally planned with a chief or inner courtyard, which con-
tained the hall, with the domestic apartments of the owner, kitchen,
offices, etc., and an outer court for the dependencies, and frequently an
enclosed garden.

The mansions of this period are still single tenements, i.e. the rooms
extend the full width of the building, with windows on each side, and
the apartments enter through one another. It was not till the seven-
teenth century that double blocks were introduced, with rooms lighted
from one side only, and with corridors giving access to the separate
apartments. Symmetry and regularity of design were arrived at early
in the sixteenth century.

The stage had then been reached of merely playing at building feudal

CHANGED INTO MANSIONS 53 INTRODUCTION

castles. Francis i. set the example. He demolished the great donjon
of the Louvre erected by Philip Augustus, and built a Renaissance
courtyard instead. He also built the celebrated Chateau de Chambord,
which is a perfect parody of a French castle. It has all the parts
complete, a great donjon situated next the wall, towers at the angles,
turnpike stairs, secret passages, moat, etc. But these features resemble
those of the feudal fortress only in name, without any of the character-
istics which rendered the latter real and noble.

Efforts were now made to alter the old feudal towers, so as to bring
them into harmony with the more peaceful ideas of the times, by enlarg-
ing the windows, in order to render the apartments more cheerful and
habitable. But the great towers of the old castles were so solidly built
that enlarged openings could with difficulty be cut through the masonry.
This led to an opening in the old walls being slapped from top to bottom,
as the easiest mode of getting enlarged window spaces. A series of
windows was then introduced, filling up the gap with new work from top
to bottom, and this feature afterwards became a motive for the decoration
of other similar new buildings. The old machicolations were also imitated
in the new cornices, and throughout the ornament there is a curious
mixture of the old castellated details with the new Italian decorations.

Very many fine specimens of the castles of this period (fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries) exist in almost every part of France, and are easily
distinguished by their numerous turrets and pointed roofs, and by the
late Gothic details with which they are ornamented. The banks of the
Loire are especially rich in fine examples of fifteenth-century work, such
as the Castles of Blois, Amboise, etc.

We give two views of Montsabert (Figs. 40 and 41), one of the castles
from the Loire country, which shows nearly all the leading features
above referred to. It seems to occupy the site of an older castle, the
enceinte walls, ditch, etc., of which have now almost completely dis-
appeared. Some of the towers are probably ancient, but they have now
assumed a more modern guise, being pierced with large windows, and
having lost their frowning parapets. The machicolations, which are
ornamented, and may have been at one time for use, now merely carry a
false parapet, on which rests the roof, with dormer windows running up
into it, thus showing that the space within formerly used for the service
of the defence is now thrown into bedrooms. The front courtyard has
no enclosing wall, and the door, no longer jealously guarded with port-
cullis and drawbridge, is accessible to every visitor.

The details are generally late Gothic of the fifteenth century, but
these have been superseded in the dormers and doorway with later
Renaissance work. We have selected Montsabert for illustration because
we have special reasons for referring to it hereafter in connection with
Scotch Architecture. We likewise give, for a similar reason, a view of the

INTRODUCTION

15TH CENT. MANSIONS

r'M8 I ' , i!in M II' ill! iHMfll

; ,

itt ,( ts

' :' '

FRENCH EXAMPLES

INTRODUCTION

-3

,
-'- J

v ^'c.

INTRODUCTION 56 1 5TH CENT. MANSIONS

so-called " House of Francis i." in the " Cours la Reine," Paris (Fig. 42).

This building may be taken as an excellent example of the later phase
of mediaeval domestic architecture in France. The house was originally

ENGLISH EXAMPLES 5? INTRODUCTION

erected in the neighbourhood of Fontainebleau in 1527, and was taken
down and re-erected on its present site in 1 626, in terms of the inscription
which it bears. We here see a design in which perfect symmetry prevails,
and although the general forms of the windows, niches, canopies, parapets,
etc., are Gothic, the details are completely Renaissance in design. In
the larger drawing of the window-shafts, we see some remains of the
late Gothic feature of " interpenetration " of mouldings and caps, mixed
up with the Renaissance features of baluster-shaped shafts and caps with
wreaths and other classic details.

The heads of kings and queens (which in this case bear the names
and dates of the originals) are very characteristic ornaments of the period.

There is scarcely a single building of this time, especially amongst
the numerous examples in the country of the Loire, which is not adorned
with the heads of the Roman Caesars or of the Kings of France, a feature
which we shall afterwards see King James v. of Scotland imported into
his country along with his Queen, Madelaine, daughter of Francis i.

In England, as we have observed, the process of conversion of castles
into dwelling-houses had begun much sooner than in France, and in the
fifteenth century we may say that the process was completed. Manners
and the mode of living had so entirely changed, that a large hall was no
longer necessary. The nation had made great progress, and commerce
and wealth had greatly increased. The towns had risen in importance,
and many of the wealthy merchants vied with the nobles in their state.
Guilds had also grown up among the tradesmen, and many of the trades
which used to be carried on within the walls of the castle were now
practised by the burghers in the towns. The feudal lord thus no longer
required or maintained the same number of retainers and tradesmen
within his castle, and as his state and retinue declined, the hall declined
with them.

The introduction of gunpowder further materially hastened the pro-
cess of conversion of the castle into the mansion. But in England, as in
France, the old forms and features were long retained as ornaments after
their original use was forgotten and abandoned.

Towers and battlements, moats, drawbridges, and other early features,
still continued to be erected, although the residential character of the
houses was developed. Of these castles we have a fine example in
Hurstmonceaux, Sussex (Fig. 43), which combines the castellated features
of moat and loopholes, crenelated towers and frowning gateway, with
the large windows and oriels and extended accommodation of the later
mansions.

But these castellated features are merely for show, not for use. The
only really defensive features of this mansion are the moat (now drained)
and the shot-holes at the entrance gateway. The interior is un-
fortunately so much destroyed that the plan cannot now be distinctly

INTRODUCTION 58 l6TH CENT. MANSIONS

made out. The castle was begun in 1420, but does not seem to have

been completed till 1480. It comprised three courtyards, and the

domestic arrangements seem to have been of a very advanced description.

On the Borders of Scotland and Wales, where the country was dis-

EXTENSION OF ACCOMMODATION 59 - INTRODUCTION

turbed, the old fortified plan of castles was still adhered to. The pele
towers also retained their old form, which was an imitation of the Nor-
man keep. This form of tower had been preserved .from the twelfth
century, through all the changes which had taken place, as the simplest
and most suitable for the fortified house or small pele. These towers
were, in fact, the manor-houses of the Border districts. The Norman
ornaments, such as the billet, cable, etc., used in these peles, still further
connect them with the Norman keeps. It should, however, be remem-
bered that in all late Gothic work there is a tendency to revert to
Norman ornament. The billet and zigzag, for instance, are often em-
ployed as ornaments in the barge-boards of the Elizabethan period. The
pele towers, like the Norman keeps, had usually their entrance on the
first floor, or by a narrow newel stair from the ground floor. The latter
was always vaulted (as a precaution against fire), and formed a store-
place, or a stable, or a place of safety for cattle. The first floor con-
tained the hall or common room, and the principal or private room was
on the top floor. It was not till the seventeenth century that the Border
pele towers were abandoned, when they were found to be defenceless
against artillery.

Some houses built in the tower style are much more ornamental than
usual, as Tattershall, in Lincolnshire, for instance (see Parker), where we
have a tower-built house crowned with machicolis, parapets, and turrets,
and surrounded with a moat ; while its large windows and other details
show that it was not designed for serious warfare, although, no doubt,
capable of resisting a sudden attack.

In the more peaceful parts of the country, however, the manors are
usually of the ordinary dwelling-house form, viz., built round a quad-
rangle, of which the hall and its pertinents formed one side, with the
offices and chambers disposed round two of the other sides, and the
gatehouse in the side opposite the hall. Sometimes there is a kitchen
court behind entering through the screens. At other times the kitchen
and offices are on the ground floor, and the principal rooms above. The
outer court was often the farmyard, with the necessary farm-buildings
around. From this the entrance to the inner court was through a gate-
way, but the drawbridge and portcullis were dispensed with.

Dining in hall was greatly disused in the fifteenth century (notwith-
standing ordinances against the abandonment of this ancient custom),
and we find instances where the old dais is cut off from the hall by a
partition, and thus converted into a private dining-room. Private dining-
rooms and drawing-rooms now became usual, and all the apartments were
multiplied, both at the master's and servants' end of the hall ; for the
practice of the servants sleeping in the hall was abandoned (except
when the house was very crowded), and the servants were provided with
distinct apartments.

INTRODUCTION 60 CHANGES IN l6TH AND 1?TH CENT.

Besides the private dining-rooms and drawing-rooms, there were a
study for the lord and a boudoir for the lady, a private chapel, and
numerous bedrooms. These were frequently arranged in a tower adjoin-
ing the hall. The dormitory was often in the roof, and sometimes over
the hall.

The apartments thus gradually increased in number and importance,
till, in the time of Elizabeth, they became as numerous and varied as
they are now.

The decoration of the interior also progressed rapidly. The arras was
replaced, in the time of Henry VIH., with wainscot panelling, frequently
carved with the linen pattern. This covered th lower part of the walls,
while above it was pargeted with plaster, ornamented with the heads
of the Caesars and similar figures, while Italian details and ornaments
gradually crept in. Inscriptions, texts of Scripture, mottoes, etc., were
of frequent use in the fifteenth century. At this date glass for windows
was still rare in houses. Henry vm. had his casements carried about
with him, from one manor to another, and the windows of the different
houses were made of the same size, so as to suit the glass casements.

Ceilings had usually moulded wooden beams and ribs, in square
panels, in the fifteenth century, but plaster was gradually introduced in
Henry vni.'s time, and its use was greatly extended under Elizabeth.

Staircases were enlarged, and adorned with curiously carved ban-
nisters and pedestals.

The passages were still generally in the thickness of the wall, with
doors entering from the window recesses; but there were sometimes
galleries formed outside, like cloisters, to give access to the different
apartments. These galleries form a fine and characteristic feature of the
Elizabethan period.

The bow window was introduced about the end of the fourteenth
century, and soon became a very favourite and characteristic feature of
English Architecture.

Fireplaces were usual in all the apartments, but in the hall the
reredos or brazier in the centre was still common, and in many halls
continued in use till the present century.

Gradually the castellated features gave way, as they had done in
France, to the encroachments of the Italian details, until, in the splendid
mansions of Elizabeth's time, the Renaissance style completely prevailed
in all the ornamental features of the design. But many of the charac-
teristic portions of the old plans still held their own. There are many
specimens still in existence of noble halls with open timber roofs, and
fine galleries with the distinctive bow windows of English Architecture.

These and similar features of the old style lingered through the reigns
of the Stewarts, and it was not till the end of the seventeenth century
that they were entirely swamped by the cold symmetry of the Classic
style.

THE CASTELLATED AND DOMESTIC
ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND.

FIRST PERIOD 1200-1300.

THE history of our Scottish Castellated and Domestic Architecture is,
in its main features, somewhat similar to that of France and England,
although to a considerable extent modified by the more unsettled and
less prosperous condition of the country. This, however, had the effect of
introducing and developing some varieties of style, which give a distinctly
native and picturesque character to the later periods of our Domestic
Architecture.

Examples of the Early Castellated Architecture of Scotland are, unfor-
tunately, by no means so complete or so abundant as those of France and
England.

There can be no doubt that the earliest fortifications in Scotland were
constructed with earthen mounds and wooden palisades, like those of
France and England. Of these primitive fortresses numerous remains
are to be found in every part of the country. They are usually situated
on the tops of the rounded knolls or hills which abound almost every-
where over the land, those sites being selected which are composed of
comparatively soft materials, easily dug into for the purpose of forming
the ditches and ramparts. Of these ditches and mounds there are usually
several rings, extending round the sides of the hill. We shall meet with
several instances, as we proceed, in which these early works have been
made available in connection with later castles.

Artificial " mottes " also exist in various places, but these are supposed
to have been for the administration of justice rather than for defence.

Another class of fortification, very common in the north, and peculiar
to Scotland, is the Broch or Burgh. This consists of a round wall enclos-
ing an open court. The wall is always of great thickness, and is built
with dry rubble stones, without mortar or cement of any kind. A straight
staircase and several small apartments are formed in the thickness of the
wall. The entrance door is low and narrow, and was evidently so built for
defence. From the door a narrow passage leads through the wall,
frequently with a guard-room on one side. The origin and date of the

FIRST PERIOD 62 INTRODUCTORY

brochs is unknown, but they are supposed to be the work of the native
Celts. They have probably some affinity with the early dry-stone
churches and cells of Ireland. These brochs may perhaps be the northern
form of the wooden burghs, which the Norsemen in France and England
built on the top of their " mottes ; " but in Scotland, where stone
abounded, they were constructed in stone instead of timber. If so, and
if the brochs represent the usual form of the early castles of Scotland, it
might be supposed that they would have a material influence on the
subsequent forms of construction. We have, however, not been able to
trace any connection between them and the arrangements of the earliest
castles built with stone and lime. But in the towers of a later date, as we
shall see, the tendency to hollow out the walls with innumerable small
apartments is carried to an extreme length, which may possibly be a tra-
dition from these ancient brochs. It is probable that the building of
castles with stone and lime was introduced into Scotland, as into Eng-
land, by the Normans. During the eleventh and twelfth centuries the
pressure of the Normans in England drove the Saxon nobility northwards,
and these were followed by numerous Normans, who were welcomed at
the Scottish Court, and obtained large domains in the country. It was
no doubt the policy of these adventurers to establish themselves in the
same position as the native chiefs who had to make way for them. They
would thus naturally take possession of such strongholds as they found,
which probably consisted of an enclosing wall on some naturally strong site,
or of an area surrounded with a ditch and palisaded mound, with a natural
or artificial height within on which the dwelling of the chief, usually
built in wood, would be placed. This course was often adopted by the
Normans in England, and it may be remarked that their position in
England under the Confessor is very similar to their position in Scotland
in the twelfth century. Many Normans, encouraged by the Confessor,
had settled in England, but it was not till after the Conquest that the
Normans took root in the country and began to build castles in their own
style. So likewise in Scotland the Norman nobles do not appear to have
built castles in their own style for at least a century after their first arrival.

But whatever the early castles of the Norman Period in Scotland were,
they have all disappeared. They have probably for the most part been
remodelled into the castles of a later period, or have been demolished in
the frequent sieges of those stormy times. But although no original
Norman castles are to be found in Scotland, the rectangular keeps of the
Normans have formed the model after which most of our Scotch castles
have been constructed. During the three or four centuries succeeding
the War of Independence,, there is a constant succession of castles built
upon the Norman model, which present us with a faithful likeness of
their originals.

This was also the case in the north of England : wherever and when-

INTRODUCTORY 63 FIRST PERIOD

ever a strong tower was required, the plan of the old Norman keep was
adopted.

There is ample historical evidence of the construction of castles in
Scotland in the twelfth century. Alexander i. and David i. are well
known as great church-builders, and it is on record that they also erected
many royal castles. The great feudatories also followed their example,
and erected castles on their domains. It is most likely, however, that
these consisted chiefly of earthworks, defended with wooden palisades or
rough walls of uncemented stone-work.

It is, no doubt, remarkable that while many fine specimens of ecclesi-
astical architecture of the twelfth century remain, there is not one
example of the civil or military architecture of the period to be found in
the country. On the other hand, it must be kept in mind that the Norman
walls were of such solid construction that, had any been built in Scotland
at that period, they would probably have still survived.

The thirteenth century was an exceptionally prosperous one in Scot-
land. Alexanders n. and nl., whose reigns were long and comparatively
peaceful, being little engaged in war with England, had leisure to estab-
lish a settled government in their kingdom. They also encouraged
Englishmen and Normans to settle in Scotland ; and the trade of the
country, both with England and the Continent, seems to have been con-
siderable. Hill Burton is of opinion that the country was comparatively
wealthy at this period, and more prosperous than it ever was till after the
union with England.

It is, therefore, quite natural that some signs of this unwonted pros-
perity should be traceable in the castles of the nobles of the period, and
we shall see that this was the case.

While friendly with the south, Alexanders n. and HI. were greatly
engaged in contests in the north and in the western islands, which they
were desirous to rescue from the Norsemen. Alexander n. died at
Kerrara in 1249, while engaged in one of these expeditions.

In order to secure the dominions thus reclaimed, castles were built.
Thus we find that William the Lion built the two castles of Edindour and
Dunskaith, near Cromarty, in 1 1 79, for repressing insurrection in Ross.
Urquhart Castle, on Loch Ness, was also originally a royal castle. Dun-
staffnage and Inverlochy, which still exist, belong to the thirteenth
century, having the great walls of enceinte strengthened with round
towers, which distinguish that period.

Professor Cosmo limes, in his Scotland in tlie Middle Ages, mentions
the following fortresses as existing in the thirteenth century, viz., Duffus
and Bocharm in Moray ; Ruthven and Lochindorb in Badenoch ; Strath-
bolgie, Fyvie, Inverurie, Kildrummie, and others in Aberdeenshire ;
Kincardine, Brechin, Redcastle, Forfar, Glammis, Leuchars, Craill, St.
Andrews, on the east coast ; Dumbarton, Bothwell, Douglas, Rothesay,

FIRST PERIOD 64 - INTRODUCTORY

Turnberry, in the west ; Edinburgh, Stirling, Linlithgow, Dunbar, Yester,
Roxburgh, Jedburgh, Lamberton, Morton, Dalswinton, Lochmaben, Con-
gleton, in the centre and south, besides many others.

Most of these have either disappeared or have been entirely re-
modelled, but a sufficient number remain to enable us to follow their
design, which we shall find resembles in idea, though inferior in degree
to, that of the contemporary buildings in France and England.

The general idea of these thirteenth-century Scotch castles is that of
a large fortified enclosure. The plan is usually quadrilateral, but more or
less irregular, so as to suit the site. There are however some striking
exceptions to this rule, as for instance the Castle of Rothesay, the plan of
which is oval, and Caerlaverock Castle, which is triangular. The curtain
walls are about 7 to 9 feet in thickness by 20 to 30 feet high. The angles
are frequently provided with round or square towers, and no doubt these
and the curtains had parapets with embrasures for defence, and rampart
walks all round the walls. But these have now in almost every instance
disappeared. The entrance gateway was always wide, and seems to have
been generally provided with a portcullis. There is sometimes also a
postern door.

It is impossible to say what the arrangement of the buildings within
the enclosing walls may have been, as they have almost entirely perished.
The angle towers seem to have been used as the dwellings of the garrison,
as they are frequently provided with garde-robes in the thickness of the
wall, but there were probably other buildings within the enclosure with
roofs leaning against the curtains. At Rothesay a large chapel still
survives, while at Lochindorb a ruinous building is also called the chapel,
and it is very probable that other castles contained a similar edifice.

The sites selected for this class of castle vary greatly. They are,
however, generally built on rather low-lying ground, and trust more to
water than to lofty sites for their security. Thus we find Lochmaben
and Lochindorb situated, the latter on a natural island, and the former
011 a peninsula cut off by ditches, so as to convert it into an island.
Kinclaven and Inverlochy are both placed near rivers, and were no
doubt defended with moats filled with water. Rothesay is on low ground
surrounded by a wide and deep fosse filled with water. Castle Roy and
Dunstaifnage, again, are on rocky sites, but raised only a few feet above
the general level of the ground. Tarbert is situated on the top of a low
rocky hill overlooking the sea.

The large area contained within the walls was no doubt intended to
receive and harbour the population of a district, with their flocks and
possessions, in time of danger. They are, for the most part, rude imitations
of the thirteenth-century castles of France or the Edwardian castles of
England ; but some of the finer examples, such as Bothwell, Kildrummie,
and Dirleton, present a wonderfully close resemblance both in design and

INTRODUCTORY 65 FIRST PERIOD

workmanship to the more splendid military buildings of the south.
These have all the characteristics of the French castles of the thirteenth
century. They are enclosed with high curtains, defended at intervals
with round and square towers, each forming a separate post, and each so
placed as to flank and defend the adjoining walls and towers, while one of
the towers is of larger size than the others, and forms the donjon or place
of strength for the shelter of the lord and his retainers in case of siege.

It is not easy to determine the date of most of these early Scottish
castles ; but we have distinct information with regard to the building of
others. Thus Tarbert was added to by King Robert Bruce, and must
therefore have existed before his time, while Lochindorb, Bothwell, and
Kildrummie were probably enlarged during the English occupation.
There can be no doubt, however, but that several of the castles of this
first period are of older date than the War of Independence, as they are
referred to as existing in Wallace's time.

CASTLE ROY, INVERNESS-SHIRE.

One of the simplest of these thirteenth-century fortresses is Castle Roy
(or Redcastle) (Fig. 44), situated in the Abernethy district of Inver-
ness-shire. It is said to have been a stronghold of the Comyns, but
nothing authentic is known of its history. Situated about one mile
north-east from Broomhill Sta-
tion of the Highland Railway,
it stands on a rising ground,
somewhat elevated above the
general valley of the Spey. It
consists of the usual high en-
closing wall, which in this case
crowns a rocky site, raised from
10 to 15 feet above the level
of the surrounding fields. The
nature of the site has probably
rendered a ditch unnecessary,

FIG. 44. Castle Roy. Plan.

as there is no appearance ot

there ever having been one. The walls are 7 feet thick, built with
strong rubble-work, and are still from 20 to 25 feet high. The enclosed
space measures 80 feet from north to south, by 53 feet from east to west
within the walls. The entrance is by a doorway, 8 feet wide, in the north
wall, the inner pointed arch of which still remains (Fig. 45). There is a
square tower at the north-west angle, and the remains of a large window-
near it, which has also a pointed arch in the reveal (Fig. 45) ; but
it seems doubtful whether these are not later additions. The north-east
angle of the enclosure (Fig. 46) is complete, without any appearance of a

FIRST PERIOD

CASTLE ROY

tower having ever existed there. At the south-east angle the wall is
broken away, as if for the purpose of adding a tower similar to that at
the north-west angle, but appai-ently no tower has ever been built there.

FIG. 45. Castle Roy. Interior looking North-East.

The recess in the wall at the south-west angle, which is on the ground-
level, seems to have been used as latrines. There is a projecting garde-
robe over this in the upper part of the wall, but no appearance of any
tower at this angle either.

jflk, ...- /fj-'--'*X^*3q

Vf/Z/'- r^?.s, - x >" -.-^ - - ^ -

FIG. 46. Castle Roy from the South-East.

The building seems to have been simply a large enclosing wall of
great height, and no doubt well defended from the parapet, for the
purpose of sheltering the vassals and their property. There were pro-

KINCLAVEN CASTLE

67 FIRST PERIOD

bably wooden or other buildings within the enclosure with roofs sup-
ported against the curtains, but no trace of these now exists.

KINCLAVEN CASTLE, PERTHSHIRE.

Kinclaven Castle is situated on the right bank of the Tay, opposite
its junction with the river Isla, and about 8 miles north from Perth.
The Tay is here a stream of about 130 yards wide, swift and clear, with
banks of moderate height, abundantly wooded. The castle (Fig. 47)
consists of a square enclosure, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^~|
measuring on the average 130 ^^ y |,

feet over the walls, which are
7 feet 6 inches in thickness,
and in height vary from 15 to
25 feet. There were evidently
towers at each of the angles,
and, as far as can be made
out, these were square on plan.
They were entered from the
courtyard by narrow doors
about 2 or 3 feet wide. Parts
of their rybats still remain,
showing that the doors opened

. . . rr.1 . FIG. 47. Kinclaven Castle. Plan.

into the towers. Ihe prin-
cipal entrance was near the south end of the west side, being the side
furthest from the river. The gateway is 9 feet 8 inches wide, and, as
far as can be judged from the scanty remains, it was provided with a
portcullis.

There is a postern in the centre of the south front, 2 feet 2 inches
wide, which, entering from the outside, turns along in the thickness of
the wall for 16 feet 2 inches, and, descending three steps, opens into the
court. The roof of this passage, which is some 8 or 9 feet high, is formed
with flat stones. The postern was evidently defended by a square tower,
of which only one side partly remains. Opposite the door there is a
small window looking from the entrance passage into the courtyard.

In the centre of the west side, and about 13 feet distant from
the portcullis entrance, the wall is thickened on the inside for a length
of about 24- feet, the additional thickness being some 6 feet. This was
probably for the support of a stair leading to the walk on the top of
the walls, as also to the place for working the portcullis ; but it is so
very much overgrown with vegetation and covered with ruins that one
cannot be certain. The southern half of the west front has a projecting
base outside, which stops short with a properly wrought return about

FIRST PERIOD

KINCLAVEN CASTLE

the centre for a wall at right angles, while beyond this there will be seen
on the plan the projecting remains of a wall, probably of a tower for
defending the front entrance ; but here the recent accumulation of ruin
is so great that not much can be made out. On the east side, at about
10 feet above the ground, and where indicated on the plan, there are
three gaps in the wall. These have been stripped of their dressings ;
and large portions of the walls outside have also been skinned for the
sake of the dressed stones. There are neither loops nor shot-holes in
the walls ; these were probably confined to the flanking towers. Of the
interior buildings not a vestige remains, unless it be that the slight
depression of 5 or 6 inches in the ground all along the south wall within
the space, shown by a line on the plan, indicates where they stood,
which it probably does. Such buildings in a castle of this kind were
of a very simple construction, having a mere lean-to roof against the
curtain.

The castle is protected on the east side (Fig. 47 A) by the Tay and the
steep bank, as also on the north side, although to a less extent, the

Tay being farther off and the
bank being more prolonged and
thus not so steep. On the west
side the ground is generally
level for about 50 or 60 feet
from the wall, beyond which
the land gradually rises, while
on the south (Fig. 47s) it slopes
downwards gently from the
walls for some 50 or 6'0 feet,
and rises beyond. There was
probably in this latter hollow
a ditch which continued round
the west side and along the
north, opening out into .the

r f r r T -r f r = r

Fiu. 47A. Kinclaven Castle. Plan of Site.

steep bank sloping to the Tay. Here and there, especially on the
north side, indications of the ditch are visible, and Blind Harry refers
to a drawbridge, as we shall see. From the south-west corner a diagonal
mound or wall (earth and stones are so mixed that one cannot be
positive which it was) runs outwards for about 60 feet, and at the
south-east corner a similar construction runs outwards for about the same
distance, but at right angles with the south curtain. Fig. 47s gives an
idea of the appearance of the castle and its surroundings.

This castle was a royal residence in the time of Alexander in., and is
mentioned in the year 1264 (see Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, vol. i.), when
payments are made for the carriage of wine to Kinclaven and for the
repairing of a boat.

KINCLAVEN CASTLE

FIRST PERIOD

Thirty-three years later, or in 1297, according to tradition and
Henry the Minstrel, Wallace took Kinclaven, " a castell wondyr

Fio. 47s. Kinclaven Castle.

wycht." In June 1296 Edward i., in his progress

northwards, visited Kinclaven, and stayed there one

night. Henry describes an engagement between the .\

English garrison and Wallace some little distance from the castle, the

defeat and flight of the former, pursued by the Scots towards their

strength, where

" Few men of fenss was left that place to kepe,
Wemen and preistis wpon the wall can wepe :
For weill thai wend the fleais was their lord ;
To tuk him in thai maid thaim redy ford,
Leit doun the bryg, kest up the yettis wide.
The frayit folk entrit, and durst nocht byde. "

Here Wallace and his followers stayed seven days, spoiled and wrecked
the place, and under cloud of night betook themselves to the neigh-
bouring woods, when

" The contre folk, quhen it was lycht of day,
Gret reik saw ryss, and to Kynclewyn thai socht :
Bot wallis and stane, mar gud thar fand thai nocht."

Although thus cast down, the castle was evidently put in order again,
and in 1335 was, along with other strongholds, held by Edward in., then
master of Scotland, but in the following year most of these castles, includ-
ing Kinclaven, were recaptured by the Scots.

Kinclaven never was a residence, but was purely a garrison castle.
It must have been abandoned for many centuries, as old fruit-trees are
growing in the courtyard, and probably when the Minstrel wrote, his
description was true to his time as to ours

" In till Kinclewyn thar duelt nane agayne ;

Thar was left nocht hot brokyn wallis in playne."

FIRST PERIOD

LOCHINDORB CASTLE

It has been several times stated that a sum of money is annually paid
by Government for keeping this castle in repair. Of the accuracy of this
statement we know nothing, but it is quite apparent that no attention
whatever is paid to the building, and great portions of the walls have
fallen within the last few years.

LOCHINDORB CASTLE, MORAYSHIRE.

The castle of Lochindorb is situated in Cromdale, in Morayshire,
about 7 miles from Grantown. It occupies the whole of an island,
extending to about one Scotch acre, in the middle of the loch, which is
about 2 miles long by three-quarters of a mile broad. The Old Statistical
Account states that the island is at least partly artificial, as " rafts and
planks of oak are sometimes brought to light by the beating of the waves."

FIG. 48. Lochiiidorb Castle. Plan.

The castle (Fig. 48) consists of the usual quadrilateral enclosing
walls, forming a slightly irregular parallelogram, measuring an average
length of 160 feet from north to south, by 126 feet from east to west.
The walls are about 7 feet thick and 20 feet high. At each angle is a
round tower, 23 feet in diameter, enclosed next the courtyard with a
diagonal wall containing a door into the tower. These towers are two
stories in height, and had wooden floors and small windows with iron
stanchions. They were all standing in 1793 when the Old Statistical
Account was written, but now there are only two in fair preservation.

LOCHINDORB CASTLE 71 FIRST PERIOD

The projection of the towers is slight, thus forming a link between such
castles as Castle Roy without towers at the angles and the subsequent
ones in which the towers have a bold salient. There are garde-robes in
the thickness of the walls adjoining two of the angle towers. It seems,
therefore, likely that these were occupied as living-rooms by the garrison.
The entrance to the castle is from the east, where there is a landing-
place. The doorway is 9 feet wide, and has been arched. Extending
along the south side of the courtyard there are the ruins of buildings, the
westmost one of which is called the chapel, but from the state of these
fragments it is impossible to determine their date or destination. A very
remarkable part of this castle is an outer enclosing wall extending along
the south and part of the east sides. It is broken off at the west end by
the force of the waves, and there is no saying how much further it may
have gone on that side. The portion of the wall on the south side is
about 20 feet high, and contains a well-formed gateway. The jambs are
of dressed freestone, with splay on the outside, which has been continued
round the depressed arch, now demolished. This gateway has the grooves
for a portcullis well cut on each side. The part of the wall shown by
dotted lines on the east side is reduced to mere foundations, except the
portion at the north end, which is well preserved. The remarkable thing
about this outer courtyard is, that, except the above-mentioned gateway,
there is no other means of ingress or egress, and no communication with
the inner courtyard. Fig. 49 gives a general view of the castle from
the south-east.

This castle belonged in the thirteenth century to the Comyns,
Lords of Bad enoch. In 1303 Edward i. penetrated into Badenoch, for
the purpose of reducing them. He then resided at Lochindorb Castle
for about a month. From this time it remained for several years in the
hands of the English, and it is supposed that they greatly extended it.
Possibly the enclosing wall of the outer court with the depressed
arched gate may have been added by them as a basse-cour for cattle
and provisions, and also to enclose the whole island, so as to prevent an
enemy from obtaining a footing on it. After the English had retired from
Scotland, Lochindorb became a royal castle. In 1335 it was held by the
Duke of Athole for Edward Baliol, and besieged by the Regent, Sir Andrew
Murray. In 1372 it became the stronghold of King Robert ii.'s fierce
son, "the Wolfe of Badenoch." In 1455 the castle was strengthened by
Archibald Douglas, when he became Earl of Moray, and after the fall of
the Douglases it was destroyed by order 'of King James n. The warrant
for its demolition was granted to the Thane of Cawdor in March 1455-56,
and the Exchequer Accounts attest that this was done in 1458. It is said
that the "iron yett" of Cawdor Castle was carried off from Lochindorb at
that time. The castle now belongs to the Earl of Seafield.

FIRST PERIOD

LOCHINDORB CASTLE

LOCH-AN-EILAN CASTLE 73 FIRST PERIOD

LOCH-AN-EILAN CASTLE, INVERNESS-SHIRE.

This castle (Fig. 50), like Lochindorb, is situated on an island
in the middle of a loch, surrounded with lofty mountains. The loch
is about 1 mile in length, and a quarter of a mile broad. It lies in the
midst of the remains of the ancient forest of Rothiemurchus, in Inverness-
shire, about 3 miles from the Aviemore Station of the Highland Railway.
This castle was also one of the strongholds of the Wolf of Badenoch. It
is now occupied by ospreys, whose nest is seen on the top of the tower
to the right, and, in order to save them from disturbance, no boats are
allowed on the loch, and it is therefore impossible to examine the build-
ings, or make a plan of them. They appear, however, to consist of the
same high and massive enclosing walls as Lochindorb, and the whole
island seems to have been enclosed by the walls. There was a strong
square tower to the right, the walls of which rise perpendicularly from
the water's edge, while the adjoining central curtain, in which is the
entrance door, is battered or sloped inwards.

INVERLOCHY CASTLE, INVERNESS-SHIRE.

Inverlochy Castle, Inverness-shire, is situated on level ground on the
south side of the river Lochy, a short way above its junction with Loch
Linnhe, and about 2 miles from Fort-William.

There is no record of the origin of this castle, but, according to the
Statistical Account, tradition says that it was built by the Comyns.

In the absence of any proper history, it has been conjectured that it
may have been erected in the latter half of the fifteenth century by
George, second Earl of Huntly, and it is stated to have been still unfin-
ished in the time of Charles n.

As will be hereafter pointed out, some great castles with quadrangles
were erected in the fifteenth century, but their leading characteristics are
different from those of Inverlochy. They have high and thick enclosing
walls, and sometimes round towers also, but the walls of the enceinte inva-
riably form an integral part of the buildings which compose the castle. In
this case the walls of the enceinte stand alone, without connection with
any internal buildings, nor are there any windows or shot-holes in the walls
(such as we invariably find in fifteenth-century work) to indicate that any
buildings of that kind ever existed.

A glance at the plan (Fig. 51) will show that it has much more
affinity with the arrangements of the thirteenth-century castles above
described, while its great round towers projecting boldly at the four
angles bring it into connection with the more finished castles of the
period about to be referred to.

Inverlochy Castle consists of a great courtyard, measuring 101 feet
from north to south, by 90 feet from east to west, surrounded by walls of

FIRST PERIOD

LOCH-AN-EILAN CASTLE

INVERLOCHY CASTLE

FIRST PERIOD

enceinte 9 feet in thickness, and which were probably about 30 feet high,
though now reduced to from 20 to 25 feet. There is a principal gate-

FIG. 51. Iiiverlochy Castle. Plan.

way in the south wall, 7 feet 6 inches wide, and another immediately
opposite in the north wall, 5 feet 6 inches wide. These were each provided
with a portcullis, the grooves for which are still partly preserved. Some
portions of the freestone dressings of the doors still exist, showing that
the angles have all plain splays. The south gate has had an internal
gate-house, with probably an interior door and apertures in the roof from
which assailants might be attacked. The north door has been strengthened
with two oaken bars running into grooves in the wall, one opposite the
lower part and the other opposite the higher part of the door. There
are some traces of building outside this door, which may indicate that
there was at one time an outer porch or gate-house.

The angles at the north-east, south-east, and south-west are fortified
with round towers, about 14 feet diameter internally, and each is provided
with a stair in the thickness of the wall, winding round the tower, and
giving access to the two upper floors and the battlements.

The tower at the north-west angle (Fig. 52), called the Comyn's
Tower, is larger than the others, and formed the donjon or resi-
dence of the lord of the castle. It is 20 feet in diameter within the walls,
which are 10 feet 4 inches thick, and contain a staircase 3 feet 6 inches wide,
arranged in the same manner as in the other towers. The angle towers

FIRST PERIOD

INVERLOCHY CASTLE

were provided with loops to light the staircases and upper rooms ; but
these are now represented only by holes in the walls, the freestone dress-
ings being torn out. There is, however, a portion of one loop left in the

north-east tower, showing that they were narrow slits, splayed on the
outside, with a round termination or oilet at the bottom. The donjon was
probably higher as well as larger than the other towers, as we shall see
was usually the case.

INVERLOCHY CASTLE

FIRST PERIOD

The whole castle was surrounded with a moat about 30 feet wide, placed
about 40 feet from the building. This was no doubt supplied with water

from the river. Its position may still be traced in the marshy depression
in the ground round the castle. Along the south front (Fig. 53) the
ground between the towers is raised above the general level, and has
formed a platform with a retaining wall. Some remains of masonry in
front of this and immediately opposite the entrance gate indicate the
position of the drawbridge.

FIRST PERIOD

LOCHMABEN CASTLE

The locality of Inverlochy is supposed to have been the site of an
ancient Pictish town, which was demolished by the Danes. But apart
from this tradition, we think there can be no question about the antiquity
of the castle. Its thick walls, without openings, and unconnected with
other buildings, associate it with the style of castles erected in the thir-
teenth century, while its boldly projected round towers give it a striking
resemblance to the castles of the period in France and England, such as
Coucy and Pevensey. The form of the staircases in the towers is also
characteristic of thirteenth-century work, as for example at Conisborough
Castle, Yorkshire.

LOCHMABEN CASTLE, DUMFRIESSHIRE.

Lochmaben Castle, in Dumfriesshire, the hereditary castle of the
Bruces, was the most powerful fortress on the Borders. The lordship of
Annandale was bestowed on the Bruces by David i. in 1124, and it is
said that their original castle was on the Castle-hill, close to the town of
Lochmaben, and that the present castle was built in the thirteenth
century by Robert Bruce (King Robert's grandfather), the competitor
for the crown, who died here in 1295. There are some relics of masonry
on the top of the Castle-hill, and there is an intrenchment round the base,
indicating that the original castle was of the earlier order of strongholds,
whose chief defences consisted of earthen mounds with palisades and
ditches.

The existing castle is built on a peninsula or spit of flat ground
running into Lochmaben from the south-east (Fig. 54). A wide ditch

cut across the neck of the penin-
sula, which joined a burn on the
east, and was filled with water from
the loch, separated it from the
mainland, and formed an island
about 16 acres in extent. Before
reaching the castle the interven-
ing ground is defended by two
additional ditches, running east
and west, through which also, no
doubt, the water of the lake
flowed. These ditches would all
be provided with well-fortified
drawbridges. Close to the castle,
and partly enclosed within its

& fourth ditch

MABEN LOCH

FIG. 54.-Plan of Site.

The plan (Fig. 55) shows that this ditch or moat, about 20 feet wide,
was enclosed at either end of the castle with a great wall, each having

LOCHMABEN CASTLE

FIRST PERIOD

AiRCiH

LOCHMABEN CASTLE

DUMFRIESSHIRE
M 1 1 1 1 1 ,_

an arched opening through which the water flowed (Fig. 56). The moat
was here lined with ashlar, some portions of which still remain. It seems
probable that a wall ex-
tended along the front of the
building outside the moat,
and joined the two ends of
the above wing walls, so as
to enclose this portion of the
moat. Access to the castle
was likely chiefly by means
of boats, and this enclosure
would form a safe landing-
place, and also protect the
boats which might be col-
lected within it. The recess
in the centre under the gate-
way is evidently intended for
a boat being set back into.
The arches in the wing walls
would be secured with grated
iron gates, and there would
be a strongly secured gate in FlG - 55 -~ Lochmaben Castle. Plan.

the front wall. The moat would be well defended from the battlements
all round this outer court.

The remainder of the building is very similar to Kinclaven and other
castles of the period, being a parallelogram 126 feet long from north to
south, by 108 feet wide from east to west. The walls are of the usual
solid description, and have been faced with ashlar. But this has now
almost entirely disappeared, having been peeled off and carried away,
this castle having been used, as is unfortunately so often the case with
our ancient buildings, as a convenient quarry for building materials.

The plan shows that there are a few indications of buildings within
the walls, but it is difficult to say whether any of these are original. In
1 503-4 James iv. repaired the castle, and built a hall within it, and it may
be the scanty remains of his construction which are now visible.

The walls were undoubtedly, as may be seen from their ruins, of great
height, and were no doubt well provided with parapets and defences on
the top ; but they are now reduced to mere shapeless fragments.

This castle commanded the entrance to the south-west of Scotland,
and was therefore the subject of many contests. It was taken by
Edward i. in 1298, and he is said to have strengthened its works. In 1304
Robert Bruce fled to it ? rom England before taking the field for the
crown of Scotland. After his success, he bestowed it on Randolph, Earl
of Moray. The castle was handed over to Edward in. by Baliol, but it

FIRST PERIOD

ROTHESAY CASTLE

was besieged and retaken by David n. in 1346. After the Battle of the
Standard it again fell into Edward's hands, till Archibald Douglas, Lord
of Galloway, reduced it, and expelled the English in 1384. At the

Fio. 56. Lochmaben Castle. View of Entrance Front.

attainder of the Douglases in 1455 it became a royal castle. In 1588 it
was besieged and taken by James vi. from Lord Maxwell, and the
governorship granted to the Earl of Annandale. Mr. Hope Johnstone of
Annandale is now the Hereditary Keeper of the castle.

ROTHESAY CASTLE, BUTESHIRE.

The origin of this most remarkable castle is involved in obscurity. It
is said to have been erected in very early times to resist the encroach-
ments of the Norsemen. In the time of Alexander in. it was attacked
by the Norwegians with eighty ships, and taken, but was retaken after
the Battle of Largs in 1263. It was also taken and retaken several times
in the wars of Bruce and Baliol.

Rothesay Castle was a favourite residence of Robert n. and Robert in.
in the fourteenth century, but there are no records in the Exchequer
Rolls of outlay connected with it. In 1398 King Robert created his son
David the first Duke of Rothesay, a title still retained by the Prince of
Wales.

The castle was destroyed by Argyll in 1685. The mildness of the
climate of Rothesay, and the sheltered position of its bay, have made it a
desirable place of residence at all times. Being on an island also added

HOTHESAY CASTLE

FIRST PERIOD

to its security, and its low situation enabled it to be surrounded with a

deep fosse filled with water. This was for long filled up, but has within

recent years been cleared out, and the wooden way of approach restored

, by the present noble proprietor, the Marquis of Bute. It is said that

FIG. .37. Rothesay Castle. General Plan, showing Moat, etc.

some remains of the old wooden posts which carried the ancient bridge
were found in the excavations.

Architecturally, this is one of our most interesting castles, and is
an admirable example of a thirteenth-century fortress. We here see
(Fig. 57) the great wall of enceinte in its simplest form, defended by

FIRST PERIOD 82 ROTHESAY CASTLE

four round towers. This castle differs from the examples already given
in having the wall of enceinte of a circular or oval form, instead of
quadrilateral ; but the ditch, enclosing the wall with its towers, brings
the whole approximately to the usual square form. The walls are from
8 to 10 feet in thickness, and the diameter of the courtyard is 142 feet.
The wall of enceinte is well preserved, and is built with good ashlar-work.
The forms of the loop-holes and their recesses are of an early type.
The top of the walls would be finished with a parapet resting on pro-
jecting corbels with machicolations between, or armed with a wooden
hoarding it is impossible to say which, but probably the latter. Some
corbels still remaining in the north-west part of the wall seem to
indicate the position of these defences (Fig. 58). The upper part of
the wall above them is of a different style of masonry, and was evidently
heightened at a later period, and will be referred to further on. The
entrance gateway seems to have been (as at present) at the north end,
through a square tower projecting about 16 feet from the wall of the
enceinte. There remain the grooves of two portcullises, and one jamb
of the inner gateway, afterwards reduced in size. In the small guard-
room added on the east side of this tower may still be seen two bold
stone corbels, which look as if they had formed part of the defences of the
original gate-tower, which is incorporated with the later buildings. Of
the four round towers, only the one to the north-west remains in good
preservation ; the three others are considerably demolished, but the lower
part of each still exists, showing the usual batter at the base. They have
each a door entering from the courtyard on the ground level.

The chapel is the only building within the enceinte of which the walls
remain, but the foundations of many other buildings can be traced.
These give an idea of the irregular manner in which the buildings within
the wall of the enceinte of these early castles were scattered about. The
chapel is of early date, but has no architectural features of much interest.
At the back or east end of the chapel is a staircase leading to the
ramparts.

The building which runs out to the north of the ancient entrance
tower, and forms the existing entrance, is of later date. It is built with
rubble-work, and resembles in almost all its features the quadrilateral
keeps of the fourteenth century. It is most probable that it was built
by Robert n. or in., so as to provide a residence similar to their other
royal castles, such as Dundonald. In this case the ground floor is almost
entirely occupied with a vaulted passage, 1 1 feet 6 inches wide, leading
into the castle. The cellars, etc., usually occupying this position would
be amply supplied by stores in the courtyard. The entrance door was no
doubt defended by a drawbridge and iron gate, and has a small guard-
room adjoining. On the west side of the passage is a small door leading
to the ground between the wall and the moat. The square tower adjoin-

ROTHESAY CASTLE

FIRST PERIOD

ROTHESAY CASTLE

ing this, and masking it, contains the shoots from latrines on the upper
floor. The chamber on the east side adjoining the stair to the hall seems
to have served as a guard-room, from the small window in it commanding
the entrance passage.

FIG. 59. Rothesay Castle. Plan of First Floor of Palace.

The upper floor of the keep (Fig. 59) is now approached by a long
straight stair from the courtyard, but the original stair was evidently
that adjoining the guard-room. This led to the hall, which was 49 feet
long by 24 feet 6 inches wide. The great fireplace still remains, and
there appear to have been windows on three sides. At the south
end a portion, 12 feet wide, was cut off by a partition to form a private
room, which had a large window overlooking the courtyard. From this
passages in the heightened portion of the wall of enceinte lead to the
north-east and north-west towers, which were probably used as apart-
ments in connection with the palace. On the upper floor above this
point are the remains of groined and ribbed vaulting, as if there had
been a small vaulted oratory there (Fig. 59) ; otherwise, the upper
floor cannot now be distinctly made out. The square west tower
contains two wide apertures, which terminate in shoots into the moat at
the base of the tower, and were evidently the latrines for the two
upper floors (Fig. 58).

DUNSTAFFNAGE CASTLE

FIRST PERIOD

DUNSTAFFNAGE CASTLE, ARGYLLSHIRE.

Dunstaffnage Castle, in the Lome district of Argyllshire, stands near
the point of a low-lying peninsula jutting out into the sea at the entrance
to Loch Etive, and is about 4 miles distant northwards from Oban. The
peninsula, about half a mile in length, is about 700 yards in width at the
neck, uneven and diversified on its surface, and well wooded. The site
of the castle is a rocky platform, rising from 20 to 30 feet above the

FIG. 00. Uunstcift'uage Castle. Plan of Ground Floor.

general surface of the ground, with precipitous faces, that along the
north front overhanging considerably. The walls follow the outline of
the rock, and are built sheer up from the edge, so as to allow no foothold
on the rock outside. In plan, the castle (Fig. 60) is rudely quadrangular,
with great curtain walls, from 9 to 1 1 feet thick, and about 60 feet high

FIRST PERIOD

DUNSTAFFNAGE CASTLE

from the ground outside to the top of the battlements, or 25 feet high
from the parapet walk to the courtyard inside. At the east and west
ends of the north front are round towers ; over these this front measures
about 137 feet. At the meeting of the south and west fronts, the wall is
rounded, and slightly projected beyond the west face only, along which
the castle measures about 112 feet. At the south-east corner, where the
entrance is, there is a two-faced projection one face parallel with the
east front, and the other set on diagonally, and connected with the south
front by a solid round in the re-entering angle. Along the south front
the walls are about 68 feet long, and along the east front about 100 feet.
The entrance gateway, placed about 12 or 15 feet above the ground, was
undoubtedly reached by a drawbridge ; remains of what was probably its
pier exist in the garden opposite. The present staircase, leading to the
entrance doorway, is of comparatively modern date. The whole of this
part of the castle has undergone alterations on the outside at various
times. The principal entrance was by a pointed arched doorway

Fio. 61. Dunstaffnage Castle from the South-East.

(Fig. 6l), about 10 feet wide. This has been contracted to a narrow
round arched doorway, placed out of the centre of the pointed arch, and
continued as an arch through the thickness of the wall. At a later date
the doorway has been still further contracted and lintelled over. Entering
off the ingoing is a low chamber or guard-room, about 5 or 6 feet square.
Although this rounded doorway is clearly an insertion, it has all the
appearance of being of an early date. In the end wall facing the court-

DUNSTAFFNAGE CASTLE

FIRST PERIOD

yard, at the inner end of the entrance passage, there is a pointed archway
(Figs. 60 and 62) also built up, and containing a late lintelled doorway.
This archway is 9 feet wide, and possibly it represents the original entrance

FIG. 62. Dunstaffnage Castle. View in Courtyard.

to the courtyard through what may have been an oblong tower, somewhat
on the lines of the sixteenth-century building now standing in this position.
Right opposite the entrance at the north-west corner of the castle is the
keep, circular to the outside, and set in a slight recess of the north and west
curtains, and square to the courtyard, but with the inner angle rounded.
Fig. 63 shows that the circular form of the tower on plan is contracted at
the base against the north wall, that it spreads out somewhat in the middle,
and attains its full circumference only towards the top. Over all, this
tower measures about 28 feet by 25 feet. It stands upon the highest part
of the rock, with its ground floor, about 6 feet above the courtyard, reached
by a stair, of which the ruined foundation still exists, along the south face.
At the head of this stair is the doorway, inside of which, in the thickness
of the wall, a circled stair leads on the right to the floor above. Inside
of this again on the left is a bar-hole for closing the inner door of the
basement floor, which was probably used as a store for provisions.

The keep comprises three low stories, having arched recesses in the
wall, with long narrow slits or loop-holes for light and defence. The
centre, which is a mere well some 10 or 11 feet in diameter, was floored
over with wood. The upper floor, which is entered from the battlements,
is 6 or 7 feet wider than the ground floor, the walls being thinned off
internally. The interior of the keep is too ruinous to enable one to say

FIRST PERIOD

DUNSTAFFNAGE CASTLE

anything certain about fireplaces, etc. The garde-robe flues exist outside,
but their interior arrangements are gone. The tower at the north-east
corner is, like the keep, circular in form towards the exterior of the castle,

FIG. 63. Duustaffnage Castle from the West, showing Keep, etc.

and square inside the curtains. A large portion of its exterior wall has
fallen inwards, and choked it up, so that not much can be ascertained as
to its internal design. Its walls on the inside have evidently been
stripped of the dressed stones, and probably this process hastened its fall.
It is well worthy of being cleared out, and the broken wall restored. It
had no direct door to the courtyard, having been entered from the battle-
ments. As far as can be made out, it consisted of two floors, the under-
most being some 7 or 8 feet below the level of the parapet walk.

Along the north curtain, between the keep and this round tower,
there have been buildings. This space is at present partly occupied by a
house of the eighteenth century. The large kitchen fireplace of this
house is probably ancient, as are the garde-robes, sinks, and windows of the
curtain. There is also a large fireplace in this north wall near the keep,
which seems to indicate that here was the hall. Another row of build-
ings extended along the east curtain, with a fireplace in the square side
of the north-east tower. The outer wall here bends inwards, and is
thinned off from the inside ; and in all likelihood in the recess thus formed
was placed the stair to the battlements, adjoining the round tower, which
entered from them, as already mentioned. The two light lancet windows
in this east curtain (Fig. 6l ) are built up, as well as a similar one in the north

DUNSTAFFNAGE CASTLE

FIRST PERIOD

curtain. In the south and west curtains there are mural chambers, or
large recesses with long loops widely splayed to the inside.

The chamber in the semi-round south-west tower and the one adjoin-
ing in the south wall were enclosed to the courtyard, the doors opening
inwards. The wall recesses are all a few feet above the courtyard,
and have been enclosed, the base of the enclosing screen still existing, as
shown on the plan, all along the west curtain. It is, however, doubtful
if this enclosing wall is original. The base of a similar enclosing wall or
screen exists along the east curtain also.

FIG. 64. Dtmstaft'nage Castle. Plan of Battlements.

The oblong building at the entrance is mostly in the style of the six-
teenth or seventeenth century. It is four stories high, with a low base-
ment floor, having two squint shot-holes to the entrance passage. The
first floor was reached by an outside stair along the north wall, the second
by a wheel stair in the curtain, and from thence by a projecting corkscrew
to the top. There is access from one of the floors to the battlement
walk. At the west gable of this building, and between the entrance to
the courtyard and the south curtain, and of later date than the latter,
there is a mass of ruined masonry, the only probable explanation of which
is that it supported another stair to the battlement walk.

The battlements (Fig. 64), which are in a ruinous state, have evidentlv

FIRST PERIOD

DUNSTAFFNAGE CASTLE

FIG. 65. Dunstaffnage Castle.
View on East Battlements.

.been altered for guns (as have also several of the openings in the walls),
and three beautiful Spanish pieces, relics of the Armada, are lying on

the top. A two-pronged iron stand (Fig. 65)
fixed into a large stone, for holding a beacon
light, stands on the battlements near the
stair-turret of the south-east building.

The quaint eighteenth - century house
along the north curtain is two stories high,
with an outside stone stair to the upper floor,
and an inside service stair of wood from the
kitchen, now boarded over. In the upper
floor the ceilings are coomed, and the walls
and ceilings are lined with wood panelling,
with mantelpieces also of wood, all in good
style. The windows and door have O. G.
pediments, carved with festoons, and the
latter (Fig. 62) bears the date 1725 and the
letters M C and D L C.

About 160 yards south-west from the
castle is the chapel (Fig. 66). It measures
90 feet 7 inches long by 26 feet 6 inches
wide, and is divided into nave and chancel ;
up, and used as a private bury ing-ground,
door and steps are entirely modern, but
likely enough the gable is on the old foundation. The west gable has

angle shafts at the corners. The
walls exist to about their full height,
and are encumbered with an extra-
vagant growth of ivy, which prevents
the beautiful details from being seen.
The nave, used as a public burying-
ground, is 67 feet long by 20 feet
4 inches wide. There are indications
as of a porch near the west end of the south wall. The portion of the
north wall opposite is ruinous. East of this on both walls are three
narrow broadly-splayed lancet windows, the daylight measuring variously
from lOf to 10^ inches wide, and varying from about 6 feet to 8 feet
high. The two pairs of lancets next the chancel (Fig. 67) have
banded shafts, 6 feet 9| inches high by 5 inches diameter, with
the ordinary Early English base and carved caps. The eastmost lancet
in the south wall has a square abacus and dog-tooth ornament up the
side of the end shafts, and it only has similar dog-tooth ornament round
the outside splay. The jambs have bead and hollow mouldings continued
round the arch. It should be added that the westmost of these windows

the latter is
The east gable

now walled
with its

Fio. 00. Plan of Chapel.

DUNSTAFFNAGE CASTLE

FIRST PERIOD

in the north wall is ruined at the top, and that the central window is not
a lancet, but is round-headed. The west window in the south wall is
also round-headed, and is without shafts, having mouldings only on the
inner angle, but of a different section from those above described at B,
Fig. 67. The other and opposite windows, which are also round-headed,
are without shafts, and have mouldings only, but of a different section

FIG. t>7. Dunstaffnage Castle. Details of Chapel.

from those just described. The square reveal of the window openings
measures only 2 inches, with no groove for glass. Between these windows
and the pairs just described are ruined round-arched recesses, of which
nothing can be made. Running along the side walls inside, at about 3 feet
6 inches above the present floor level, and just beneath the windows, is a
moulded string-course of the section shown.

The opening into the chancel, now built up, is adorned in a similar

FIRST PERIOD - 92 DUNSTAFFNAGE CASTLE

style to the windows adjoining, only somewhat richer ; and probably few
things of this kind in Scotland have equalled it. It had beaded angle-
shafts and elaborate mouldings with dog-tooth enrichments continuous on
jamb and arch. The arch is gone, but it was doubtless semicircular.
Of the chancel nothing can be said, as it is inaccessible. The side walls
are evidently original, and there are no openings in them.

The fully developed Early Pointed style, of which this chapel is a fine
example, prevailed in Scotland from about the middle of the thirteenth
century till its close ; and, inferring from its details, the erection of the
chapel may be assigned to about the year 1250 ; and there is every pro-
bability, and almost certainty, that the castle is of the same age, and built
by the same men. The peculiar widely-splayed windows of the chapel
are to be seen in a very marked manner in the interior splays of many of
the castle loops, where they are unaltered ; and the Early Pointed lancets
in the curtain walls, already referred to, point to the same conclusion,
while the plan of the castle, with its round or partially rounded towers,
forms an intermediate link between the simpler form of castle, like that of
Kinclaven, and the completed style of the first period, like Bothwell and
Kildrummie. We have also in the Introduction called attention to the
resemblance between this castle and the walls and towers of St. Andre at
Villeneuve, built about 1300. The latter, as seen from the south-west, has
the same rounded angle containing a tower as we find at DunstafFnage, and
the walls of the enceinte are of the same plain and massive description.
The long loops are also similar. It is remarkable to find such a striking
similarity in castles so remotely situated from one another, although pro-
bably belonging to about the same period. The shape of the towers has
been limited in both instances by the outline of the rock, which circum-
stance has prevented them from being built with the usual bold salient
such, for instance, as we see at Inverlochy. Tradition and legend carry
Dunstaffhage back to a much remoter period, and probably the site early
commended itself as a strong place. By nature it is so, and but little
art would be required to render it almost impregnable against the simple
modes of warfare practised in those times. If any earlier castle stood
here, nothing of it now remains. While the existing castle was still new,
in the year 1308, Bruce, as related by Barbour,

" That stoute wes, stark, and bauld,

Till Dunstaffynch rycht sturdely

A sege set ; and besyly

Assaylit the castell it to get.

And, in schorl tym, he has thaim set

In swilk thrang, that thar in war than,

That magre tharis he it wan.

And ane gud wardane tharin set ;

And betaucht hym bath men and met,

Swa that he lang tyme thar mycht be,

Magre thaim all off that countre."

DUNSTAFFNAGE CASTLE - Q3 - FIRST PERIOD

By a charter which still exists, King Robert grants to Sir Arthur
Campbell " the Constabulary of Dunstaffnage and the Maines thereof
which Alexander Argyle had in his hands ; " while David n., in the
fourth year of his reign, dates a charter from Dunstaffnage. In 1455
Hume of Godscroft tells us that Earl Douglas "by flight got him to
Dunstaffnage, where, finding Donald Earle Rosse, and Lord of the Isles,
he incited him to make war against the King, James n., in his favours ; "
but whether this usurping and semi-independent chief was in possession
of Dunstaffnage at this time is a disputed point. In 1490 James iv. seems
to have twice visited Dunstaffnage in pursuance of his policy of winning
the favour and of attaching to his interests, by personal intercourse,
the wild western chiefs. Generally it may be said that the castle was
held in the interest of the Sovereign, and this continued to be the case
down to the period of the rebellion in 1715, and again in 1745, when
troops were quartered within its walls. Now a small portion of it is
occupied by one or two fishermen, who find its courtyard a convenient
place for the peaceful occupation of mending their nets.

BOTHWELL CASTLE, LANARKSHIRE.

Of our thirteenth-century castles, Bothwell, on the Clyde, is the
finest ; indeed it is probably the grandest ruin of its kind in Scotland.
This castle belonged in the thirteenth century to the De Moravia or
Murray family. It was taken by Edward i., and by him given to Aymer
de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, who was Governor of that part of Scotland.
The castle seems to have been a good deal in the hands of the English
till 1337, when it was taken by storm by the Scotch and dismantled. It
afterwards passed to the Douglas family by marriage, and continued in
their possession till their forfeiture under James 11., in 1445. The castle
is now the property of the Earl of Home.

Bothwell Castle is situated on a rocky promontory, having steep banks
sloping on the south and west to the river Clyde, while on the east and
north it was cut off from the adjoining level land by deep and wide
ditches, the outline of which may still be traced.

This castle (like those of the corresponding period in France and
England) consists of a great courtyard or bailey (Fig. 68), surrounded
with high enclosing walls, strengthened at the corners with round and
square towers, and provided with a great round donjon dominating the
whole. The total length of the building is 325 feet, by 140 feet in
width. The donjon (Fig. 68) is, as usual, situated on the enceinte, and
is cut off from the court by its own ditch and parapet. The donjon
and considerable portions of the south curtain and towers belong probably
to the latter half of the thirteenth century. The masonry of these por-

FIRST PERIOD

BOTHWELL CASTLE

BOTH WELL CASTLE

FIRST PERIOD

tions is built with a fine red freestone, carefully dressed and regularly
coursed.

The donjon (Figs. 69 and 70) is a noble tower, 65 feet in diameter,
and 90 feet in height to top of parapet. The walls are 15 feet

FIRST PERIOD

BOTHWELL CASTLE

thick, and the tower, which is circular externally, has been octagonal
internally ; but only four sides of the octagon now remain, the present
western enclosing wall being a late addition.

FIG. 70. Bothwell Castle. Section through Courtyard on Hue A B onJPlan, and Elevation of Donjon.

The story on the level of the courtyard (Fig. 72) had a wooden
floor, carried by beams, which rested on a stone arch and a central

pillar. The basement floor of
the donjon (Fig. 71), which is
below the level of the courtyard,
is entered by a newel stair from
above only. It evidently con-
tained the stores of the keep.
It also contains a draw-well of
good design under the inner
wall of the donjon (Fig. 73).

The floor above this forms
the hall of the donjon. It was
37 feet in diameter and 22 feet
high to the apex of the vault,
which had moulded ribs spring-
ing from corbels in the angles of

PIG. 71. -Bothwell Castle. Plan of Basement of Keep. the octagon, and resting Oil the

central pillar. The large window overlooking the court is enriched with
tracery, and the ingoing has had nook shafts with carved caps and bases,
and good simple arch moulds. The principal entrance is on the level of
the floor, but 3 feet above the level of the court, and the entrance

BOTHVVELL CASTLE 97 FIRST PERIOD

passage is zigzagged for the purpose of defence. It is also provided

Fio. 72. Bothwell Castle. Section through Donjon on line C D.

with a portcullis, which was worked from a small vaulted chamber
above (Fig. 74). The way in which the circular outline of the keep

OUTSIDE Of S DRAII^ FROM MOAT

xMRrv -

BOT,TOMlQF STAIR IN DUN JON WELL

Fio. 73. Bothwell Castle. Details of Donjon.

is broken with a spur to receive the entrance door and portcullis is

FIRST PERIOD

BOTHVVELL CASTLE

FIG. 74. Bothwell. In Portcullis Kooin of Donjon.

remarkable as also the great stone corbels near the parapet (Fig. 70),
evidently placed there to carry the defences sufficiently far out to

clear the spur and protect
the doorway. A drawbridge
has also been worked from
the portcullis room. This
drawbridge was of the earlier
description of these de-
fences, which were raised
by chains worked with a
windlass, but without any
of the balancing apparatus
such as we see in another
and later example in the same castle. Drawbridges of the latter kind
were not attached to doorways, even in France, till about 1300.

The newel staircase leading down to the basement is also continued
upwards to serve the upper floors and the roof of the donjon, and also
the parapets of the curtains. It enters from the hall, not from the
entrance passage, so that eveiy one going in or out would be visible as
he passed through the hall.

The first and second floors do not appear to have been vaulted, but
to have had strongly framed and strutted floors, probably supported by
the central pillar, continued up in wood (as suggested in the section).
The first floor has no window to the court, and probably had only small
loops to the exterior. This apartment seems to have been occupied by
the garrison, and for the storing of munitions of war. It is on the level
of the parapets of the curtains, and would thus form a convenient post
for the soldiers. The top story has a fine pointed window to the court,
divided by a central shaft into two lights with trefoiled heads. This was
no doubt the private apartment of the lord and his family. The parapet
is entirely gone, but must probably have been finished in a somewhat
similar style to that of Coucy, ante, p. 37 (to which this castle has also
other strong points of resemblance), and crowned with embrasures and
crenellations. The corbels remaining over the spur of the doorway are
similar to those of Coucy, and there was probably a row of smaller corbels
at a higher level, on which wooden hoards would be supported when
required. The large corbels over the doorway would receive larger and
more projecting hoards, for the purpose of defending the doorway and
also the entrance to the donjon from the parapet of the north curtain.
It is worthy of note that the- mother of Alexander in., who played a con-
siderable part in Scottish history at this period, was Marie de Coucy, the
sister of Engherrand de Coucy, who built the great castle of Coucy,
which Bothwell so strongly recalls in many of its features.

The roof of the donjon stair was no doubt continued higher than

BOTH WELL CASTLE

FIRST PERIOD

100

BOTHWELL CASTLE

101

FIRST PERIOD

the parapet, and formed a lofty watch-tower. There is a communica-
tion from the donjon (Fig. 75) to passages in the thickness of the
south curtain. These contain garde-robes. They also flank the donjon
and enfilade the ditch from crosslet loops. The flues from these garde-
robes descend in the thickness of the wall, and the arrangement for
cleaning them out at the bottom is peculiar. A passage runs from the
moat of the donjon through the wall (Fig. 69) where the flues reach the
bottom, so that these may be washed out by water let off from the moat.
But as the opening in the wall for this purpose might be taken advantage
of for gaining access to the moat, the passage is divided, and carried

FIG. 77. Both well Castle. Buttress at North- West Angle.

round a central pier, which completely blocks the entrance, and renders
it impassable (Fig. 73). This arrangement shows that the moat was
sometimes supplied with water, and probably explains the use of a
large stone supply sink and drain in the north curtain wall. Rain-
water from the roofs may have been collected by gutters and led to
this trough, or water may have been carted from the exterior and poured

FIRST PERIOD

102

BOTHWELL CASTLE

through the stone filler into it, and so carried by a drain to the moat,
which in this way would be well washed out, and the waste water dis-
charged through the aperture above described ; or the water may have
been stored in a tank, and occasionally let off through the moat, when
both tank and moat would be cleaned out.

FIG. 78. Bothwell Castle. Buttress at East End of North Wall.

There is a postern door from the moat leading to the external ditch
(see Fig. 72), which has been provided with a portcullis, besides two
doors with strong bars.

The two upper floors of the donjon (Fig. 75) communicate by the
passages in the south curtain with the south parapet walks, but the com-
munication is very strongly defended with doors and narrow sloping
passages. There was usually in castles of this type a private way of
escape from the donjon, and it seems in this case to have been by
these passages to the parapet and tower adjoining, and thence by the

BOTHWELL CASTLE

103

FIRST PERIOD

postern in the south wall. The doorway of this postern has been strongly
defended with a portcullis, and it opens above a perpendicular rock
8 feet or 10 feet high (Fig. 76). The basement floor of the round
tower adjoining has been the prison. It is provided with a garde-robe and
a small aperture for ventilation at a high level. The upper floors of this
tower and the portcullis chamber adjoining were entered by an outside
stair, so that the only access to the south battlements is through this
post, and the outside stair leading to it is thoroughly commanded from
the battlement walk above. The remainder of the south curtain is
defended by a square tower on the flank, and by a large round tower at
the south-east corner (Figs. 75, 76). The curtain wall rises from a per-
pendicular rock 15 feet to 20 feet high, and there are no apertures in the

FIG. 79. Section and Elevation of Doorway in North-East Tower.

lower part of the curtain. The upper part of the curtain, containing the
windows of apartments and of the chapel was rebuilt about 1400. The
south-east tower (Fig. 83) is a fine specimen of the architecture of the
thirteenth century. It has no stair from the ground floor, the entrance
being on the first floor, where a newel stair begins, and runs to the roof.
The upper part of this tower, with the beautiful corbelling of its machico-
lations, is considerably later than the donjon, probably of the same date
as the hall and chapel adjoining. The various towers round the enceinte
were within recent times known by the names of the " Valence Tower,"
the " Douglas Tower," the " Hamilton Tower," etc., from which it may
perhaps be inferred that Aymer de Valence may have added to the
castle during the English occupation.

The castle must have suffered greatly during the War of Independ-
ence, when it frequently changed hands, and (as we have seen) was
dismantled in 1377.

After this demolition, the north and east curtains have evidently been

FIRST PERIOD

104

BOTHWELL CASTLE

rebuilt towards the end of the fourteenth century, or the beginning of
the fifteenth century. The style of the masonry is greatly inferior to the
early work, and the junctions of the new and old work are distinctly
traceable. The forms of the flanking buttresses, with their corbelling
and overhanging turrets, also indicate the above period (Figs. 77 and 78).

FIG. 80. View of Drawbridge in North-East Tower (restored).

The north-east tower was square, and has been large and strong,
in order to protect this, which may be considered the weakest point of
the enceinte. This tower is now greatly ruined, but in Slezer's view,

BOTHWELL CASTLE

105

FIRST PERIOD

published in 1693, it is shown complete,, and crowned with a corbelled
parapet having turrets at the angles. These are in the style ot the
fifteenth century, and may have been additions. There is here a
unique example of the em-
ployment of a drawbridge
(Figs. 79 and 80) on the
inside door of this tower,
which evidently formed part
of the original building be-
fore the hall and other parts
were erected in the court-
yard. This illustrates what
was pointed out in connec-
tion with the French castles,
viz., that at this period each
tower formed an independ-
ent post. The object here

clearly was, in case of the Fir - 8i.-Detaiis from

enemy obtaining possession of the courtyard, to cut the besiegers off,
by raising the drawbridge, from all access to the north-east tower or the

FIG. 82. Bothwell Castle. Elevation of Hall.

battlements of enceinte, all of which would continue the defence till
separately reduced. As above mentioned, this drawbridge shows the
later form of these defences, careful provision being made in the masonry
for the counterpoise, etc. This specimen is quite unique in Scotland.

This important castle also beautifully illustrates the period in castel-
lated architecture when the lords, tired of the narrow bounds of their
donjons, built themselves spacious halls and residences round the enceinte.
We have here a fine example of this change of manners in the great hall

FIRST PERIOD

106

BOTHWELL CASTLE

(65 feet long by 32 feet wide), the chapel, and other buildings erected
within the enceinte. These were no doubt constructed by the Douglases
while they held the castle, as is apparent from the Douglas arms being
carved in different places (Fig. 81). It is most likely that they were
built by Earl Archibald the Grim, about 1400. The mouldings and
enrichments correspond with those of the churches of that date, such
as St. Bride's Chapel at Bothwell, which was founded by Archibald
the Grim in 1398, and bears his arms, and Lincluden College, Dumfries,
which was also rebuilt by him.

FIG. 83. Bothwell Castle. View of Chapel, South-East Tower, and Window and Door in Hall.

The hall is on the first floor, with vaulted cellars beneath. The east
wall is built independently of the curtain, and about 18 inches from it,
probably from a desire not to weaken the curtain, and also, perhaps, to
secure a private passage along it. From the height of the sills of the
windows in the west wall (Fig. 82), there would appear to have been a

BOTHWELL CASTLE

107

FIRST PERIOD

corridor running along the west side of the hall, with the roof resting
against it. Some remains of the stair at the north end leading to the
corridor (Fig. 84) existed within recent years, but are now removed. The
south, or dais end, has a fine window with tracery (Fig. 83), and a door
communicating with a corridor leading to the chapel and private apart-
ments along the south wall, of which the windows are visible in the south
elevation (Fig. 7^)- The two eastern bays of the chapel (Figs. 75, 83)

FIG: 84. Bothwell Castle. Suggested Restoration.

are 32 feet long and 18 feet wide, and have been roofed with groined
vaulting ; some of the vaulting shafts and carved work still remain, as
also a double piscina at the east end. The chapel extended one bay
westwards. This bay seems to have had a plain barrel vault, and con-
tained the entrance doorway (one jamb of which still remains) and
a holy-water stoup in the north wall and a window similar to that of
the two eastern bays in the south wall. The kitchen and offices were

FIRST PERIOD 108 BOTH WELL CASTLE

probably under the chapel and hall, and there appears to have been
the usual screen with a gallery at the north end of the hall. It is curious
that there is no trace of a fireplace in this great hall, but it has probably
been carried off, as being too good to be left, and has disappeared. The
fireplace of the great hall at Doune has met with a similar fate. At
Dunblane, Craigmillar, and elsewhere, the jambs of fine old ornamental
fireplaces and other carved work may be seen utilised as gateposts to
gardens, farm-steadings, etc. There were also domestic buildings with
windows in the south curtain, along the south side of the courtyard.

Unfortunately all trace of the main gateway to the castle has dis-
appeared. It seems most likely that it was situated at the gap in the
north curtain, where the wall is demolished, and would probably be
defended with towers. There would also be a drawbridge over the moat,
and possibly a fortified gatehouse or barbican beyond. Fig. 84 repre-
sents the supposed appearance of Bothwell Castle after its restoration
by Archibald the Grim about the year 1400.

KILDRUMMIE CASTLE, ABERDEENSHIRE.

Bothwell Castle, as above mentioned, was built by the Murrays. It
is not a little remarkable that another of the great thirteenth-century
castles, still partly preserved, was also erected by a Murray.

Kildrummie, in Aberdeenshire, one ot the largest castles in Scotland,
was built by Gilbert de Moravia, Bishop of Caithness, in the reign of Alex-
ander ii. This castle is situated near the river Don, and occupies a very
strong position on the top of a high bank which slopes steeply down to a
rivulet on the north and west sides, while on the east and south the castle
was protected by a deep fosse, the eastern portion of which still remains.
It resembles Bothwell in general design. In plan (Fig. 85) it is an
irregular quadrangle (the south side bulging out in the centre towards
the gateway), and had high curtain walls enclosing the enceinte, flanked
by six round towers at the angles and gateway. One of these, called
the Snow Tower, situated at the north-west angle, was of great size,
being 53 feet in diameter, and no doubt formed the donjon. It also
contained a draw-well. The walls of this tower are now only a few feet
in height.

The castle measures 200 feet in length along the north front, by 175
feet in breadth, exclusive of the towers. The entrance-gate was on the
south, and appears to have been flanked by two towers, now entirely
demolished. Immediately opposite the gateway there is a great hall, 73
feet by 41 feet built against the north wall, with four windows overlooking
the valley to the north (Fig. 86). Unfortunately the buildings within
the enceinte are almost entirely demolished. The walls of the block con-

KILDRUMMIE CASTLE

109

FIRST PERIOD

taining the hall are the best-preserved portion, and they are for the
most part only about 5 feet high. The south wall shows remains of
four loops which lighted the basement, the hall being on the first floor.
The floor of the hall seems to have been of wood, as there is no indica-
tion of the basement having been vaulted. The chapel is conspicuous
(Figs. 87, 88, and 88A), with its three tall lancet windows, in its only
remaining wall to the east. These from their style are undoubtedly
thirteenth-century work, and must have formed part of the original

KILORUMMyCASTL

\\\ X ABERQEENSHIRE

FIG. 85. Kildrummie Castle. Ground Plan.

building. As at Bothwell, the chapel has been larger than in the
later castles, measuring about 35 feet by 20 feet. The masonry of the
buildings generally is built with the finely dressed and coursed ash-
lar characteristic of the period. It is of freestone, which must have been
brought from a considerable distance, as there is none in Aberdeenshire.
The form of the windows in the north-east tower (Figs. 86, 87) is unusual,
and seems to point to the English occupation for its origin, being the

FIRST PERIOD

110

KILDRUMMIE CASTLE

KILORUMMIE CASTLE

Ill

FIRST PERIOD

112

KILDRUMMIE CASTLE

square-headed trefoil so commonly adopted in the Edwardian Castles. A
great deal has been written about a subterranean passage supposed to
exist in connection with the outworks. All that can now be seen is the
remains of a stone staircase leading from a small postern in the north
wall,, to what was evidently an underground passage. This may have been
for access to the stream below for water, or it may have been in connec-

FIG. 88. Kilclrummie. Plan ami Interior Elevation of East End of Chapel.

tion with the defences. Similar subterranean passages have been men-
tioned as occurring at Arques, Dover, and other castles, and we shall meet
with further examples at Yester Castle, East Lothian.

This castle passed through many vicissitudes. It was besieged by
Edward i. in 1306, and yielded in consequence of a great conflagration,

KILDHUMMIE CASTLE

113

FIRST PERIOD

when Nigel Bruce, the King's brother, fell into Edward's hands. Some
of the buildings, no doubt, date from that period, when it was probably
restored by the English ; and when the square-headed trefoil, above
referred to as characteristic of English domestic work, was introduced.
Amongst other strange changes of fortune, Kildrummie was bestowed
by James in. on his favourite, Robert Cochrane, the architect, who was
hanged at Lauder Bridge.

Fie. 88.\. Kildruininie. View of Interior of Chapel.

The following three examples, viz., Dirleton Castle, Yester Castle,
and Hailes Castle, all in East Lothian, contain considerable remains of
thirteenth-century work.

FIRST PERIOD

114

DIRLETON CASTLE

DIRLETON CASTLE, HADDINGTONSHIRE.

Dirleton, now the property of Lady Mary Nisbet Hamilton, was a
strong castle at the time of Edward the First's invasion in 1297, and^it

l- r,

5.1.

then stood a famous siege by Bishop Anthony Beck. It appears to have
been built by the Devaux or De Valibus family. After being taken by

DIRLETON CASTLE

115

FIRST PERIOD

Beck, the castle was demolished, the only portions which seem to have
been left standing being the
south-west towers,, two of them
round, the other square (Figs.
89, 90), with the adjoining
walls, and the lower part of the
south-east tower. These por-
tions, which are shaded black
on the plan, were undoubtedly
parts of the thirteenth century
castle. They still exist, having
been incorporated in the build-
ings of the castle when re-
erected a century later. The
newer buildings most probably

show the extent of the old Fio. 90. -Dirleton Castle from the West.

castle, as the outline of the rock which forms the site naturally

FIG. 91. Dirleton Castle. View of Interior of South-West Tower.

FIRST PERIOD

116

DIRLETON CASTLE

defines the shape and extent of the fortress. This rock is not high,
but stands clear above the general level, while the deep moat sunk
around it added considerably to its elevation, and the rocky nature
of the foundations rendered the walls safe against the operations

of the miner. The original
castle evidently had the lofty
curtains and round towers
which distinguished the thir-
teenth century. The south-
west towers and -adjoining
walls are all of the solid ashlar-
work then used, and the rooms
were lighted only with narrow
loop-holes, the present win-
dows in the upper floor having
been enlarged at a later period.
The apartments in this circular
tower (Fig. 91) are multangu-
lar internally (like the Keep of
Bothwell), and vaulted with a
rude multangular dome, with-
out ribs in the angles, such as
are shown in Billings' view.
The fireplaces are enriched, the
dog-tooth and other mouldings
indicating Early English or thir-
teenth-century work (Fig. 92).
The battered basement wall of the south-east tower still exists, and
has been utilised in the re-erection of the castle (see Plan).

The other portions of this castle belong to a later period, and will be
referred to hereafter.

FIG. 92. Dirleton Castle. Details of Fireplace
in South-West Tower.

YESTER CASTLE, HADDINGTONSHIRE.

The Castle of Yester belonged to the Gifford family, and was erected
(according to Cosmo Innes) in 1268. It is now the property of the Mar-
quis of Tweeddale. This castle is situated on a high triangular promon-
tory at the junction of the Hopes Water and a smaller burn, the banks
of which are precipitous, while the site is cut off from the adjoining land
on the third side by a great fosse, about 50 feet wide and 20 feet deep.
The general plan of the site (Fig. 93) is thus triangular. The walls were
lofty, those still remaining being about 40 feet high and 6 feet 6 inches
thick (Fig. 94). Of these the only portions now standing are the northern
angle and part of the east flank, but the general plan may be traced
from the ruins of the foundations.

YESTER CASTLE

117

FIRST PERIOD

The northern wall, or that nearest the point of the triangle, is- a
curtain without flanking towers, and without any openings except a small

postern door. Returning portions of the east and west curtains branch
off from the northern wall.

FIRST PERIOD

118

YESTER CASTLE

There appear to have been buildings on each side of the central
courtyard, with sloping roofs resting against the curtains, the chases for
which are seen in the north wall. A piscina or basin is visible in the
upper floor of the west wall, with a drain to the outside. The postern

Fio. 94. Tester Castle. View of East and North Walls and Subterranean Chamber, looking South.

door in the north wall leads to a small open piece of ground at the point
of the promontory, on which there may have stood a tower or detached
work for defence.

The principal gateway was evidently at the south side of the enceinte,
and seems to have been defended by two towers ; there is also a round

YESTER CASTLE 119 FIRST PERIOD

arched bridge across the small burn near this point, showing that the
approach to the castle was in this position. This bridge is built with
carefully-dressed masom-y in regular courses, and is certainly of old date.
The parapet has been renewed in a less careful manner in 1717, a stone

inserted in it bearing that date, with the letters . -, (probably for the

o 1

Marquess of Tweeddale). A wall seems to have run from the south-east
corner tower of the enceinte down to the Hopes Burn as an additional
protection. The part of the wall of enceinte which remains on the east
side is about 50 feet long and at least 30 feet high. The ground-floor
at this point contained a semicircular vaulted chamber, above which has
apparently been the hall. But this part of the building is of later date,
probably fifteenth century, to judge from the mouldings of a window on the
upper floor. A peculiar feature in this hall is a large window in the back of
the huge vent of the fireplace, the sill being about 6 feet above the floor.

But the most remarkable building connected with the castle is a sub-
terranean chamber, having underground passages cut in the rock, leading
from it, popularly known as "The Goblin Hall," and so named on the
plan and sections (Fig. 93). This underground chamber is the hall
referred to by Sir Walter Scott in the " Host's Tale " in Marmion. It
is entered from the castle by a long straight flight of steps, with doorways
in the centre as well as the top and bottom, which have been defended
with strong bars against entrance from the exterior. The chamber is
situated immediately outside the north wall of the castle, below the open
ground above referred to. Its position is shown by dotted lines on the
plan and by the sections (Fig. 93). It is 37 feet long by 13 feet wide, and
is vaulted with a pointed tunnel vault (Fig. 95) 19 feet high to apex,
strengthened with numerous broad splayed ribs. This chamber was
divided into two stories in the height, with a wooden floor at the level of
the springing of the vault. The apertures for the joists, and portions of
the joists themselves, are still apparent. There is a door to the upper floor
(see sketch, Fig. 94) under the castle wall, nearly above that to the lower
floor, and there must have been a passage to this door from the central
landing of the stair. At the north end of the chamber (see enlarged
plan and section A B, Fig. 93) there is a passage with a pointed vault cut
through the rock, which leads westwards to the outside about half-way
down the slope of the precipitous bank of the stream. This passage is
33 feet 6 inches long. It has a considerable slope downwards towards the
outside, and is defended by three doors, with strong sliding bars, the iron
door at the outside being 4 feet 4 inches high, and 2 feet 6 inches wide.
The inner door seems to have been provided with a portcullis.

A similar passage was begun to be formed on the opposite side of the
chamber, and a doorway (see plan and section, Fig. 93) with slots for slid-
ing bars is there built, but it leads only to a face of solid rock. The
constructors seem to have changed their mind, and, stopping operations
in this direction, proceeded to cut a descending staircase through the

FIRST PERIOD

120

YESTER CASTLE

TESTER , GOBLIN MALI

FIG. 9.5. View in Subterranean Chamber, looking North.

YESTER CASTLE 121 FIRST PERIOD

rock, starting at the same point as the above passage. This staircase
descends 44 feet, measuring on the slope of the stair, when it reaches a
well sunk in the rock, which formerly contained water, although now
filled up with stones. It seems to have been intended to cut the passage
or staircase further, as it is left unfinished, with a face of rock at the end.
Probably it has been meant to continue these unfinished passages as
mines round the building, with a view to act as countermines wherever
found necessary to resist the sapping operations of besiegers.

In the north wall of the subterranean chamber there is a remark-
able aperture with a flue or tunnel leading upwards, the purpose of which
is at first sight matter of doubt and conjecture (sections, Fig. 93, and
view, Fig. 95). There are deep slots in the wall as if for sliding beams to
carry a platform, placed at a level about half-way between the two floors,
and the corbels which supported these beams still remain. The position
of these corbels and beam-holes, and the slope of the back of the aperture
are peculiar, but the simplest mode of explaining them is to suppose that
they formed part of a fireplace. The sloping back of the chimney is not
unusual, especially when the hearth was covered with a hood. Hoods,
being often of wood or plaster, have generally disappeared. In this case
the hood would be constructed of wood, the beams carrying it being
inserted in the wall holes and supported by the corbels beneath. The
hood would be finished with plaster and sloped back to the wall towards
the top of the chamber. The sloping back of the flue in the wall would
thus correspond with the slope of the hood. The hearth would be on the
level of the floor and the smoke would rise perpendicularly along the
straight part of the wall till it reached the hood. The use of the side
corbels, which is at first unintelligible, is thus explained. They are the
brackets frequently introduced at the sides of fireplac.es to carry lamps,
of which a fine example occurs at Tullyallan. A fireplace of almost
identical construction with the one at Hailes occurs at the castle ot
Villeneuve-les-Avigiion, already referred to. The chimney of Dirleton
Tower (Fig. 91) is covered with a stone hood, and the back of the fire-
place begins to slope at the hearth, but in other instances, as at Dun-
donald Castle, the slope begins at some distance above the floor, as it
does here. Possibly this chamber served several purposes. It has clearly
been intended for a military post, where soldiers might assemble, and
from which they might sally out by the secret door above described. It
might also be used for secretly introducing reinforcements and provisions.

This chamber, with its secret rock-cut passages and stairs, strongly
recalls similar constructions in early French castles, such as Arques and
Roche Guyon. Underground passages were also not uncommon in the
early English castles, as at Windsor, where a passage was tunnelled from
the castle down to the edge of the river. At Dover, also, numerous
similar passages are cut in the chalk rock round the castle.

FIRST PERIOD

122

HAILES CASTLE

HAILES CASTLE, HADDINGTONSHIRE.
We have the remains of another of these thirteenth-century castles

at Hailes, near East Linton. This castle (Fig. 96) is situated on a rocky

HAILES CASTLE -123 FIRST PERIOD

promontory on the south bank of the Tyne, formed by the June-

"'"*"

;;>'-<"" i

tion of another small stream with the river. The castle has been of
considerable dimensions, its length being 240 feet by 90 feet wide. In

FIRST PERIOD 124 HAILES CASTLE

general form it somewhat resembles Bothwell, but the keep, situated

at the point of the promontory, is square instead of round (Figs. 97,

HAILES CASTLE

125

FIRST PERIOD

98.) The walls of enceinte are 8 feet 6 inches thick, and have been
strengthened with towers at intervals. The lower portion of the walls

FIG. 99. Hailes Castle. View in Court from Entrance.

seems to be original all round, but the upper portions have been greatly
altered at a later date, the hall seen in the view from the courtyard
(Fig. 99) being probably of the sixteenth century. Some of the details
shown on the sketches (Figs. 99A, 99s) are evidently parts of the earlier
work, and the north postern, adjoining the square donjon, is certainly
very ancient.

FIG. 99A.

One ancient portion of the building which is specially worthy ol note is
a postern stair at B on plan, strongly vaulted and ribbed, which leads down
to the river. About half-way down there is a landing (section, Fig. 99u)
which has been protected by a drawbridge, the outer edge of which rested
on a tall built pier, having a deep pit between the pier and the stair-landing.
The remainder of the stair was probably of wood, and moveable. Hailes

FIRST PERIOD 126 HAILES CASTLE

castle belonged from a very early period to the Hepburns, and the more

Flo. 99B.

modern parts belong to the time of the famous James Hepburn, Earl of
Bothwell, Queen Mary's husband.

FIG. 100. Old Hailes Castle.

CAERLAVEROCK CASTLE

127

FIRST PERIOD

SLUO-

CAERLAVEROCK CASTLE, DUMFRIESSHIRE.

Caerlaverock Castle is situated on the shore of the Solway at the
mouth of the river Nith, aud about 7 miles distant from Dumfries. The
castle is in ruins, but is well preserved and taken care of by its noble
owner, Lord Herries. The building, which is triangular on plan
(Fig. 101), measures about 171 feet
along its southern side or base, and
1 52 feet along its eastern and western
sides respectively, and is surrounded
by a deep moat full of water measur-
ing about 70 feet wide. Surround-
ing this, and separating the castle
from a marsh (which probably ex-
tended originally to the Solway), on
all sides, except the north, there is a
great mound of earth about 70 feet
in width, with a sluice into the
marsh near the south-west corner.
All along the northern side is firm
ground, a large portion of which has
been enclosed to form a courtyard
beyond the moat. Of the enclosing
wall only the arched gateway remains, about 300 yards north from the
moat. The entrance gateway of the castle towards the north was pro-
tected by the moat, which was crossed by a drawbridge, and beyond
this with a ditch which united the marsh on the east and west sides,
and was doubtless crossed by another bridge.

The castle in its present form (Fig. 102) is the work of six distinct
periods. To the first period belong the outside triangular walls of
enceinte. The west wall as it now stands is almost all the work of this
period, the east wall likewise, in large portions, and also what remains
of the south wall. The castle thus seems originally to have consisted
of high walls enclosing a courtyard, with temporary or slight build-
ings inside, similar to the early castles above described, such as
Kinclaven, which is square on plan, Rothesay, which is round on plan,
and Dunstaffhage, which is of irregular plan, while Caerlaverock is
triangular on plan. How the points of the three angles terminated we
do not know, but probably they were provided with round towers similar
to those now existing.

In the roll of Caerlaverock, recounting the siege of the castle by
Edward i. in 1300, written by Walter of Exeter, who accompanied
Edward's army, the castle is described as being in figure like a shield of
three sides, with a tower on each angle, one of these a jumellated or

FIG. 101. Caerlaverock Castle. Plan of Site.

FIRST PERIOD

128

CAERLAVEROCK CASTLE

double one, so high, so long, and so spacious, that under it was the gate,
with a drawbridge, well made and strong, with a sufficiency of other
defences.

It has generally been asserted that the castle besieged by Edward
was,jsituated a few hundred yards to the south of the present ruin. It
may, however, be said with almost absolute certainty that the outer
walls of the castle just described are not later than the thirteenth cen-
tury. That there was a castle a little further in on the marsh to the
south is obvious, but it was evidently mainly an earthwork.

Fio. 102. Caerlaverock Castle. Plan of Ground Floor, etc. ;..

The siege, which was a formidable affair, with powerful engines hurl-
ing huge stones day and night against the castle, terminated by the

CAERLAVEROCK CASTLE - 129 FIRST PERIOD

capitulation of the garrison, which was found to consist of only sixty men.
The towers were probably then demolished, as in the case of Dirleton
Castle, also besieged by Edward, where the stump of one of the
demolished round towers is incorporated with the walls of the existing
castle, which was erected about 100 years later.

The buildings of the second period are immediately behind the
round towers, at the entrance gateway, and comprised some 10 or 12
feet of the outer walls where the latter join the towers. This part of
the walls is of a different style of workmanship and materials from the
older part, but it is probably a rebuilding or repair of the original design.
The northern point of this portion of the building formed the original
entrance, and part of the old front is still standing at about 1 1 feet in
from the present doorway. At this place an opening is seen in the roof
(section, Fig. 102), in length the full breadth of the passage by 2 feet
wide, leading up to the room, afterwards added, from which the port-
cullis and drawbridge were worked. In the face of the wall forming
the south side of this opening there still exists a narrow loophole, some
8 or 9 feet in length by about 2 inches in width, widened at the base,
so that it exactly resembles a spade (sketch, Fig. 102). The base is
sharply splayed so as to give an almost perpendicular aim. The whole
will be recognised at once as the kind of slit so commonly seen in the
outer walls of Edwardian castles. In its present position, with a wall

2 feet in front of it, such a contrivance would be useless. This conclu-
sively shows, even in the absence of the other evidence, referred to
further on, that the present entrance doorway, with portcullis-room above,
have been added in front of the old entrance at a later date, and that the
inner wall with the Edwardian loop formed the exterior face of the castle.
If therefore the buildings of the second period are Edwardian, the build-
ings of the first period may well have been those against which Edward
laid siege. The original entrance doorway was thus deeply recessed
between the double towers referred to by Walter of Exeter, as was usual
at that time. The round towers were, as we shall see, rebuilt at a later
period, when they were probably carried up on the old foundations,
and the new gateway, etc., added in front of the old one. In the room
immediately behind the above loophole there is a round arch 6 feet

3 inches wide, now built up (Fig. 105). This evidently led into a wall
recess out of which the slit opened, as at Dunstaffnage and other early
examples. This recess formed the room from which the original portcullis
was worked ; the groove for the portcullis still remains in the masonry.

The third period of building operations comprises the front, with its
twin towers, the two southern angle towers, and probably a contraction
of the passage at the inner end of the entrance passage. The imperfect
junction in the arching of the passage where the work of this period
joins that of the second period is quite obvious. The different style of

FIRST PERIOD

130

the masonry and the tint of the stones in the round towers, is also

^ /

* #
il

*s f

a '

quite distinct from that of the outside walls of the first period. This is
particularly clear at the south-west corner, where, at about 6 feet north-

CAERLAVEROCK CASTLE 131 FIRST PERIOD

wards from Murdoch's Tower, there is a perpendicular joint from top to
bottom of the wall, showing the junction of the old and new work.
The front towers (Fig. 103) measure about 26 feet in outside diameter.
Being provided with gun-holes which are clearly original and not inserted,
these towers cannot be earlier than the middle of the fifteenth century.
In both towers the ground floor was vaulted, but the vaults are now
ruinous. They rise from the ground as bee-hive vaults, and seem to have
been insertions, as the wall behind, from which they have fallen away,
has a finished face on the inside. The towers contain two stories above
the vaults, the western one being domed and ribbed at the top.

The portcullis-room between the towers (plan and section, Fig. 1 02) is
at a sufficient height above the ground to admit of the portcullis being
drawn up without the necessity of its coming into the room, which
is thus left free for the purpose of working the drawbridge from it. The
numerous grooves in the walls for the windlasses and beams connected
with the hoisting apparatus are still visible. This room is probably a
reconstruction in stone of what in the original castle may have been a
wooden hoarding, which contained the apparatus for hoisting the draw-
bridge, and also served as a defence over the gateway.

The buildings of the fourth period of operations comprise the range
against the west wall, which is two stories high, with three rooms on
each floor. As will be seen on the plans, the southern rooms do not
now exist. The appearance of this range of buildings, with their fine
mullioned and traiisomed windows, and with Murdoch's Tower in the
background, is shown on Fig. 104.

At this period the west curtain wall was heightened by 6 or 8 feet in
inferior masonry, of stones, small as compared with those of the wall below,
and at the same time a window, the only opening in this wall, was slapped
out in the so-called library (Fig. 105). The date of these buildings was
probably the first half of the sixteenth century. This portion of the
castle shows very clearly how the ancient wall of enceinte was altered
and utilised in connection with the extended buildings which were placed
against it at a later date.

The fifth period of the works comprises the large circular staircase on
the west side and the lofty archway adjoining, in continuation of the
entrance passage (Fig. 106). The work of this period has blocked up a
finely moulded doorway with an old Gothic lintel of the previous period,
leading from the south into the circular staircase on the first floor. (See
plan, Fig. 105.)

The sixth and last period of the history of Caerlaverock comprehends
the splendid range of buildings forming the east and south sides of the
courtyard built by Robert, Lord Maxwell, probably about the time he
.was created first Earl of Nithsdale, in 1620. These buildings are in the
Renaissance style, which was then coming greatly into use in Scotland,

FIRST PERIOD

132

CAERLAVEROCK CASTLE

and superseding the native style of architecture. Along the east side
the buildings remain entire for a considerable length, three stories

FIG. 104. Caerlaverock. View in Courtyard, looking South-West

in height, with highly ornamental windows (Fig. 106), having thin
rounded attached shafts with bracketed bases and Ionic caps, cornices,
and pediments, triangular and curved, all filled with sculpture and
heraldic carving. The sculpture represents classic legends, such as

CAERLAVEROCK CASTLE

133

FIRST PERIOD

Prometheus on the rock with the vultures. Every window tells its
own story, which was doubtless suggested by the Earl himself, who is
known by the sobriquet of the Philosopher. Among the heraldic
emblems are the Maxwell saltier and double-headed eagle, with the
Nithsdale crest a stag with a holly bush, and the initials of the Earl
and his wife, Elizabeth Beaumont. The panel over the outer entrance
gateway contains the Nithsdale, Maxwell, and Royal Arms, and is
evidently an insertion.

FIG. 105. Caerlaverock Castle. Plan of First Floor.

The grouping and design of the windows and doorways alternating
along the ground floor is very beautiful, and with the splendid doorway
leading into the banqueting-hall (Fig. 104), right opposite the entrance-
passage, entitles this to rank as one of the finest and richest specimens
of early Renaissance in Scotland. Unfortunately, of the banqueting-hall
only the basement floor now exists.

Fig. 107 shows one of the fireplaces in the eastern wing, the others
being of a corresponding character.

These seventeenth-century buildings are all lighted from the outside
as well as from the courtyard, the curtain wall on the east side, which
is entire to the top, having been slapped and partly rebuilt. The south

FFRST PERIOD

CAERLAVEROCK CASTLE

FIG. 10(5. Caerlaverock Castle. North Angle of Courtyard.

CAERLAVEROCK CASTLE

135

FIRST PERIOD

curtain only exists to the height of two stories at the east end, and at its
west end to the height of about 3 feet.

The buildings on the east side are vaulted on the ground floor, and
contain the kitchen and well-room adjoining, also used as a secondary
kitchen, having an oveii. A service-room adjoining the banqueting-hall
has its roof vaulted with a raking or sloping arch, so as to support the
steps of the grand staircase. The latter is entirely ruined, but it has been
on a scale of considerable magnificence. A small service-stair leads from
the well-room to the private dining-room and other apartments above.

The chapel is said to have been situated over the banqueting-hall,
but nothing remains to indicate this. The round tower adjoining the
banqueting-hall, and belonging to an early period of the castle, is quite
ruinous. It had a wheel stair
giving access to its upper floors,
and to the rampart walk. We
have mentioned this tower as
belonging to the third period,
more because it seems naturally
to belong to the same period as
the corresponding tower (Mur-
doch's) at the opposite end than
from any indications in itself.

Murdoch's Tower, about 21
feet in external diameter, con-
tains three floors above the
ground floor. The latter enters
directly from the courtyard level,
the first floor by a door up a few
feet, and the upper floors by a
straight stair leading from the
rampart walk.

We have already referred to
the tradition of an earlier castle of Caerlaverock, triangular in plan,
situated some 300 yards southwards from the present building, which
is supposed to have remained intact till 1357, when it was taken
down and rebuilt in the same shape in its new position. There can
be no doubt of the existence of this earlier castle, but the story other-
wise is unsupported, and extremely improbable, considering that the
present curtain walls, in part at least, are evidently not later than the
thirteenth century. The position of Caerlaverock, either the old or new
site, is a strong one, on the edge of what was a pathless morass. The
earlier castle, which was an earthwork, was in all likelihood the "strength"
of primitive settlers, and seems to have been abandoned for the more con-
venient and equally strong situation of the existing ruins at the time

PIG. 107.

FIRST PERIOD 136 TARBERT CASTLE

when castle-building in stone began in Scotland. Viewed in the light of
its various architectural styles, and in the light of its own history, it is
clear that the original portions of this castle could not have been erected
later than about the middle of the fourteenth century, the date at which
Caerlaverock Castle is said to have changed its site.

TARBERT CASTLE, ARGYLLSHIRE.

This castle is of unusual interest from being intimately associated with
King Robert the Bruce. It is situated on a small creek called Loch
Tarbert, on the west side of Loch Fyne, and stands on the summit of an
eminence about 60 feet above the sea, and at a distance from the shore
of about 60 yards. It was one of the royal fortresses which Edward i.
caused to be handed over to Baliol, after placing him on the throne in
1292. In 1325 Bruce had the castle inspected and impaired, with the
intention of using it for the purpose of overawing the Highlanders, then
being brought by him under subjection, and a gl-ance at the map will
show that the situation of Tarbert, on its isthmus, is one of the best
strategical positions in the country. The object of the castle from its
first erection must have been to serve as an entrenched camp or strong-
hold for a large garrison on the edge of a country which might any day
rise up in rebellion, and this explains its plan. The castle with which
Bruce's name is associated seems hitherto not to have been recognised,
but has always been confounded with a late keep adjoining it to the east,
situated in the outer courtyard. It is shown by hatched lines on the
plan, and will be hereafter described.

We have now no means of exactly determining to what extent the
castle existed before Bruce's additions and repairs were made, but judg-
ing by analogy we may infer that the square enclosure which constitutes
the castle proper was what he found existing before he commenced his
operations. This castle or enclosure has a strong resemblance to
Kinclaven Castle, Perthshire, a pre-Brucian castle of almost the same size
and plan. If this surmise is correct we may conclude that Bruce erected
the lower court with its drum towers, and so enlarged the castle as to
make it better available for his purpose.

Tarbert Castle (Fig. 108) consisted of walls enclosing a square measur-
ing about 120 feet each way, now generally reduced to little more than
grass mounds, with pieces of masonry seen here and there, except along
the north-east curtain, where considerable portions of the old wall can
still be seen on the lower ground outside. These walls were not less than
8 feet thick, but of their height no estimate can now be formed. The
north-west angle of the square was slightly canted to suit the ground.
Inside this enclosure was another square formed by walls of the same
thickness as those just described, with a space between of from 18 feet

TARBERT CASTLE

137

FIRST PERIOD

to 20 feet, and in this space the castle buildings have apparently stood.
There are grass-covered traces of foundations against the north-east and
south-east curtains, not however extending quite across the 1 8-feet space.
At the inside angle of the north corner there has been a building of some
kind about 20 feet square, with the walls seemingly brought up from a
depth below the natural surface. This may have contained a well in the
under floor, or a tank or reservoir for water, such as are sometimes found
in the earlier hill forts.

CASTLE

FIG. 108. Tarbert Castle. Plan

The centre of the castle which in ordinary cases would be called the
courtyard, is here the natural sloping face of the hill-side, with several
large rugged rocks projecting in confused masses through the ground.
No attempt has been made to alter its surface by artificial means, but the
space within the outer and inner walls (the 1 8-feet space) has been raised
so as to be about level from north-east to south-west, with a fall to the
north-west corner. The making-up, as seen on the north-east side, has

FIRST PERIOD

138

TARBERT CASTLE

been on an average about 6 feet, but considerably more along the north-
west side,, owing to the fall of the hill being in this direction.

Adjoining the castle to the north-east there is a second and larger
enclosure, already referred to as being possibly the work of Bruce. This
forms the lower court, which, like the court of the castle just described,
is the rugged, rocky, unaltered surface of the hill-side. This court
measures about 300 feet by 240 feet. Two of its sides are formed by a
continuation of two sides of the castle proper. At the east corner the wall
bends inwards to meet the north-east wall, which is strengthened by two
drum towers about 28 feet in diameter, and 40 feet apart. These towers
defend the approach to the castle by the sea, and probably the entrance
gateway was situated at the bend of the wall near this point. Fig. 109
gives a general view of the south-east and north-east fronts. The north-
west enceinte is a continuous crescent-shaped wall, shown on the Ordnance

Fio. 109. Tarbert Castle from the Bottth-East.

Plan as having had a drum-tower at its junction with the south-west wall
(shown by dotted lines, Fig. 108), but of this there is now no trace. On
the latter wall, about 30 feet distant from the castle, are the remains of
a square mural tower measuring about 20 feet each way. This wall
seems to have been continued down to the sea, but extensive quarrying
operations and a roadway with houses along the shore have obliterated its
lower end. On the south-eastern wall stands the later keep and build-
ings, to be afterwards described. Of the north-east, south-west, and
south-east walls just described, there are considerable remains, and at
their most ruinous parts they can be distinctly traced along their
whole respective lengths. The north-east wall with its drum towers
on the outside is about 8 feet or 10 feet high. Of the crescent-shaped
north-west wall nothing remains but its track along the brow of the
hill.

At the southern corner of this courtyard, between the keep and the
castle, is a triangular piece of ground about 135 feet long by 45 feet wide.

TARBERT CASTLE 139 FIRST PERIOD

It occupies the highest part of the courtyard, and is the only level ground

within the walls, having been made so artificially. It is about the same
level as the first floor of the keep. The great courtyard above described

FIRST PERIOD

140

TARBERT CASTLE

has evidently been the basse-cour of the castle. Bruce found it necessary
to add this to the original structure in order to make the castle conform
to the plan then universally adopted. At the same time he would appear
(from the documentary evidence to be hereafter referred to) to have built
a hall and a dwelling-house within the walls of the ancient fortress, thus
converting the whole into a genuine castle of the thirteenth-century type.

Fio. 111. Tarbert Castle. Keep from North-East.

The keep already referred to is of late fifteenth-century or early sixteenth-
century work, and stands near the centre of the south-east wall of the
lower courtyard. It measures 41 feet by 26 feet 3 inches over, and is four
stories in height. Up till nearly the middle of this century its four walls
were entire, with stairs leading to the various floors, continued round the
north, west, and south walls, in the thickness of the walls (as at Hallbar,
Coxton, etc.), but about that time nearly all the south-west and south-
east walls' fell. The keep (Figs. 109, HO, 111) is now the only portion
of Tarbert Castle which bulks largely in the landscape, and it is doubt-
less owing to this that it has had conferred on it the honour of being
regarded as the castle built by the great Bruce. The entrance (Fig. 108)
at the north corner leads directly into the vaulted ground-floor, which is
the only part now entire. It measures inside 26 feet by 12 feet 6 inches,
and was, when clear of ruins, about 9 feet high.

At the south-east end is an arched recess in the wall, 4 feet 9 inches
wide by 6 feet deep, having a broad splayed shot-hole for guns. This and
a narrow splayed loop in the opposite wall supply all the light on this
floor. From the passage leading to the vault, the stair already mentioned

TARBERT CASTLE

141

FIRST PERIOD

f 1RST F.WOR

j i i r i r t

FIG. 112. Upper Floors of Keep.

leads off to the upper floors. There has been one apartment on each of
these floors (Fig. 112) with wall chambers, and on the top floor only is

there a fireplace, but doubtless the two

floors beneath contained fireplaces in the
now fallen walls.

There are not many details about the
keep, but what there are, as shown by
sketches, Figs. 113 and 113A, all point to
its erection at a late period. These are the
gun-holes, several beaded windows, and
beaded fireplace, the parapet with its con-
tinuous corbelling, consisting of small mem-
bers, and the general style of masonry.

Additions have been made to the keep on the north-east side, con-
sisting of two apartments, probably two stories in height, and entering
from the courtyard, with shot-holes on each side of
the door. One of these apartments was probably the
kitchen. There is a stone sink and drain in the north-
east angle.

The accounts of the building, or rebuilding and exten-
sion of the castle, or " Castrum," in the year 1 326, are
preserved, and are printed in vol. i. of the Exchequer
Rolls. It would appear from these that the King took
a personal interest in the building, as is shown by his
paying Robert the mason 5, 6s. 8d., in addition to his
contract of 282, 15s., for having in the King's absence made the walls
of an extra thickness. These and other figures from the Rolls denote
Scots money. We also find the King's friends, William of Lamberton,

,. cVosf '"

FIG. 113A. Details of Keep.

Bishop of St.. Andrews, and James Lord of Douglas, visiting the castle,
and payments made for decorating their apartments and the hall with
branches of birch, and for providing litter. We have the payments made
to John the carpenter, Donald the blocker, Neill the plumber, and
Neil the smith ; also the payments for burning and conveying lime by
sea and land to Tarbert.

The Rolls likewise contain payments for erecting a house in the castle,

FIRST PERIOD 142 - TARBERT CASTLE

for the plastering and roofing of the castle, fitting up its hall and wine-
cellar, and making a moat about it, for erecting a mill, kiln, bakehouse,
and brewhouse, for building a " pele " at West Tarbert, and making a
road across the isthmus to the said pele, which is probably the road used
at the present day. There was a chaplain appointed, with a salary of 4.

In the year after the death of the King, which happened at mid-
summer 1329, payments were made for completing the castle and
keeping up the park. In all probability the park referred to is the
lower courtyard, which must have been a very necessary appendage in
connection with the horses, cattle, poultry, and sheep, for which pay-
ments appear as well as for the servants in charge.

The importance of Tarbert as a military stronghold continued to be
recognised long after the time of Bruce, down indeed till the troubles of
last century. At the end of the fifteenth century, James iv. found him-
self, like the Bruce before him, compelled to conduct an expedition
against the turbulent islanders, and we have frequent references to Tar-
bert in the accounts of this period edited by Mr. Dickson. There is an
account of " The expens maid uppone the vittuling of the Tarbert and
the King's schippis, the tyme the King past in the His, in the year
of God, 1494." And at the same time couriers are despatched to summon
the Lords of the Westland, Southland, and Eastland, to the meeting of
the King at the Tarbert, and another courier is sent from Glasgow with
writings to his Majesty ; but perhaps the most interesting item is of this
same year, and as follows : "The Comptare charges him wyth xx li. ressauit
frae the Bishop of Dunblane to the biggin of Tarbert," and for the " said
caus " the same sum from the Abbot of Newbotell. These sums were,
in all probability, for the building of the keep, which, judging from its
style of architecture, as already stated, belongs to this period.

In the same year, an eventful one for the place, there was delivered
to my Lord Chamberlain at the Tarbert, iii xx vj li. xiij s. iiij d. (<6(),
13s. 4d. Scots). For what purpose this money was used we do not learn,
but it is satisfactory to find documentary evidence for building operations
corroborating the equally valuable evidence of architectural style. The
King was back again at Tarbert three years later, when we may readily
suppose the keep to have been finished.

THE CASTELLATED AND DOMESTIC
ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND.

SECOND PERIOD 1300-1400.

WITH the close of the thirteenth century, the style of castles consisting
of great walls of enceinte strengthened with massive towers comes to an
end. The invasion of Edward i. in 1296, and the disturbances of the
fourteenth century, destroyed the prosperity of the preceding period.
There is thus a great gap between the style of the thirteenth-century
buildings and those which succeeded them in the course of the four-
teenth century, and we have to traverse a very long period ere we meet
with castles of the size and elegance of those we have just been con-
sidering. The thirteenth-century buildings of Scotland thus form a
very distinctly marked period in the architectural history of the country,
and constitute the first period of Scotch castellated architecture.

During the fourteenth century the country was in a state of complete
exhaustion, consequent on the great struggle for national independence,
and was not in a condition to engage in extensive building operations.
Besides, the policy of Bruce was opposed to the building of large castles,
as these were found liable to be taken by the enemy, and to afford
him a secure footing in the country. Bruce's policy was to destroy
everything before an army of invasion, and leave it only a barren country
to occupy a policy, the wisdom of which, in the relative position of
Scotland and England, was often proved subsequently by the starving
out of the invaders.

The castle erected or extended by Bruce at Tarbert was exceptional,
being for the specific purpose of keeping the Highlands and Islands in
order, and to provide security for the garrison. The castle of Loch-
maben, and some others, were also preserved, from their occupying special
positions, which it was necessaiy for strategic purposes to fortify.

For the above reasons we find only few and small remains of castles
or domestic buildings erected in the fourteenth century, or at least till
near the close of the century. The dwellings of the peasantry were
mere huts, which were easily replaced after the storm of an invasion was
past. The houses in the towns, also, at this period, and for long after,

SECOND PERIOD 144 INTRODUCTORY

seem to have been constructed chiefly of wood, and were frequently
destroyed either by accidental fires or by the enemy.

The mansions of the nobility in the country, being constantly liable
to be attacked and burnt, were necessarily built of stone ; while from the
impoverished condition of the barons at this time, they were of the
simplest form. All that was required was a stronghold sufficient to
accommodate the owner's family and personal retainers, and to protect
them from sudden attack. The square towers or Norman keeps which
had become familiar to the Scots in their frequent invasions of the
northern counties of England, naturally became their model, and all the
castles of this period preserved to us are built on this plan. These
castles consist of a square or oblong tower, with thick walls built
sometimes with ashlar and sometimes with rubble-work, and defended
from the parapet at the roof, the angles of which are rounded, or more
generally projected on corbels in the form of round open bartizans.
The parapets and bartizans have frequently open machicolations, but
sometimes merely corbels without openings, and sometimes the
parapet is carried up flush with the wall, without projection or string-
course. The keeps of this period sometimes depart from the original
Norman model to the extent of having a small wing added at one corner,
so as to give the building the shape of the letter L. Such keeps are
described as being built on the L plan.

The ground floor is always vaulted with a plain tunnel vault, generally
semicircular, though occasionally pointed, and was used as a store-room,
or as a stable for the protection of cattle, a loft for the domestics sleeping
in being generally formed in the vault.

There is frequently no communication from the ground floor to the
first floor, except by a hatch in the vault. The principal entrance to
the tower is usually on the first or second floor level, and was approached
by a movable stair or ladder. The hall occupies the whole of the first
floor, and is usually vaulted with a plain semicircular or pointed barrel
vault. This is generally divided with a wooden floor into two stories
in the height, as is apparent from the rows of corbels which almost
invariably run along each side to carry the upper floor. The windows
and fireplaces which occur at the level of the upper chamber in the vault
also show, where they are introduced, that it was occupied as rooms, and
was not merely a gallery, as is sometimes thought. Above this there is
a second story containing the private apartments of the lord and his
family, and there is also usually an upper chamber, either in the roof or
vaulted, so as to carry the roof.

The roof is generally constructed with stone slabs, well dressed and
grooved into one another, and resting on the vault beneath. The gutter
is also formed with dressed stones, every alternate stone having a drain
throiigh the parapet with a projecting gargoyle, either plain or carved in

INTRODUCTORY 145 SECOND PERIOD

the form of an animal, like those of the churches. The chimney-stacks
are carried up on the inside face of the thick walls, so as to allow a free
parapet walk all round for defence. There are sometimes a few, and
sometimes a great many, small chambers formed in the thickness of the
walls, which were used as bed-places, garde-robes, etc. The access to the
upper floors and the roof is nearly always by a newel stair at one corner
in the thickness of the wall.

A tower thus constructed almost entirely of stone was well calculated
to resist the effects of siege and fire, so common in those times ; and even
if taken by assault, was not easily so much damaged but that it could
readily be restored again.

The accommodation of these towers is very circumscribed, and was
soon felt to be so. There could be no privacy where one hall served as
living-room and sleeping-room for the retainers and domestics, and
where there was not even provision for the separation of the sexes.
Accordingly, although the above form of tower was long retained
in the smaller peles, we soon find efforts made to improve the accom-
modation of the larger keeps built at this time. This was done by
adding to the square or oblong block a small projection or wing at one
corner, which gave at least one additional room on each floor. A larger
number was often obtained by making the ceilings lower, and thus intro-
ducing more rooms in the height of the wing than in the tower. This
addition permitted the lord to have a private room, where he could
receive visitors, apart from his retainers, besides supplying one or two
separate bedrooms on the upper floors. In course of time, other modi-
fications of the square keep were adopted, so as to provide additional
accommodation, but it is remarkable how long and how persistently this
form is adhered to. It may always be assumed in examining these old
towers that the presence of numerous apartments (particularly when a
distinct kitchen can be discovered) indicates that the building, or at
least the part of it containing these apartments, is not amongst the
early examples.

Although specially characteristic of the fourteenth century, the
simple style of keep above described continued to be erected during the
fifteenth and subsequent centuries, and so plain and devoid of ornament
are almost all these keeps, that it is often difficult to determine their
exact age. Another circumstance which adds to this difficulty is that
the same model of keep tower is common to all periods from the four-
teenth to the seventeenth century. There are, however, sometimes a
few mouldings or enrichments, or some slight modifications of the plan,
which, together with historical evidence, enable the age of many to be
approximately ascertained.

There can scarcely be a doubt that all these keeps had, like their
Norman prototypes, a courtyard connected with them, enclosed with a

SECOND PERIOD 146 INTRODUCTORY

good wall, although few specimens now remain. This court or barmkin
was essential to contain the stables and other offices, and gave consider-
able additional security by protecting the keep from sudden assault.

In some instances these courtyards were of considerable extent, with
walls of enceinte, defended with towers, on the same general idea as the
thirteenth-century castles above described, although greatly reduced in
dimensions, and wanting in the skilful disposition of the towers and
curtains for mutual defence. As the country improved, and manners
became more refined, buildings providing enlarged accommodation were
extended round the inside of the walls of the courtyard, large windows
were opened in them, and finally the walls of enceinte became absorbed
in the buildings. These gradually dropped their castellated character,
and assumed that of a mansion built round a quadrangle, precisely as
happened at an earlier period in France and England, and, as we have
observed, was the case at Bothwell. This, however, did not occur
generally in Scotland till the sixteenth century. But during the fifteenth
century we find several of the larger castles designed from the first upon
the plan of buildings surrounding a courtyard, as will in due course be
pointed out. Throughout the course of the architectural history of
Scotland we find the two types of plan above described continuing to
prevail together, viz., first, the simple quadrilateral keep or house, sur-
rounded by a wall enclosing a courtyard ; and, second, the castle, consisting
chiefly of a wall of enceinte, with towers and other buildings connected
with it, until in course of time both these types developed into the
mansion built round a quadrangle : the keep plan, by adding buildings
round the wall of the courtyard ; and the castle plan, by omitting the
towers and reducing the wall of enceinte and piercing it with openings,
so as to form the outer wall of apartments built round the court. But
we shall find that the keep plan, pure and simple, was also much ad-
hered to in later times, and formed the model on which many of our
mansions (even as late as the seventeenth century) are planned.

Examples of the quadrilateral keep of the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries are very numerous all over the country.

As above mentioned, it is difficult to fix the exact date of many of
these keeps, but we shall now describe first some of the simple towers
or keeps which seem undoubtedly to belong to the fourteenth century.

LOCHLEVEN CASTLE, KINROSS-SHIRE.

One of the simplest and least altered castles of this period is that of
Lochleven. The early history of this castle is almost unknown. In 1335
it was defended by Alan de Vipont against John de Strivilin, who acted
for Edward Baliol ; and it is most probable that the existing keep and
wall enclosing its courtyard are the buildings which then existed. The

LOCHLEVEN CASTLE

14?

SECOND PERIOD

castle afterwards passed into the hands of a branch of the Douglases, by
whom it was held when Queen Mary was imprisoned in it. It is now
the property of Sir Graham Montgomery.

Pio. 114. Lochleven Castle. Plans.

The keep (Fig. 114) is small, being only 22 feet 6 inches by 16 feet
6 inches internally, with walls 7 to 8 feet thick. The basement floor and
first floor are vaulted. The basement, which is several feet below the
level of the court, had probably an outer door where the present one is.
There is no communication from the basement to the first floor but by
a hatch in the vault. The most unusual feature in this keep is the
entrance door (Fig. 115), which is on the second floor above the basement
floor, the only access to the first floor being by descending the stair from
the second floor. There is now no access to the upper floors above the
second, but it will be obsei-ved that the parapet rests on simple corbels,
without machicolations, and that there is no angle bartizan or turret at
the corner next the interior of the courtyard, where it would not be
needed for defence against assailants from the outside of the castle.
The view from the exterior of the castle (Fig. 116) shows the three
angle bartizans. The wall of the courtyard is for the most part old,
probably fourteenth-century work, and has a parapet walk all round.
The round tower at the south-east corner of the enceinte is more recent,
apparently of the sixteenth century.

There have been much more extensive buildings on two sides of the
courtyard, which probably existed when Queen Mary was confined here,

SECOND PERIOD 148 LOCHLEVEN CASTLE

but these are now all demolished. At the west side, part of the enclos-

ing wall has been rebuilt, and a large window inserted in connection
with buildings placed against it (Fig. 115), showing how the process of

LOCHLEVEN CASTLE 149 SECOND PERIOD

absorption of the wall of enceinte was carried out. The loopholes in

the north wall are for the defence of that side in which the entrance
gate is situated.

SECOND PERIOD

150

DRUM CASTLE

DRUM CASTLE, ABERDEENSHIRE.

This ancient and historic castle is pleasantly situated on a rising
ground about a mile northwards from the river Dee, and is surrounded
with fine old trees. It consists of an ancient keep, to which a mansion
was added in 1619-

f H

FIG. 117.- Drum Castle. Plan of First Floor.

The estate of Drum has been in the possession of the family of Irvine
from the time of King Robert i., by whom it was bestowed on William
cle Irvine in recognition of his faithful services as the King's secretary and
armour-bearer. The original charter conveying the property, dated 1st
February 1323, is still in the possession of the family, who have always
played an important part both in the affairs of the county and the nation.

DRUM CASTLE

151

SECOND PERIOD

The existing keep was probably built about the time of William de
Irvine. Drum was previously a royal forest, and one of the hunting-seats
of the kings of Scotland. This keep may therefore have been originally
a royal residence. It has all the characteristics of the fourteenth-
century towers. The plan is quadrilateral, and measures 53 feet long by
39 feet wide externally, and has the four angles of the walls rounded
off.

The entrance has originally been at the level of the hall, on the first
floor, probably where the outer door still is, on the south side of the
keep. It is now approached by a flight of stone steps, but the original
access would be by a moveable wooden stair.

The first floor (Fig. 117), or the original common hall, has been greatly
altered, but it has apparently entered by a door (now built up) imme-
diately opposite the entrance door to the keep. This floor, now

FIG. US. Drum Castle. Plan of Basement.

modernised, is covered with a barrel vault. The passage from the
entrance leads to a newel stair in the angle of the tower, and also gives

SECOND PERIOD 152 DRUM CASTLE

access to a straight stair in the thickness of the east wall, leading to the
basement floor (Fig. 1 1 8), which is vaulted, and measures 29 feet long by
15 feet wide. The walls of the basement are 12 feet thick, and are
pierced with only two narrow loops at the east and west ends. In a
recess in the north-east angle of the walls is the well, 3 feet in diameter,
and furnished with a stone trough and drain to the outside.

Judging by the small windows, now built up, which are visible in
the outer walls, there have been wall recesses off the hall on the first
floor, and probably also a small entresol entering from the stair.

The second floor (Fig. 119) also consists of a single large hall the full
size of the building, viz., 35 feet long by 21 feet wide. The walls are
here about 9 feet thick. This space is covered in with a pointed barrel
vault, measuring 24 feet from the floor to the apex ; but this height
has been divided into two with a wooden floor, the corbels for supporting
which are visible in the walls on both sides.

The lower of these apartments was no doubt the owner's private hall,
and the upper space, in the vault, contained bedrooms (as at Craigmillar,
etc.) The hall is lighted with windows on every side, those in the north
and south wall being 2 feet 3 inches wide and having stone seats in the
recess. That in the west wall is a mere loop. There is a garde-robe in
the north-west angle and a fireplace in the north wall.

The newel stair in the south-east angle does not go higher than this
floor. The access to the upper floor and to the battlements seems to
have been by a solid oak stair starting in the north-east angle of the
hall, where some relics of the steps can still be traced.

It is said in the New Statistical Account of Aberdeenshire that the
tower " had originally an alcoved roof of considerable height, which has
long been removed, and one of less altitude with flat roof has been sub-
stituted."

The present slated roof rests on the pointed vault above referred to.
Possibly there may have been formerly an attic floor above this vault,
entering from the battlements, and serving as a guard-room. This is
frequently the case, as at Borthwick, Clackmannan, Alloa, etc.

The battlements here are of unusual height (Fig. 120). This is
caused by the stone gutter forming the parapet walk being stepped
down from the angles to the centre of the east and west walls, where
there is only one drain and gargoyle to let off the whole of the
water from each end. The same stepping of the gutter is continued
along the north and south sides, but there are two drains on each of
those sides.

The parapet rests on a corbel table, which is continued round the
circled angles of the building in a continuous string-course, above which
the parapet is also rounded and heightened at the angles, but it does
not project so as to form a bartizan of the usual form. The height from

DRUM CASTLE

153

SECOND PERIOD

154

DRUM CASTLE

ALLOA TOWER

155

SECOND PERIOD

the ground to the top of the parapet is 70 feet 6 inches. Such rounded
angles are by no means uncommon in castles of the fourteenth century ;
but there are few such perfect examples of the parapet carried round the
corners as at Drum. Neidpath, in Peeblesshire, is, however, one similar
specimen. The size and style of Alloa Tower, before it was altered, with
its thick walls and massive battlements, are in general harmony with
those of Drum, although Alloa differs in having the battlements provided
with bartizans. The later portions of Drum belong to the seventeenth
century, and will be described hereafter.

ALLOA TOWER.

Alloa Tower, situated within the grounds of the Earl of Mar, close
to the town of Alloa on the Forth, has been a very large and fine keep,
probably of the fourteenth century. The estate was bestowed in 1 360
by King David n. on Sir Robert Erskine, Great Chamberlain, whose
descendants became the Earls of Mar ; and it still belongs to the Earl of
Mar and Kellie. Unfortunately, the tower has been greatly altered,

PLAN OF EMTfLEMENTS

1 1 1 '

* /

FIG. 121. Alloa Tower. View from the North-West.

FIG. 122.

and its original features destroyed, the interior having been entirely
remodelled, and the exterior cut up with a number of large inserted
windows, all arranged at equal intervals, and a good many of which
are actually mock windows (Figs. 121 and 123). The top story, which
is shown on the plan (Fig. 122), has been comparatively little inter-
fered with (except by the insertion of the four windows without seats

SECOND PERIOD

156 -

ALLOA TOWER

in the side walls), and, with the bartizans and battlements, gives a fail-
idea of what the original was. The hall was 43 feet 6 inches by 22 feet,
and the walls are 10 feet thick. In two stories there are passages
round the tower in the thickness of the walls. The height of the
battlement is 80 feet from the ground. The original newel staircase
in the south-west angle is still preserved, and the loopholes which
light it are visible in the view from the west (Fig. 123). Additions

FIG. 123. Alloa Tower. View from the West.

were made to the tower at a later date, when it was extended into the
mansion where Queen Mary, James i., and Prince Henry spent much of
their youthful time ; but these additions were all destroyed by a great
fire in 1800.

HALLFOREST 157 SECOND PERIOD

HALLFOREST, ABERDEENSHIRE.

This is one of the very few examples of fourteenth-century keeps now
remaining in the north. It is said to have been built by Bruce as a
hunting-seat, and bestowed by him on Sir Robert de Keith, the Great
Marischal ; and it is still the property of the Earl of Kintore, one of his
descendants. In 1639 it was the residence of the Earl Marischal, and
was frequently attacked in the wars of the period.

The castle is situated on level ground about Ij mile from Kintore,
and was no doubt formerly surrounded with a wall and fosse. It is
a plain oblong on plan (Fig. 124), 48 feet long by 30 feet wide. The
walls are 7 feet thick. There are two vaults,
one at about half the height of the tower,
forming the floor of the hall, and the other
at the top, supporting the floor under the roof.
Each of these vaulted compartments would
probably be divided into two stories in the

height, with wooden floors. The principal

,, , , , , f . , ,. FIG. 124. Plan of Ground Floor.

entrance would be at the level of the hall

floor at the south-east angle, where the aperture is still visible (Fig. 125),
and where the remains of the circular well for the staircase to the battle-
ments are traceable.

The loops of the basement are as usual very small. There was pro-
bably a door to the basement, for the admission of cattle, below that to
the hall, where the long fissure in the wall is seen.

The windows on the upper floors have been larger. There was
originally, no doubt, a parapet similar to that at Drum, and probably a
stone roof upon an upper arch, but these are now demolished, and are
quite inaccessible.

THREAVE CASTLE, KIRKCUDBRIGHTSHIRE.

This lofty grey stronghold of the Douglases is of great interest, both
from its connection with many important events in Scottish history, and
also as a good specimen of the habitation of a powerful baron of the period,
and of the style of architecture and defence then in use. It is situated
on an island in the river Dee, about two miles from Castle Douglas, in
Kirkcudbrightshire. The castle is reached (Figs. 126, 126,\) by wading
a ford on the eastern branch of the river about 20 yards wide at the
lower or southern extremity of the island, and at a distance of about 200

SECOND PERIOD

158

Will

Mi'.yf rau

TH REAVE CASTLE

159

SECOND PERIOD

Fio. 126. Threave Castle.
Plan of Site.

paces from the building. Above this ford either branch of the river can
only be crossed by a boat. Proceeding from the southern extremity about
80 yards, a wide ditch or marsh, supplied from the Dee, contracts the
approach to the castle to about 12 yards in width next the western stream.

The island, which is quite flat, extends
about 500 paces northwards from the castle,
and is about half this distance in width,
forming a fine pasture meadow of nearly 20
acres in extent. The river protects the castle
on the west at from 15 to 20 yards distance.
On the other sides a strong wall with a sloping
face and round towers still surrounds it, form-
ing a courtyard about 15 feet wide on the
south and east sides. The wall was most
likely continued round the west and north
sides, as shown by dotted lines, where the
courtyard would be about 30 feet wide. The
round tower at the south-east angle is entire,
and is 9 feet 2 inches in internal diameter,
and three stories high, with three loopholes
in each story. The upper story was reached from the walls.

The south-west tower (Fig. 127), about 9 feet from the river, has fallen,
the greater part lying like a cylinder on its side, nearly entire. The
north-east tower is almost a total ruin ; enough, however, remains to
show that it and the one overthrown were the same size as the existing
tower.

The wall on the north side is gone, except a part of the foundation,
shown by dotted lines. From the style of masonry of this wall, as well
as from the form of the loopholes, it has possibly been rebuilt at a later
date than the castle, but probably on the old foundations. Outside the
wall there is a ditch, with a mound. (See plan of Island.) This mound
encloses an outer court towards the east and south, of about 35 yards
wide. There are scraps of masonry on this mound, so that it may have
been a walled enclosure with the base of the wall raised some 4 or 5 feet
above the general level of the island.

A noble entrance gateway (Fig. 128) (in a most deplorable state of
dilapidation) leads through the east wall into the inner court, opposite
which is the entrance to the keep. This gateway has been defended
with a drawbridge, but there was no portcullis.

The castle (Fig. 126) is oblong on plan, measuring 6l feet from north
to south, by 39 feet 4 inches from east to west, and is 63 feet from the
parapet walk to the ground at the doorway, and 8 feet more to the
highest part of the ruined parapets.

There is a central vault, 25 feet high, forming the floor of the hall, and

SECOND PERIOD

160

TH HEAVE CASTLE

containing A lower and upper floor. Above the vault there were three
wooden floors.

The entrance doorway (Fig. 128), lofty and pointed,, and raised a few

THREAVE CASTLE l6l SECOND PERIOD

feet above the ground, has been altered and built up in later times.

leaving the arched top open to serve as a window (Fig. 129). The base-

SECOND PERIOD

162

TH REAVE CASTLE

ment must have been dark, having only two small windows in a wall
about 8 feet thick. It contains the well, filled up and concealed with

;^-?r ~ ?- -~ T ^_-II= ^==^ ^ y --

FIG. 128. Threave Castle. East Front and Entrance Gateway.

rubbish, although within living memory it was clear to the bottom ; but
unfortunately large portions of the vaulting have fallen and heaped the
place with ruins. Near the well is a drain from a sink, and the three
recesses in the east wall were probably for buckets containing a supply of
water to stand in.

In the north-west corner of the vault a dungeon with an arched
roof has been walled off, and is entered from a hatchway at the floor
level of the entresol. The kitchen seems to have been in the entresol,
having a fireplace in the south wall, and a sink with a drain in one of
the windows.

TH REAVE CASTLE

163

SECOND PERIOD

A doorway corbelled out over the dungeon roof leads to the staircase
in the north-west angle of the building. From this corbelling it would

FIG. 129. Threave Castle. Interior Basement Floor.

appear that the dungeon was an afterthought, as, had it been originally
there, the corbelling might have been dispensed with, as the vault could
have carried the projecting wall con-
taining the doorway. This stair, the
only one in the castle, leads to the
upper floors and the battlements. It
is now quite ruinous, not a single step
remaining.

The great hall, 46 feet 3 inches
long by 25 feet 5 incheswide, is lighted
by side windows which had mullions
and transomes, and were provided with
stone seats. In the east wall there is
an opening 2 feet wide, which seems
originally to have been meant as a
doorway, about 30 feet above the
ground, but it has been converted
into a window. About 4 or 5 feet
below this doorway, on the outside
face of the wall, there have been
two corbels, now cut away (Fig. 128).
for the beams of a bridge leading across to the top of the high entrance
gateway, which apparently had no other mode of access. It would thus

These were evidently the rests

SECOND PERIOD

164

THREAVE CASTLE

form a post for watching and defence, and may also have been used
in connection with the working of the drawbridge.

The fireplace (now destroyed) is alongside this doorway, and a garde-
robe leads off the window in the south-west corner of the hall.

The second floor is similar in arrangement. Its fireplace (Fig. 130)
is quite entire, with a lintel, consisting of three stones with joggled joints,
and its moulded cornice has a gentle rise to the centre.

The angle moulding on the lintel and jambs of this fireplace and that
of the great hall is what is known as a " giblet check." The same mould-
ing is used at several windows, as well as a hollowed chamfer.

As will be seen from the
sketch of this fireplace, there
is a sunk rest at each side,
shaped to receive the ends of
struts for supporting the flat
roof (Fig. 131). Similar holes
exist along the whole wall, as
also on the opposite side.

The upper floor has been
entirely used in connection
with the defence of the
castle. The walls are pierced
with windows on every side ;
and at the same level all
round the outside of the
north, south, and west fronts
(Figs. 12? and 132) will be
observed two rows of holes
for carrying a hoarding,
while in the centre of the
wall (in the position shown
on the section, and on plan
by white lines) a narrow

FIG. 131. Threave Castle. Interior of Hall. tunnel, 16 inches wide and

19 inches high, goes round the building, opening into the ingoings of the
windows. This tunnel, just sufficient to let a man creep along, was
evidently meant for giving access for securing the ends of the beams
which carried the overhanging hoarding. It is one of the best pre-
served instances of this kind of defence in Scotland. On the east side
there was no continuous hoarding, but over the doorway there were
bold corbels projected to receive a hoarding to defend the gateway and
entrance door, a very common arrangement. Only one of these corbels
now remains, and is locally known as the " Hanging Stone."

Threave Castle is universally stated to have been built by Archibald

TH REAVE CASTLE

165

SECOND PERIOD

Douglas, an illegitimate son of the good Sir James Douglas, towards the
end of the fourteenth century. Notwithstanding his illegitimacy he was
appointed Lord of Galloway in 1369, and in 1389 succeeded to the
Earldom of Douglas. He saw much of battles, both at home and abroad,
having served at Halidon in 1333 and at Poictiers, 1356. In his govern-
ment of Galloway he justly earned the sobriquet by which he is now
known of " Archibald the Grim."

FIG. 132.- Threave Castle. View from the North-East.

He married Joan, daughter of Thomas Murray, Lord of Bothwell, and
died at Threave on 3d February 1401. In 1455 the castle was forfeited
by James, Earl of Douglas, to the King, who appointed keepers to hold it
in his interests. Up to the time of the Covenanters it seems to have been
a place of habitation, and was in the possession of the Nithsdale family,
who were opposed to the Reformed religion. In 1640 its demolition was
begun, when the War Council " ordaines the hows of Threave to be

SECOND PERIOD

166

DUNDONALD CASTLE

SEC.OND II.'."!

riRST FLOOR

FIG. 133. Dundonald Castle. Plans.

DUNDONALD CASTLE

167

SECOND PERIOD

plighted." Also that " the sklait roofe of the hows and battlement
thairof be taken downe, with the lofting thairof, dores and windows of
the samen, and to tak out the haile iron worke of the samen." Power
is further given to the Laird of Balmaghie " to work his will with the
castle, and to put sex musqueteires and ane sergand thairin, to be enter-
teanit upon the public." l Now the work of demolition is being carried
on surely and swiftly by the elements.

DUNDONALD CASTLE, AYRSHIRE.

The royal castle of Dundonald stands on the summit of an isolated,
steep hill, and is a most conspicuous object for miles around. It is situ-
ated about 8 miles north from Ayr, and commands the wide expanse of
level country lying in the basin of the Irvine and Garnock rivers. The
base of the hill on which the castle stands was surrounded by a moat,
part of which at present exists on the north-west side, and is full of
water. There have been outworks at various parts of the hill, indicated
here and there by green mounds. This castle was a favourite habitation
of Robert n. and Robert in., the former of whom died here in 1390. It
is therefore naturally on a much more extensive scale than most of the
keeps of the fourteenth century, but it is of the same general plan. The
building is of two periods. The original kefcp (Fig. 133) is an oblong
block, 81 feet 8 inches by 40 feet, and as it now stands is 60 feet high,
while its height when entire was not less than 10 feet more. It is
divided in height into two pointed arched compartments (Fig. 134), the

FIG. 134. Dundonald Castle. Sections.

lower, which was partly subdivided into three stories, and partly into two
with wooden floors, is 37 feet high, and the upper one, which is ruined,
was about 25 feet high (Fig. 139A). The original entrance to the castle

] See MacKerlie's History of Galloway.

SECOND PERIOD

168

DUNDONALD CASTLE

on the ground floor was at the east corner of the south wall. This, after
the additions were made to the castle, became the door of communication
between the old and the new buildings, while a new entrance was
slapped out in the remarkable recess (Fig. 135) in the centre of the

FIG. 135. Dundonald Castle. View from the East.

east front. The ground floor was divided into three apartments, traces
of the division walls being visible. The two end apartments have circular
recesses, the northern one having a corresponding circular projection
outside (Figs. 136 and 136A), built in a most markedly battered or sloping
manner, the four top courses being perpendicular, and the whole covered
in, at the height of about 15 feet, with a straight course of overlapping
stones, all built with the most carefully dressed masonry. There was
undoubtedly a similar projection corresponding to the recess in the other
chamber at the south end of this front, of which only the overlapping
stones remain, while the masonry bears marks of having been disturbed,
and is now built up flush with the remainder of the wall. The interior
of the ground floor shows portions of circular bays corresponding with
the circular projections on the outside. The west wall is very irregular
in shape on the inside of the ground floor, but on the first floor the inner
face of the wall is straightened, thus leaving in some places a scarcement
or set-off of unequal breadth 011 the top of the wall of the ground floor,

DUNDONALD CASTLE

169

SECOND PERIOD

while in other places the regular wall of the upper floors projects over
that of the lower floor. The whole of these features are somewhat
puzzling, and there is a difficulty in understanding the design or reason
for them. At first sight the external rounds naturally suggest ovens,
which are often found projected beyond the walls. But this does not
explain all the circumstances. On further consideration of all the
features, we are inclined to think that the west wall is a survival of part
of an ancient wall of enceinte. The rounds at each end are probably
the bases of towers, which have been utilised in the construction of the

CARVED SHIELDS ON

WEST WALL

Fro. 186. Dundonald Castle. View of West Front.

existing castle, much in the same way as that at Dirleton, above referred
to (p. 116). This supposition explains the irregularity of the inside'of
the wall of the ground floor and the mode in which the upper wall is
set upon it. It also accounts for the corbelling which is inserted at the
exterior of the north-west angle to bring it out to the full thickness of
the upper wall and the sloping cope on the top of the projecting rounds.
At the north-east corner, and in the thickness of the walls, a stair leads

SECOND PERIOD

170

DUNDONALD CASTLE

up to the first floor of the lower vault. The stair is lighted from a narrow
slit carried through a buttress in the north wall (see plan of first floor
and Fig. 136A). This buttress was probably only built as a screen for
the closet shoots from the upper floors. There is another access to this
floor at the south end of the east wall, by a pointed doorway about 15 feet
above the level of the ground. This has been at some time a principal
entrance doorway, but the arrangements at the doorway in the south
wall immediately over the door to the ground floor seem rather to point to

FIG. 136A. Dundonalcl Castle. View from North-West.

it as the original entrance doorway. It is in close connection with the
staircase, and is protected with a small guard-room. From the first floor
a cork-screw stair in the south-east angle of the building leads to the
upper vault. As already mentioned, there was a second floor in the lower
vault, but it did not extend to the south end, probably only over the
northern and central chambers of the ground floor, leaving the southern
chamber at the main entrance the full height from the first floor level
to the vault. In this southern chamber, or entrance hall, as it may be
termed, are two singular recessed constructions in the side walls, and

DUNDONALD CASTLE 171 SECOND PERIOD

opposite each other (Fig. 137), terminating in flues carried up doubtless
to the battlements, where, if the earth and rubbish were removed, their
exits would be found. These are in all essential respects similar to the
flue and recess referred to at Yester, and seem to have been fireplaces,
the overhanging part of the vault taking the place of the usual projecting

FIG. 137. Dundonald Castle. Lower Vault, looking North.

hood (see section, Fig. 134.) The windows of this floor in the side walls
are very curiously constructed at the inside jambs, as shown in the view
looking south (Fig. 138).

The great hall (Fig. 1 39A), the roof of which is nearly all gone, has been
a very noble apartment, 60 feet 6 inches long by 25 feet 6 inches wide,

SECOND PERIOD

172

DUNDONALD CASTLE

and about 25 feet high (Fig. 139). It was vaulted with a pointed tunnel
vault, with two bays of about 25 feet each, having transverse and diagonal

FIG. 138. Dundonalcl Castle. Lower Vault, looking South.

moulded ribs of large section, measuring 14^ inches across by 10|
inches in depth, with very depressed wall ribs between, formed of an arc
of a circle. These ribs spring from corbels (Fig. 139A), and are merely

DUNDONALD CASTLE

173

SECOND PERIOD

ornamental, and not constructional, like those of a truly groined vault.
Here the ribs are merely applied to the surface of the barrel vault (which
does not require their aid), while in a properly groined vault the ribs bear

FIG. 139. Dundonald Castle. View in Great Hall, restored.

the weight of the filling in of the vault's surfaces between the ribs. The
method adopted at Dundonald was often followed in the vaulting of
Scotch churches, as for example at St. Giles', Edinburgh, Paisley Abbey,
etc., being easier of construction than true groined vaulting. The re-

SECOND PERIOD

174

DUNDONALD CASTLE

maining portion of the roof, about 1 1 feet in length, next the staircase,
and forming the " screens," had no ribs, but it evidently was intended
that it should have the wall rib, as the springer is wrought for it on both
sides, while no springer is wrought for the diagonals. A drain for the
"screens" exists in the groined stair landing, and there is also a small
mural closet for utensils (see plan of hall). The fireplace of the hall was
in the west wall, but it is quite ruinous. The north-east window was of
considerable size, with a groined ceiling, and in the thickness of the
north wall there are several closets with vaulted roofs.

FIG. 139A. Dundonald Castle. Interior of Hall.

At a later period extensive additions were made to the castle (Fig.
140). It was lengthened at the south end to the extent of 17 feet
6 inches by a breadth of about 34 feet, and carried up as high as the
original castle, from which the various rooms of this addition entered. On
the ground floor was a bakehouse, with ovens projecting outside into the
inner bailey, but the bakehouse and ovens are so choked up with rubbish
and ruins that their details are not easily made out. A room at the south-
west corner enters off from above the arched roof of the bakehouse, the
door of which was strongly secured against the inmates with a sliding
bar. It may have been a dungeon, being provided with a drain to the
outside, a fireplace, and a communicating drain to the main building.
This portion of the castle is in such a ruinous state that it cannot further
be described.

In line with the south wall of this addition the bailey wall extends
eastwards for about 120 feet. It is 5 feet 6 inches thick, and in some
parts 15 feet high. The breadth of the bailey is on an average about 121
feet. The entrance was probably in the east wall, and in confirmation of
this idea there are the remains of outworks about 16 yards in front of
this wall on the brow of the hill and on either side of the pathway.

TORTHORWALD CASTLE

175

SECOND PERIOD

The castle garth was divided into an outer and inner court by a wall
5 feet thick, running parallel with the east front of the castle, and about
30 feet distant from it. In the centre of this space are the ruins of
another parallel wall 16 inches thick, probably for offices. There is a

FIG. .140. Dundonald Castle. View showing Additions at South End.

series of shields with armorial bearings (Fig. 136), carved at intervals
along the west wall. Two of these contain the Royal arms and the
Stewart arms, but the others are not now legible.

TORTHORWALD CASTLE, DUMFRIESSHIRE.

This ruinous memorial of the power of the middle ages is situated on
high ground overlooking Lochar Moss, about 4 miles east from Dumfries,
the ground rising considerably higher than the castle to the eastwards.
This castle has, on a smaller scale, a good deal of the massive character of
Dundonald. It is an oblong keep on plan (Fig. 141), measuring 56 feet
6 inches by 39 feet 2 inches over the walls by about 45 feet high from
the ground to the inside apex of the upper pointed vault. The building
is divided into two compartments in the height, with stone vaults. The
lower vault was semicircular, about 15 feet high, and contained two floors.
The upper vault is pointed, and built with dressed ashlar. Nearly the
whole of the north gable and about half of the west wall are gone. The

SECOND PERIOD

176

TORTHORWALD CASTLE

entrance to the lower vault was apparently through the centre of the
north wall. How the upper floors were reached cannot exactly be deter-
mined, but on the outside of the east wall, at the level of the upper floor
of the lower division, where marked on plan, there is a round arched

doorway, which has been long ago built up
and a small window inserted in it. This has
probably been the main entrance originally,
although it cannot be traced on the wall
inside.

From the upper floor of the lower vault
a straight flight of steps in the south gable
leads up to the hall floor, and to a spiral stair
w r hich runs to the top. Another spiral stair in
the north-east corner leads to the hall only.
The two floors in the lower vault were each
divided into two apartments. Where the
division wall abuts against the east wall there
is a wide and straight joint in the masonry
inside, continued up through the hall and the
vaulting so far as it exists, which is shown on
the sketch (Fig. 142). From this it would
almost seem as if about 10 feet had been
added to the length of the castle. If so, this
must have been done at an early date, and
probably before the building was finished.
As favouring this view it may be pointed out
that the exterior masonry of the portion first built is of rubble-work, while
that of the supposed addition is in regular courses throughout its whole
height, and similar ashlar-work is continued along the upper part of the
older portion, all along the east and south walls, although not everywhere
at a uniform level. From this we infer that when the addition was made
the castle was in progress, and the change of masonry from rubble
to ashlar was begun just at whatever level the walls chanced to be at.
The upper vault had evidently been begun (it is of ashlar throughout),
but the end gable was not built in nor the haunches of the vault
quite finished when the enlargement and change was made. The
castle has evidently been further heightened at a later time. A small
portion of the masonry of this heightened wall still stands at the south-
east corner, showing rubble-work on the outside above the ashlar-work
iust referred to.

The earthworks round the castle (Fig. 143) are extensive, especially
to the north and east, and partly to the south, while on the west they
have probably been obliterated by the plough. As in other cases, to
which we shall afterwards have occasion to refer, these earthworks have

FIG. 141. Torthorwald Castle.
Plans.

TORTHORWALD CASTLE

177

SECOND PERIOD

probably been part of the defences of a primitive fortress, long before
the site was occupied with the present castle.

The castle was surrounded with a courtyard having a steep glacis,
beyond which were a ditch and mound, succeeded by a marsh fed by a
burn at the south end. Beyond the marsh there is an outer rampart.

FIG. 142. Torthorwald Castle from the North-West.

Torthorwald was the early home of the Carlyle family, who were
for centuries connected with this district. We learn from Mr. Froude
that Thomas Carlyle was not displeased to know that there ran in his
veins the blood of the Lords Carlyle of Torthorwald. He says himself,
" What illustrious genealogies we have ; a whole regiment of Thomas
Carlyles, wide possessions, all over Annandale, Cumberland, Durham,
gone all now into the uttermost wreck, absorbed into Douglasdom,
Drumlanrigdom, and the devil knows what." One of these ancestors
presented a bell to a church in Dumfries, which still hangs in one of
the steeples of that town, and on which the following inscription may
be read, " GUILIELMUS DE CARLEIL, DOM. DE TORTHORWALD, ME SICUT FECIT

FIBRE IN HONOREM SANCTI MICHAELIS ANN. DOM. MCCCCXXXIII." (William

de Carlyle, Lord of Torthorwald, caused me to be made in honour
of St. Michael, in the year of our Lord 1433.) In 1333 we find Sir
William Carlyle of Torthorwald issuing forth with his neighbours to
Lochmaben, about four miles distant, to oppose an English raid, and dying

SECOND PERIOD

178

TORTHORWALD CASTLE

on the field, along with Sir Humphrey de Bois, an ancestor of Hector
Boece the historian, and in 1346 Thomas Carlyle of Torthorwald was

MARSH
BV SOUTH END or KEEP

FIG. 143. Torthorwald Castle. Plan of Site.

killed at Nevill's Cross. Either of these ill-fated men may have been the
builder of the castle.

CLACKMANNAN TOWER, CLACKMANNANSHIRE.

This castle is interesting and instructive from its showing, by the
various alterations it has undergone, the steps by which improvements
were gradually introduced into similar keeps. It is situated on the
top of a hill, on the eastern slope of which the town of Clackmannan
stands.

CLACKMANNAN TOWER 179 SECOND PERIOD

King David n. granted a charter for this domain in 1359 to a relative

of the name of Bruce, and the castle was still occupied by a descendant
of the family till 1791.

SECOND PERIOD

180

CLACKMANNAN TOWER

181

SECOND PERIOD

Here we have, first (Fig. 144), the original rectangular keep of the
fourteenth century, 24 feet by 18 feet internally, with walls 6 feet thick
(tinted black on plan). The entrance seems to have been on the ground
level, with a straight stair, in the thickness of the wall, leading to the

FIG. 146. Clackmannan Tower. Fireplace.

hall on the first floor. Over this is the upper hall, with private rooms on
the floor above, and an attic room in the roof for the garrison, entering
from the battlements. These have bold corbels, but no machicolations
(Fig. 145). In the thick walls there are the usual chambers for garde-

SECOND PERIOD 182 CLACKMANNAN TOWER

robes and deep recesses for windows, with stone seats. On the third
floor a garderobe is projected on corbels from the wing. (See N.E. view.)

In the fifteenth century this accommodation was found to be too
limited, and the south wing (hatched on plan) was then added. The
entrance to the keep seems then to have been made by a door in the re-
entering angle on the first-floor level, with a passage cut through the south
wall to the hall. The new wing provided the additional accommodation
which was now found requisite, viz., a kitchen on the first floor, a private
room on the second floor, adjoining the upper or private hall, and bed-
rooms on the upper floors.

The fireplace of the private room (Fig. 146) is fine, and, by its style,
together with other evidence, fixes the date of this wing towards the end
of the fifteenth century. It should also be noticed that there is a wash-
hand basin, with a drain to the outside, in the east wall of the hall, a
feature which is to be found at Sauchie and other castles of various
periods. It is remarkable, and quite unusual, that the wing added should
be carried, as in this case, higher than the original tower. The corbels
and machicolations of the parapet, with the rounded angles of the addi-
tion, are well preserved, and have a fine effect ; and it is worthy of notice
that these bold corbels and open machicolations, which are often regarded
as archaic features, here belong to the more recent part of the building.
A century later still further improvements were considered necessary.
The entrance on the first floor was found inconvenient, and to remedy
this a new entrance passage, 9 feet in width, was formed through the
south wing, and led to a wide straight staircase, which was constructed
so as to fill up the space between the wing and the main building. This
staircase gives easy access to the doorway on the level of the first floor,
and also, at the level of the first landing, to an entresol room in the south
wing, which was probably used as a guard-room. The staircase blocks up
one of the windows in the kitchen, which was therefore converted into a
cupboard. One of the hall windows is also enclosed, but it is allowed to
remain as a borrowed light in the staircase. The stair is continued a
few steps higher, to a door which opens upon a platform or balcony on
the roof of the lower part of the addition. (See view from S.W.)

The eastern entrance doorway has a Renaissance arch and entabla-
ture, which shew that this work belongs to the seventeenth century.
The picturesque belfry on the watch turret is also of this date. The
walls enclosing the fore court, with the moat and drawbridge in front,
and enclosing walls round the keep, portions of which still exist (see
Plan), were also constructed about this time.

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NEIDPATH CASTLE, PEEBLESSHIHE.

The picturesque castle of Neidpath, near Peebles, was for centuries
the residence of the Hays of Yester. In 1654, the Earl of Tweeddale, a
distinguished statesman, enlarged the building, erected stables and con-

FIG. 147. Neidpath Castle. View from the North- West.

structed fine terraced gardens, a few remains of which are still visible.
The castle stands on a high projecting rock overhanging a sudden bend
in the Tweed, which forms a deep pool at the base of the rock (Figs. 147,
148). This castle is built on the L plan, i.e. with a small wing at
one side (Fig. 149). The peculiar shape of the plan, with walls at
oblique angles, probably arises from the nature of the site. It has
originally been a keep of great strength, the walls being over 10 feet
thick. The original door (plan of basement floor) was on the most pre-
cipitous side of the site, above the river. It entered on the ground level,
and communicated with the upper floors by a turnpike stair in the wall.
The partitions shown on the basement floor are not original. The tower

SECOND PERIOD

NEIDPATH CASTLE

185

SECOND PERIOD

was divided into two principal compartments in its height (Fig. 152,

p. 188) by a vault. There was also a vault near the level of the parapet,
and probably another vault carried the roof, each of the principal com-
partments being subdivided into two stories with wooden floors. The

SECOND PERIOD

186

NEIDPATH CASTLE

187

SECOND PERIOD

188

NEIDPATH CASTLE

great hall was on the second floor, immediately above the central vault,
and was 40 feet in length by 21 feet 6 inches in breadth. The angles of
the building- are all rounded, and the parapet is also rounded like the
angles, without projecting bartizans, in the same way as at Drum.

This tower was greatly altered in the
seventeenth century, but is still interesting
as showing how it was rendered available
for the requirements of that period, without
entirely losing its ancient character. A fore
court is built in front of the east side (Figs.
149, 150) with a portion cut off to contain
the offices, and the entrance is changed to
the centre of this front. It is thus on the
first floor, which is on the same level as the
fore court. A wide square stair is intro-
duced in one corner for access to the upper
hall and private apartments. The top story
is heightened, and the battlements are
partly carried up so as to contain small
apartments and give increased accommoda-
tion ; the parapet fronting the courtyard,
however, is left open, partly for defence and
[FIG. i52.-Neidpath Castle. Section. partly &s & peasant balcony or gallery.

Fig. 151 shows the details of the additions and alterations executed
in the seventeenth century, with the crest of the Hays of Tweeddale
(a goat's head) carved over the entrance gateway.

KEEPS EXTENDED INTO COURTYARDS.

Although some of the keeps above described have been greatly
altered they still retain the original simple form of plan.

We shall now consider some fourteenth-century keeps which form the
nucleus round which extensive castles have been built in later times.
These extensions are generally made in such a manner as to convert the
simple keep into a castle with buildings surrounding a courtyard.

The additions were almost invariably so designed as to include the
old keep as an essential part of the new edifice. Hence it follows that
it is scarcely possible to describe the old part of these castles without
reference to their later condition. It has therefore been thought best
to complete the description of each at once, although we thus have to
deal with buildings of a much later date than those of the period imme-
diately under consideration, of which the original keeps are the repre-
sentatives.

CRAIGMILLAR CASTLE

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SECOND PERIOD

CRAIGMILLAR CASTLE, MIDLOTHIAN.
The castle of Craigmillar, near Edinburgh, contains one of the finest

examples of the keep enlarged with other buildings of a later date.

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CRAIGMILLAR CASTLE

This keep probably belongs to the latter part of the fourteenth century.
The property of Craigmillar was purchased from Sir John de Capella by
Sir Simon Preston in 1374, and the doorway of the keep is surmounted
with the arms of the latter.

This castle was often occupied by Royalty in the time of the Stuarts,
and was a favourite residence of Queen Mary. In 1543 it was taken by
Hertford and much demolished and a great deal of it burned. In the
seventeenth century it passed into the hands of the Gilmours, and is still
the property of their successor, J. Little Gilmour, Esq., under whose care
the fabric is kept in excellent repair.

Craigmillar was undoubtedly an important castle of the period, as we
may see from the extent and strength of the enclosing walls of the inner
courtyard, which were probably erected soon after the keep, and bear
the date 1427. These walls (Fig. 153) enclose a space 130 feet by 90
feet, and are strengthened with round towers at the angles, while the
keep is, as usual, situated on the enceinte, and on the most commanding
position on the site, having a perpendicular rock 20 feet to 30 feet high
on the south under the outer wall (Fig. 156). The general disposition of
the plan thus reverts, although on a reduced scale, to the traditional
arrangements of the great thirteenth-century castles.

n ,.-

-f F F-

FIG. 154. Craigmillar Castle. Section through Keep from South to North
on line A B.

The plan of the keep is one of the usual forms above alluded to,
having a projection at one side to supply private rooms, in addition to
the hall. This form has the advantage of enabling the door situated in
the re-entering angle to be well defended by flanking fire from loop-
holes. The general plan of the keep corresponds with the usual descrip-
tion of similar buildings given above. The walls are 9 feet thick, with
no openings on the ground floor except the door. The doorways shown
on the plan in the east and west walls are late additions. The whole
height is divided into two compartments with full centred vaults,
further subdivided (Figs. 154, 155, and 156) with intermediate wooden

CRAIGMILLAR CASTLE 191 SECOND PERIOD

floors, as is apparent from the row of corbels for the beams of the ceiling

Fin. 155. Craigmillar Castle. Section from East to West.

of the upper hall, and a scarcement in the lower hall, and also from doors
and windows being placed at levels to suit the upper floors in the vaults.

FIG. 156. Craigmillar Castle. Sections.

The roof (Fig. 157) is flat, and is laid with dressed stone flags at such a
gradient that it might all be occupied by soldiers and military engines
for defence. The parapet (see Sections) is carried up flush with the face
of the wall, without projecting corbels or string-course, but is provided
with crenelations and plain gargoyles.

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CRAIGMILLAR CASTLE

The entrance doorway is in the re-entering angle of the south wing.
It has a circular arch, and is surmounted with a panel containing the

FIG. 157. Craigmillar Castle. Plan of Roof of Keep and Basement of Wings.

Preston arms, boldly cut (Fig. 158). The position of the entrance
doorway and lobby is carefully considered. To arrive at the door from
the main gateway the visitor has to pass round at least two sides of the
keep, and then along a narrow passage, well defended on all sides, and
from above, by the keep and curtain. Besides, there is a chasm in the
rock close in front of the doorway (Fig. 169), which had to be crossed
by a moveable bridge before the door itself was reached. These strong
defences of the doorway rendered it unnecessary, in this instance, to
place the door, as was usually done, at some height above the ground.
This doorway leads into a small entrance lobby about 3 feet below the
level of the door-sill, which is commanded from the floor of a guard-room
above (see Fig. 154). From this lobby there is a passage at right angles
through the wall into the ground floor. This is defended by a door at
the inner face of the wall, adjoining which the passage is heightened, so
that it may be commanded from above by a door opening into it from
the upper floor in the vault (see Section, 154).

As there is an inner door at the entrance to the stair to the upper
floors, any one breaking into the outer lobby might stumble down
the steps, or would at least be caught in a trap and pounded from
above.

The stair is also carefully constructed with a view to defence. A
newel stair runs from the inner door above referred to, to the level
of the guard-room over the entrance (shown by dotted line, Fig. 159),
where the stafr is broken and a post formed for defence. A new
stair, placed a few feet on one side, with a door at the entrance, runs
from this point to the level of the principal hall, where another land-
ing is provided, from which a separate stair leads to the upper floors
and roof.

The great hall is 35 feet long by 20 feet 9 inches wide, and 25 feet

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193

SECOND PERIOD

CRAIG Ml LAR DOORWAY TO KEEP

Fio. 158.--Craigmillar Castle. Entrance to Keep.

SECOND PERIOD . - 194 - CRAIGMILLAR CASTLE

to the top of the vault. But the hall was only 12 feet high to the

PIG. 159. Craigmillar Castle. Plans of First and Second Floor.

wooden floor above at the level of the corbels (see Sections). This upper
floor has a good entrance and window provided for it, besides a small

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195

SECOND PERIOD

window in the west wall, such as is often introduced in these upper lofts,
apparently more for air than light (see plan of second floor).

The hall has a fine fireplace (Fig. 160), with simple details; the
windows at the upper end are large, and furnished with stone seats and
lockers in the wall.

FIG. 160. Craigmillar Castle. Fireplace in Hall.

In the south projection or wing, as already mentioned, there is a
guard-room half-way up to the hall ; there is a small room over this on
the level of the hall, and a very agreeable room above it on about the

REBUS
WEST WALL. N24W. END

FROM

NORTH

CURTAIN

FIGS. 161 and 162. Craigmillar Castle. Details from Curtains.

same level as the upper floor of the hall (see Fig. 1 54). A similar room
is also obtained on the level of the roof by carrying up the walls of the

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196

CRAIGMILLAR CASTLE

south wing above the roof. This is rather an unusual arrangement, and
has evidently been an addition, as some corbels still remaining indicate
that the parapet has been originally carried round this part of the build-
ing (Fig. 163). It will be observed that the addition is placed on that
side of the keep where defence from the parapet is almost unnecessary,
from the protection afforded by the cliff below this point.

FIG. 163. Craigmillar Castle. View of South Front (Balustrade restored).

The walls and towers of the enceinte are peculiarly interesting. The
curtains are about 30 feet high, and are crowned with bold corbels and
open machicolations, having a parapet provided with embrasures and

CRAIGMILLAR CASTLE

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SECOND PERIOD

loopholes. Those of the front or north wall (Fig. 166) have the initial
letters of Preston and Gorton, another estate of the family, carved on the
merlons (or spaces between the embrasures), and loops are pierced through
the letters (Figs. l6l, 162). Some of the other arms and figures on
various parts of the walls are also shown in Figs. l6l, 162, including a
rebus on the name of Preston,, and a shield with the Preston arms and
the initials of Simon Preston. Along the south front (Fig. 163), where
there appear to have been early buildings against the inside of the walls,
provision for defence has been made, at the east
end by a stone parapet projecting on corbels,
and a square turret (Fig. 165) very boldly
corbelled out, while the high wall at the west
end has been defended by wooden hoardings,
the rows of corbels for carrying the floor and
roof of which still remain, as distinctly seen in
the sketch (Fig. 163). The outline of the door
leading out to the hoarding is also visible, but
has been built up when the later additions were
made. This is rather an exceptional arrange-
ment in Scotland, though common in France
and England. The corner towers, of which there
is one at each of the four angles, are carried
higher than the curtains, and are provided with
similar machicolated parapets. They also appear
to have had an upper battlement above the
existing parapet, a usual mode of defence in
French and English castles (as at Pierrefonds
and Caesar's Tower, Warwick), but rare in Scot- FIG. 164.

land. The stair leading up to this upper work still exists in the south-east
tower. This tower is peculiar in plan, being circular to the east, but
square to the west, thus forming a recess to mask the postern, which is
situated in the angle (Fig. 1()4), and which gave access to the castle by
a small winding staircase. The south-west angle tower, seen in the view
of the south front, has been rebuilt at a late date. The gateway to the
inner courtyard (Fig. 166) is rather a weak feature in this castle, as it
now stands ; but there are indications of there having originally been a
guard-room and inner gateway, with probably a portcullis. That there
have been buildings of some kind along the inside of this wall is apparent
from the window and other recesses still remaining. One of these
recesses on the upper floor contains a loophole and stone seat, as if for a
sentry to watch the gate.

Towards the east end of this wall there is a stone trough, with drain
and spout to the inside, similar to that at Bothwell. This has been for
the supply of water from the outside, and no doubt there was a barrel or

SECOND PERIOD

198

CRAIGMILLAR CASTLE

tank of some kind inside the wall to receive it. Such an arrangement is
very common in later castles and houses, where the supply-trough and
spout are generally situated in or near the kitchen.

It is an interesting and somewhat rare circumstance to find here the
outer court and some of the outer walls and defences still existing, as
also some of the farm-buildings and the chapel, which were situated in
the outer bailey. ,

The approach to the castle is carried for a
considerable distance close under the wall of the
outer courtyard, which commanded it from the
parapet, and past the north-east corner tower,
which was partly used for defence and partly as
a dovecot (see Figs. 153, 166).

The entrance gate to the outer bailey, with
a post for the guard, faced this approach. The
stables and farm-buildings were no doubt to
the west of this. The barn, which still exists, is
of great size, and is said to have been used as
the parish church during the contests between
the Episcopalians and Presbyterians in the seven-
teenth century.

The chapel (Fig. 167) is a very simple build-
ing, the few remains of carving about it indicating
fifteenth-century work. It is so placed as to be
accessible both from the castle and the outer
bailey.

When the keep began to be found too con-
fined, and larger accommodation was required, it is probable that some
buildings were added against the west wall of enceinte. There are
evidences of the buildings here having been pretty old, and it is clear
from the work traceable on the outer walls that the last alterations at
this place (which belong to the seventeenth century) have superseded
previous buildings, the walls of which were then heightened and altered.
The greatest additions, however, which have been made to Craig-
millar no doubt belong to the sixteenth century, when the castle was
restored after the ravages caused by Hertford. These consist of the
whole range extending along the east wall and round the south wall till
it joins the keep. It was at this period that the arrangements of the
plan were so completely altered as to take this castle out of the category
of the keeps, and bring it into that of the castles with quadrangles.

Although these additions are, as above indicated, of a much later
period than the original castle, still they are, as we shall presently see,
of a similar character to those of castles built in the early part of the
fifteenth century, i.e. on the plan of a courtyard ; and it will be more

FIG. 165. Postern in South-,
East Tower.

CKA1GMILLAH CASTLE

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SECOND PERIOD

200

CRAIGMILLAR CASTLE

convenient to describe them now than later. The same remark will
apply to the description of the additions made to several other castles of

PIG. 167. Craigmillar Castle. Chapel from the South-West.

this period. The keep still remains as a central stronghold ; but the
access to it is improved by the introduction of a wide and easy spiral
staircase, with an early Renaissance doorway of sixteenth-century work

(Fig. 168). On the basement of the
additions there are, as usual, cellars
one containing a draw-well, another
a bakehouse with oven, and other
offices. A separate stair branches
off, at the entrance door, to the
kitchen and its offices on the first
floor. Each floor in this department
is vaulted (see Fig. 155). A cor-
ridor on the first floor has a service
window from the kitchen, with easy
communication with the great hall.
This corridor also gives access to
rooms on the south side. On the
second floor there is a similar cor-
ridor communicating with a series of
bedrooms on that floor. This wing
was probably set apart for guests
and strangers. We usually find an
FIG. 168. Craigmillar Castle. arrangement of this kind in these

Entrance Doorway to Western Wing. larffe castles

The west wing, as it now stands, is seventeenth-century work, but
the present buildings supersede older ones, which have been altered, but

CRAIGMII.LAR CASTLE

SECOND PERIOD

*?^ r

ii/llfp

L'B <'

SECOND PERIOD - 202 - CRAIGMILLAR CASTLE

of which some features are still traceable. Thus (section G H, Fig. 156)
we find a fifteenth-century window, with mullions and transom now built
up, and other details. This wing contained the private or family apart-
ments, with separate staircase and a separate access to the great hall.
Here the dining-hall is on the ground floor, with a kitchen at the north
end and a private room at the south end, with wine-cellar beneath, and
private stair leading down to it. This reminds us of the arrangement of
the English halls. The plan of having a private access to the wine-
cellar is quite usual in Scotch castles. The upper floor contained private
or family bedrooms.

These seventeenth-century buildings show that manners and customs
had then greatly altered. It was no longer the habit of the proprietor
and his family to dine in the hall with his retainers. He preferred to
have a distinct suite of public as well as private apartments for his own
use. The same thing occurred in England, and was regarded as a
luxurious and effeminate custom, which was to be discouraged, and orders
were published prohibiting dining apart from the people in the hall ;
but like ordinances against the wearing of certain clothes and other
fashions, with small effect. As at Borthwick, some remains are still
visible of the painted decorations of the hall, as shown on the corbels,
etc. (Fig. 160).

Fig. 169 gives a general view of the castle as seen from the south,
with slight restorations, chiefly the replacing of the roof. The staircase
at the west end leading down to the base of the rock is now a heap of
ruins, but the pedestals shown at top and bottom still exist as gate-posts
at the adjoining farm-house. These show that there was a balustrade
similar to that indicated on the sketch.

CASTLE CAMPBELL, CLACKMANNANSHIRE.

Castle Campbell is another castle which had its origin as a simple
keep, and was afterwards extended into a large castle, with buildings
round a courtyard or quadrangle. The situation of this castle is magnifi-
cent (Fig. 170). It stands on a lofty isolated point near Dollar, com-
manding an opening in the Ochil Hills, with an extensive view over the
valley of the Forth. The castle is approached through dark-wooded
ravines, surrounded with perpendicular rocks, which give it a grand and
impressive effect, besides rendering the position almost unassailable with
the engines in use at the time. This castle was originally called the
Castle of Gloume ; but the name being disliked by the first Earl of Argyll,
the then proprietor, he obtained an Act of Parliament in 1 48.9 for having
it changed to its present designation. The castle was destroyed by
Montrose in 1645.

CASTLE CAMPBELL - 203 SECOND PERIOD

The keep, and some portions of the walls of the enceinte, are very

similar to those of Craigmillar. In this case the original keep (Fig. 171)
is a simple parallelogram in plan. The walls are 7 feet 6 inches thick,
and the hall is 28 feet long by 16 feet wide. The entrance door is on

SECOND PERIOD

204

CASTLE CAMPBELL

the ground level,, and a straight stair in the thickness of the wall leads
to the first floor, from which another stair in the opposite corner of the
hall (Fig. 172) leads to the upper floors and the roof. The keep is four
stories in height, and three of these are vaulted (Fig. 173) with barrel
vaults, viz., the ground floor, the first floor, and the top story the two
upper stories being divided with a wooden floor resting on coi'bels,
which still remain.

There do not appear to have been any lofts or upper floors in the
vaults of the two lower floors, which are not high enough to admit of

CASTLE CAMPBELL

205

SECOND PERIOD

206

CASTLE CAMPBELL

them ; and the position of the windows, which are carried well up into
the vaults, shows that this was not intended.

FIG. 173. Castle Campbell. Section looking East.

The ground floor has an inner door for protection, and very small
loops for light. There is also here a specimen of the kind of accom-
modation provided for prisoners in those days. A pit, () feet () inches by
3 feet, is formed in the thickness of the wall at the south-east angle, and
is entered from a trap in the ceiling opening from the floor of the wall
chamber adjoining the fireplace of the hall above. The windows become
larger and the rooms more cheerful as they ascend. There are the
usual small chambers and recesses in the walls for garde-robes, etc. The
first floor is the common hall, and the second and third floors are the
private rooms of the lord and his family. Originally the vaulting of the
top story has been intended to carry the stone roof, with which the
keep was no doubt covered. This vault is ornamented with ribs and
masks, similar to those of some of the apartments of the extended build-
ings, which are of later date than the keep, and is clearly a restoration
of that time. The ribs of the keep and the additions are shown by
dotted lines on the plans of the third floor and ground floor. The

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207

SECOND PERIOD

exterior of the keep (Fig. 174) is, as usual, perfectly plain. The parapet
rests on a corbel course, without machicolations, and has rounded bartizans
at the angles with carved gargoyles.

The walls of the enceinte (Fig. 175), so far as original, are provided
with corbels and machicolations similar to those of Craigmillar, but here
also the curtains have been used for the extension of buildings round the

SECOND PERIOD

208

CASTLE CAMPBELL

courtyard. Along the south side (see Fig. 171) there is a fine suite of
apartments over vaulted cellars (Fig. 176) on the basement floor, com-
prising a great hall 42 feet by 20 feet, with a porch and staircase at the

west end, entering from the com'tyard, and a large window and fireplace
on opposite sides at the upper end. The hall communicates at the east
end with the private parlour or lord's room beyond, to the east of which

< RICHTON CASTLE

209

SECOND PERIOD

is a large bedroom. Some time ago the floor of this range of buildings
was excavated and examined by Mr. Miller, C.E., Edinburgh, when he
found a quantity of fragments of the stained glass with which the
windows were glazed. The kitchen and offices were probably at the west
end of the hall. The entrance portico of the extended buildings is
unusually fine (Fig. 173), and is so placed as to communicate by means of
corridors and stairs with the old keep and other apartments on the one
hand, and with the hall and public rooms on the other hand. The
former were probably the family apartments, and are approached by a
wide circular newel stair. The guests' apartments were probably over the
hall and south wing, and had two separate entrances and staircases, one
in connection with the entrance portico and the other at the west end.

FIG. 176. Castle Campbell. Plan of Basement of South Side.

It should be observed that the staircases and apartments of this wing
are joined by a corridor or passage. This is a very unusual arrangement,
the houses of this period being almost invariably "single tenements"
with windows on both sides.

The gateway and gatehouse of Castle Campbell (Fig. 174) are interest-
ing and well-preserved features.

The horizontal loopholes for fire-arms show that they are of late date.

CRICHTON CASTLE, MIDLOTHIAN.

Crichton Castle in Midlothian is a splendid specimen of a castle which
had its origin in a simple fourteenth-century keep, and became extended
in after-times into a castle surrounding a courtyard.

There is no record of the building of the keep, but about the middle
of the fifteenth century this castle belonged to Sir William Crichtoun, who
was Chancellor under James i., and afterwards guardian of James n. In
1445 Crichton was stormed and dismantled by Forrester of Corstorphine,
one of the Livingston faction. In 1488 the castle and lands were
granted to Patrick Hepburn, first Earl of Bothwell. James vi. bestowed
them in 1576 on his favourite, Francis Stewart, fifth Earl of Bothwell.

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CRICHTON CASTLE

They have since passed through many hands, and are now the property
of W. Burn Callendar, Esq.

The castle is situated on a platform near the top of a steep upland
hill, which rises from the valley of the Tyne, in Midlothian, near its source,
and not far from Borthwick Castle.

s/ T- "*

FIG. 177. Crichton Castle. Plan of Ground Floor.

Simple as the fourteenth-century keeps are, they have almost all
some peculiarity of plan, as will be seen is the case here. At Crichton
the keep (shaded black in Fig. 1 77) is of the usual oblong form, being
46 feet 6 inches long by 33 feet 8 inches broad. The walls are 7 feet
4 inches thick. It is partly ruined, but still retains portions of two plain
barrel vaults (Fig. 178), one of which, at the level of the hall floor, is
semicircular, and encloses the usual two basement stories, and the other,
which is slightly pointed, forms the roof of the hall.

The original entrance to the ground floor was from the north, whence

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SECOND PERIOD

a straight stair led, in the thickness of the north wall, to the upper floor
in the vault of the basement. This staircase also conducted to the door

of the dungeon in the north-east corner of the keep, which is about 8 feet
long by 6 feet wide. The door, which is only about 30 inches high, is

SECOND PERIOD

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CRICHTON CASTLE

about 9 feet above the floor. There is the usual narrow slit for air
through the outer wall.

The only entrance to the hall (Fig. 179) was by an outer door at the
level of the floor, above the door to the basement, there being no internal
communication from the basement to the upper floors. The hall is 33 feet
6 inches long, by 19 feet 8 inches wide, and 23 feet 9 inches high to the
top of its pointed vault. This height has not been divided by any inter-
mediate floor, but has been all included in the hall. This is apparent
from the position of the large windows, which go well up into the
vault, and from the sloping sill of the upper window in the north gable
(Fig. 178).

Pio. 179. Crichton Castle. Plan of First Floor.

The arrangement of the kitchen of the keep (Fig. 179) is very
peculiar, being an entresol formed in the haunch of the vault of the
basement floor immediately above the dungeon. It is entered only by
a stair going down from the north end of the hall, where, by borrowing
part of the thickness of the outer wall, a space of about 12 feet by 7,
with a fireplace, is obtained.

Adjoining the entrance door a newel stair leads to the upper floor
and the roof. There appear to have been the usual private rooms above
the hall. These were probably vaulted, with a stone roof resting on the

CRICHTON CASTLE

213

SECOND PERIOD

214

CRICHTON CASTLE

vault, and battlements all round ; but the whole top story has now
disappeared.

The first extensions of the buildings were on the south and west sides
of the courtyard, where probably the enclosing wall formerly stood. The
southern side contained the new halls, and the western side the kitchens,
etc. These buildings date from the fifteenth century, and were pro-
bably erected by the Chancellor. They correspond with the arrange-
ments of other great castles of that period, such as Doune and Tantallon.
Thus the entrance was by an archway under the hall, as at Doune,
and the halls on the upper floors are of great dimensions. The external
character of the work, with its bold corbels and machicolations, also
corresponds with that of the above castles (Fig. 180). There were two
entrances under the new buildings, one from the east and the other
from the south (Figs. 177, 180), but the latter was subsequently built
up, probably because the levels of the ground were found to suit best

FIG. 181. Crichton Castle. Plan of Second Floor.

for the eastern entrance. The basement is as usual occupied with
vaulted cellars. Above this, on the south side, there are two halls, one
over the other. That on the first floor was approached by a wide outside
stair, and has an inner lobby and service room with a hatch to the cellar
at the west end. A rather remarkable circular balcony projects from
the window of the service room (see Billings), the use of which it is
difficult to define. The lobby and service room are separated from the

CRICHTON CASTLE

215

SECOND PERIOD

hall by a stone partition, which occupies the usual position of the
" screens."

The hall is 44 feet long by 26 feet 8 inches broad. The fireplace is
enriched with carving similar to that at Borthwick, and the outer and inner
doors are also carved and shaped in the style of the fifteenth century.

FIG. 182. Crichton Castle. View in Courtyard.

Above this hall, at a height of 14 feet, is another hall (Fig. 181) of
the same dimensions, which would usually be regarded as the withdrawing-
room, but would appear (as we shall afterwards see) to have been also used
as a private dining-room. It has a stone cornice carved with flowers and
ball ornaments, and a handsome fireplace with a straight arched lintel,
the arch stones being joggled 011 the joints. It seems also to have had an
open timber roof, similar to that of the banqueting-hall at Doune. This
upper hall being on nearly the same level as the hall in the keep, with

SECOND PERIOD

216

CRICHTON CASTLE

which it was no doubt connected by the small ante-room shown on the
plan (Fig. 181), these rooms would probably be used as a suite of
apartments.

The next range of buildings contains the kitchens and offices. These
have however been somewhat altered when the later additions were
made on the north side of the quadrangle.

Fiu. 183. Crichton Castle. Section through Courtyard, looking West,

The ground floor contains, besides the usual cellars, a passage to a
postern, close to which a stair leads to the kitchen on the first floor
(Fig. 179). The kitchen fireplace is very large, taking in the full
breadth of the room, or 21 feet, and being fully 10 feet deep. This
wide opening is arched in two spans, with a pillar in the centre. There
is a shoot at one side, by which ashes, etc., might be discharged.
Adjoining the kitchen on the north are two good pantries, and on the
south side there is a large back-kitchen or scullery, with sink and drain.
The square block at the south end of this range has a very massive
appearance, and has hitherto been erroneously described as the original
keep of the castle. It formed a defensive tower at the south-west angle
of the castle, but is clearly of the same date as the adjoining buildings.
This tower was divided with several wooden floors in its height, and
was probably used as bedrooms. It is the only part of the castle where
there are no vaulted floors.

On the second floor above this kitchen there occurs another kitchen

CRICHTON CASTLE

217

SECOND PERIOD

IIP I

SECOND PERIOD

218

CRICHTON CASTLE

(Fig. 181), which seems to have been used in connection with the upper
hall or withdrawing-room.

The corbels and holes in the wall may still be seen (Figs. 182,
183) which carried an overhanging wooden passage projected on the
east side of this floor, and containing a service window from the upper

kitchen. The object of this arrange-
ment seems to have been to give
access from this kitchen to the
upper hall without passing through
the corner block and interfering
with its use as bedrooms. The upper
hall would thus appear to have
served as a private dining-room, as
well as a withdrawing-room.

Fig. 180 shows the massive and
imposing character of the buildings
added in the fifteenth century, the
corbelling and machicolations being
of unusual magnitude.

In the seventeenth century the
use of private dining and reception
rooms, quite distinct from the hall and public reception rooms, came into
fashion. This seems to have been the motive for the erection of the
suite of apartments on the north side of the quadrangle.

FIG. 185. Caps of Corridor and Central
Monogram above.

FIG. 186. Crichton Castle. Plan showing Position of Outbuilding.

About this date too the old turnpike form of staircases gave way to
more spacious and commodious square stairs.

The new buildings contain all the newest requirements. They are

CRICHTON CASTLE

219

SECOND PERIOD

entered by a very handsome square staircase (Fig. 183) with steps 5 feet 6
inches wide. The solid newel is ornamented with attached pillars at each
landing, having ornamented caps and bases, and carved and flowered string-
courses at the landings. The roof of the staircase is of stone, and is
wrought with raised ribs in imitation of the plaster ceilings of the Eliza-
bethan period (see sketch, Fig. 183). This is certainly one of the hand-
somest staircases of its period in Scotland.

Entering from this staircase, on the first floor is a spacious private
dining-room, and beyond it a private sitting-room or withdrawing-room.
This dining-room is so placed as to be in communication with the kitchen.
On the upper floor the same accommodation is repeated, the rooms over
the dining-room and drawing-room having probably been bedrooms.
There was also an attic floor
above this, which would con-
tain several bedrooms.

The buildings on this side
of the quadrangle evidently
belong to about the year 1600,
with the exception of the
lower part of the exterior
wall, which is very thick, and
has a very old appearance.
This was no doubt the ancient
wall of enceinte, which has
been incorporated in the new
buildings. There is the same
mixture of the Renaissance
and Scotch styles in these
buildings as may be seen in
most of the other buildings of
the same period. We have
in these examples the turrets
and corbellings (Fig. 184) so
common in Scotch work,
mingled with features which
strongly recall many Renais-
sance buildings on the Conti-
nent, especially in Germany
and the Low Countries. The

square facets Covering the FIG. 187. Crichton Castle. Doorway and Window

walls above an arcaded cor- in North Gable of stables.

ridor, with multangular columns and peculiar caps, which are the well-
known characteristics of Crichton Castle (Figs. 182, 185), may be seen at
the Rath-haus of Liibeck.

SECOND PERIOD 220 CRICHTON CASTLE

The carved work in the staircase is also of the mixed kind belonging
to the time of James vi.

Besides the great staircase above alluded to, another wide circular
staircase was added about this time in the south-west angle of the court-
yard, instead of the narrow turnpike stair which had hitherto been the
only means of access at this point to the upper floors. But this angle
staircase is now almost entirely demolished.

There is a building at the distance and in the position shown with
reference to the castle (Fig. 186), which is always called the Chapel.
It is 63 feet long by 33 feet wide, and has buttresses on each side. There
is a door in the centre of each end. Apparently this building has
originally been of one story, and vaulted (as it still is), and the buttresses
seem to have been added to resist the thrust of the vault. At a later
date the building has been raised so as to admit of rooms on an upper
floor, the windows of which still exist.

There is a peculiar horseshoe-shaped ornament (Fig. 187) round a
small window over the door at the north end.

There are no features about the building to enable one to say posi-
tively what it may have been, but it seems most likely to have been the
stables, with rooms for the servants above.

There are also some ruins still further off, which may have been farm
buildings, but it is now impossible to say.

A considerable excavation in the hill behind the castle shows that the
stone used in the building was quarried on the spot.

NOTE.

It must be distinctly kept in view (as already pointed out) that all
the above extensions of the fourteenth-century keeps are of considerably
later date than the keeps themselves, the description of the extensions
being merely introduced, in connection with that of the original keeps,
for the sake of convenience, and to avoid confusion by cutting up the
description of each castle into sections.

The tower-built castles above described are especially characteristic
of the Scotch Architecture of the fourteenth century. In France and
England the contemporary fourteenth-century castles are of the grandest
and most extensive description. The great castle of Pierrefonds in
France, and the immense Edwardian piles of Caernarvon, Caerphilly,
Conway, etc., in England, are contemporary with the towers and keeps
in Scotland which we have just been considering, and they well mark
the difference in wealth and culture between this country and its southern
neighbours in the fourteenth century.

The keep plan of building was universal in Scotland during the four-
teenth century. It was employed, as we have above seen, not only in the

NOTE 221 - SECOND PERIOD

smaller towers of the impoverished nobility, but even the royal palaces
and castles were erected according to the same model. Dundonald
Castle, a favourite residence of Robert n. and Robert in., although on a
larger and grander scale than the common keeps, was still a simple
tower on the same general plan. The palace at Rothesay, although
connected with the circular wall of enceinte of a more ancient castle, is
really a keep of the same type as Dundonald.

With the close of the fourteenth century a new style of castle-build-
ing began to be introduced. We may therefore regard the end of the
fourteenth century as completing the Second Period of Scotch Castellated
Architecture.

THE CASTELLATED AND DOMESTIC
ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND.

THIRD PERIOD 1400-1542.

THE third period of Scotch castellated architecture commenced with
the fifteenth century. About that time a few castles began to be erected
on a different model from that of the ' keep-tower. These consisted of
buildings surrounding a courtyard or quadrangle. The great castle of
Doune, built by the Regent Murdoch, Duke of Albany (about 1400-1424),
is of this description. The powerful castle of Tantallon, which also
belonged to the Duke of Albany, and the rebuilding of Dirleton and
Caerlaverock (both destroyed by Edward i.), were likewise carried out
on this plan.

During the reigns of the first five Jameses the larger castles and
royal palaces were all built or enlarged into castles with courtyards
or quadrangles. Of these, fine examples existed in the palaces of Lin-
lithgow, Stirling, Falkland, Holyrood, and Edinburgh Castle, although
most of them have now been greatly altered.

The same general features are observable in the earlier and later
examples of this period, but the details, whether ornamental or useful,
become gradually more refined as time advances.

In the earlier castles, such as Doune and Tantallon, one part of the
buildings forms a keep ; but it is on quite a different plan from the
simple Norman parallelogram. It is larger in extent, and contains
increased accommodation on each floor, having towers attached, both for
defence, and also to furnish additional apartments. The keep thus forms
an independent and commodious residence. It is practically detached
from the other portions of the castle. It has a separate entrance, and
is capable of separate defence. The other buildings surrounding the
quadrangle contain large reception or banqueting halls, the chapel, state-
rooms for visitors, the kitchen, offices, etc.

The gateway is generally through part of the building. At Doune
and Tantallon it passes through the keep under the hall. The long
vaulted passage thus formed is useful, inasmuch as it may be strongly

INTRODUCTORY 223 - THIRD PERIOD

defended with gates, portcullis, etc., as well as from apertures in the
vault.

These edifices have a considerable resemblance to similar castles in
France of about the same date. At Pierrefonds, for instance (ante, p. 47),
the keep is a large building or residence capable of being detached from
the rest of the castle. The entrance is under part of the buildings
adjoining the keep, and is flanked by a large round tower similar to
though on a larger scale than that at Doune.

In the later examples of these castles with quadrangles the defensive
features are gradually reduced in importance, although never abandoned,
and the buildings assume somewhat the appearance of the contemporary
mansions in England. At Linlithgow and Stirling palaces, for example,
the state and domestic apartments are more fully developed than in the
earlier castles, and a richer and more fanciful design takes the place of
the grander though more rugged architecture of defence of Doune and
Tantallon. In these later edifices, especially at Linlithgow, may be
observed a gradual assimilation to the contemporary English style of
architecture, and in the early part of the sixteenth century (as at Stirling
and Falkland) there are distinct traces of the approaching advent of the
Renaissance. This is very observable in the palace at Stirling, built
about 1500, where the classic ornament begins to be applied to the old
forms, and where grotesque imitations of classic sculpture are for the first
time introduced. These novelties are said to have been executed by
foreign workmen, which is not improbable.

The above style of castles with quadrangles marks a distinct period
in the history of Scottish architecture, commencing with the fifteenth
century, and ending with the death of James v., in 1542. It thus exactly
corresponds with the reigns of the first five Jameses, and forms the third
period of our Scottish Castellated and Domestic Architecture. The
castles with quadrangles of this period distinguish it from the preceding
period, in which, as we have seen, there were no such castles.

They also distinguish it from the succeeding period, for although
there were numerous castles with quadrangles after the above date, we
shall see as we proceed that they were marked by features which dis-
tinguish them from those of the third period.

This period, like every other period of Scotch architecture, contains,
in addition to the castles with quadrangles above referred to, a large
number of contemporary castles built on the old keep plan.

A considerable number of buildings were also converted into castles
with quadrangles by additions made to old keeps in the form of buildings
surrounding a courtyard, in the same way as those of the first period
which we have already considered, such as Crichton, Craigmillar, Castle
Campbell, etc. The castles of this period, however, whether on the
"courtyard" plan or the "keep" plan, have all a strong similarity 01

THIRD PERIOD - 224 INTRODUCTORY

detail, and are quite distinguishable from those of the preceding and
succeeding periods.

The keeps of this period still continue to retain the simple quadri-
lateral plan. This is sometimes modified (as in the previous period) by
the addition of a wing at one corner, in order to provide extended
accommodation. As formerly, the ground floor is vaulted and contains
stores. The hall occupies the whole of the first floor, the wing, when
there is one, containing the owner's private room. In the exceptional
case of Borthwick Castle there are two such wings, whereby greatly
enlarged accommodation is obtained.

A separate kitchen is frequently to be observed, timidly introduced
at first, and more distinctly developed in later specimens.

The entrance door is usually on the first floor, and the staircases are
almost always narrow newel ones, generally in the thickness of the wall.
When there is a wing, the entrance door is commonly in the re-entering
angle, where it is well situated for defence. In later examples a turret
is introduced into the re-entering angle of the wing, containing the
entrance door on the ground level and the staircase, which is thus
conveniently placed for giving access to the rooms both in the main
building and the wing. These doorways were generally furnished
with oaken doors, strengthened with strong bars running in grooves
formed in the walls. The entrances were also frequently provided in
addition with iron-grated gates or "yetts" (which were subjects of
legislation), and the windows were secured with strong iron-grated
stanchions.

Above the hall there are generally two upper stories with joisted
floors, and there is sometimes a vault over the top story to carry a stone
roof. The walls vary from 5 to 10 feet in thickness, and wall chambers
usually abound. In some instances (notably that of Elphinstone) this
feature of the design is carried out in a most elaborate and compli-
cated manner, and the amount of accommodation thereby provided is
remarkable.

The lf pit" or prison is of frequent occurrence. It is generally a
small wall chamber with an air-hole in the outer wall. It is entered
only from above by an aperture in the vault, which is secured by being
covered with a properly-fitting stone.

The defences both of the "quadrangle" and "keep" castles of the
third period are, as of old, chiefly from the battlements. These vary
very much in design, the greater number having bold projecting corbels,
with machicolations between, as at Crichton, Dunnottar, and Spynie,
while others have only corbels without machicolations, such as Borth-
wick and Balvaird. Others again have neither corbels nor machicolations,
but have the parapet carried up flush with the outer face of the wall,
without even a string-coui'se to mark it, such as Liberton Tower. At

INTRODUCTORY 225 THIRD PERIOD

Tantallon, and other instances, the parapets rest on a string-course
having the form of continuous corbels. Several examples occur of the
use of hoards for the defence of the walls, as at Craigmillar, Arbroath
Abbey, Preston, etc. In the later examples of the period the corbels
are generally more or less ornamental, and in some instances the
originally useful corbels begin to be applied as mere ornaments, as at
Craignethan, Edzell, and Leven Castles, where the lower of the two
rows of corbels under the parapet carries nothing, and is inserted for
ornament only.

The parapets have almost invariably rounded open bartizans at the
angles, carried on a series of corbels, and a good stone gutter or parapet
walk all round the building. Those at Borthwick and Balvaird are well
preserved.

In the later examples, as, for instance, at Ruthven Castle, the bartizans
are beginning to be covered in with a roof, so as to form the angle
turret, which became so prominent a feature of the later development of
the Scotch style of Architecture.

During this period artillery began to be employed in the attack and
defence of fortified places ; and we find indications of the early provision
made for its introduction into castles in the large embrasures or port-
holes so characteristic of the time.

There is not usually much ornamentation in the interior. The hall
has invariably a large fireplace, the jambs of which are frequently carved
with shafts having caps and bases. At Doune Castle the fireplace is
double,- and at Linlithgow Palace it is triple, with shafted divisions
between. The lintel of the hall fireplaces is moulded, and is sometimes
adorned with shields containing coats of arms, etc. In Borthwick and
Crichton Castles, and Linlithgow Palace, the fireplaces and other portions
of the buildings are unusually richly carved with fifteenth-century foliage.
An enriched ambry or a seat is sometimes introduced in the wall of the
hall, as at Borthwick, Dirleton, Balvaird, etc.

The domestic chapel is not common in the castles of this or the
previous period, those of Linlithgow Palace and Craigmillar Castle
being somewhat exceptional cases. There are, however, good examples
of oratories in window recesses at Doune and Borthwick Castles, and
a very fine private oratory occurs at Affleck Castle, Forfarshire.

During this period some castles of an exceptional character were
erected, such as those of Hermitage and Crookston. These are founded
on the general idea of the keep, but they have rectangular towers
added at each of the four angles. Other castles, again, are of an
intermediate type between the keep and the castles with quadrangles,
the main building being extended with towers and wings so as to
form an enlarged residence, and these buildings are carried out
with a better style of workmanship than the ordinary keeps. Of

THIRD PERIOD 226 LIBERTON TOWER

these, the castles of Morton, Ravenscraig, and Tullyallan are good
examples.

The enlargement of ancient keeps by additions was also in some
cases carried out in an unusual manner. Thus, at Ruthven Castle,
Perth, and the Dean Castle, Kilmarnock, the additions were not made
in the form of buildings connected with the keep, and extending
round a quadrangle, but by the erection of a separate tower, or other
buildings, at another part of the enceinte, and entirely detached from
the original keep.

These cases will all be considered in detail in connection with the
description of the castles themselves.

In describing the individual castles of this period it will be most
convenient to begin with examples of the simple form of keep, similar
to that usual in the previous century. We shall then give some
examples of keeps in which the simple quadrilateral form became
modified in various ways. We shall see that the L plan, or that of
adding a wing to. one corner, which was introduced in the fourteenth
century, is still frequently used, while various further modifications of
the simple keep are gradually introduced. Thus in some cases two
wings are added and in other cases a projecting staircase is introduced
in the re-entering angle of the wing. A few special and exceptional
modifications of the keep plan will then be given.

Following the same course as in the Second Period, we shall next
show how the fifteenth-century keeps were enlarged into castles sur-
rounding courtyards or quadrangles, and finally describe the castles
which were designed and built on that plan from the first, and which
specially distinguish this period of Scotch Domestic Architecture.

THIRD PERIOD SIMPLE KEEPS.

Beginning with the simple keeps of the fifteenth century, we have a
good example of a plain quadrilateral building in Liberton Tower, near
Edinburgh.

LIBERTON TOWER, MIDLOTHIAN.

Liberton Tower is a fifteenth-century keep, which, from the extreme
plainness of its form, and its generally frail and dilapidated condition, is
frequently assigned to a much earlier period. The simple quadrilateral
outline (Fig. 188) is quite usual, and the internal arrangements are some-
what similar to those of Lochleven. The whole height (see Section) is
divided into two by a semicircular vault in the centre, above which is
situated the hall. The upper portion is also vaulted, with a pointed

LIBERTON TOWER

227

THIRD PERIOD

barrel vault, which carries the stone roof. Each vaulted compartment
is divided into two stories, with wooden floors resting on corbels. The

Fir,. 188. Liberton Tower. Plans, Sections, and Elevation.

timbers of the upper floor are still partly preserved (Fig. 1 89), and show
the mode of construction then in use. The beams, on the corbels, are
6^ inches by 5 inches, laid at 2 feet 6 inches apart, and the joists are
3 inches by 2 inches, laid on the flat and mortised into the beams.

The ground floor is only 6J feet high, and has probably been used
for sheltering cattle. It has a separate outer door, and had no com-
munication with the upper floors unless, as is most likely, there was a
hatch in the floor above. The first floor is in the lower vault, and
communicates with the hall by a stair down from the hall in the north-
west angle. This has been the cellar and stores, and has a hatch in the
centre of the vault. *

The principal entrance to the tower (Fig. 190, N.E. view) is on the
level of the hall, whence the above stair goes down, and two other stairs

THIRD PERIOD 228 LIBERTON TOWER

lead up to the upper flat, which would be divided into two rooms, each

thus having a separate stair. The eastern room formed the owner's private
apartment. There is a small opening, or spy-hole, in the wall of the

UBERTON TOWER

229

THIRD PERTOD

Ji \ Hit ;

THIRD PERIOD 230 LIBERTON TOWER

straight staircase leading up to this floor at the east end of the building,
from which a watch could be kept on the proceedings in the hall. There
is no properly formed stair to the parapet, which must have been reached
by a wooden inside stair leading to the door in the east gable. The
access to the battlements would thus also be under the owner's eye.
The parapet, as at Craigmillar, is carried up flush with the walls (Fig.
190), and has no corbels or projecting mouldings. - Almost the only
thing in the form of ornament in the tower is the sideboard of the hall
in the south wall (Fig. 189), which has an ogee-headed opening clearly
indicative of the fifteenth century. In the south elevation, near the
top, there are traces of a human figure in a panel, which may have
been a patron saint or part of a coat of arms.

The history of this tower is not recorded, but according to the
Rev. Thomas White, in his account of the parish of Liberton in the
first volume of Transactions of the Antiquarian Society of Scotland, " The
Dalmahoys of that Ilk possessed Upper Liberton as early as the
year 1453, and continued in possession of it, at least of a part of it,
for almost two hundred years." This tower was in all probability built
by that family.

MEARNS TOWER, RENFREWSHIRE.

Mearns Tower (Fig. 191) is about seven miles south-west from Glasgow,
and stands in an upland district overlooking the valley of the Clyde.
It is situated on a small knoll having a level platform round the build-
ing, which at the west and north-west is narrow, and has precipitous
slopes about 25 feet high. The tower is oblong on plan, measuring

44 feet from east to west by 29 feet 6 inches from north to south, and

45 feet high to the top of the corbels. It contains three floors, the two
now remaining being vaulted, as shown on the section. The entrance
doorway is at the east end, and leads directly into the basement or lower
vault, which is lighted by two widely splayed slits. The existing outer
doorway has evidently been enlarged in modern times. The eastern
wall is here 10 feet in thickness, and the other walls are about 8 feet
thick. From the entrance passage a straight flight of steps leads to
the first floor, and in continuation a "corkscrew" stair leads to the top.
Immediately over the entrance to the basement is the separate round
arched doorway, forming the principal entrance to the castle on the first
floor ; the height from the ground to the door sill is 1 1 feet, and was
reached by a ladder.

This doorway enters directly into the hall, which occupies the whole
of the first floor as a single apartment, measuring 27 feet 9 inches long
by 16 feet 6 inches wide, and 21 feet high. This vault is loftier than

MEARNS TOWER

231

THIRD PERIOI>

is usual in buildings of this class, unless where they are subdivided
into two stories, which does not seem to have been the intention here,
as there are no corbels in the side walls for a floor, and no windows to
light an upper story. The object of the height appears to have been

VIEW FROM. S [

GROUND FLOOR FIRST FLOOR A ENTRESOLE UPPER FLOOK

Fro. 191. Mearns Tower. Plans, Section, and View.

to introduce in the east wall an entresol, entering off the corkscrew
stair, forming what is usually called a minstrel's gallery and a wall closet
(see Plans). A similar entresol, apparently for the same purpose, occurs
at the Dean Castle, Kilmarnock.

THIRD PERIOD 232 - MEARNS TOWER

Adjoining the first floor entrance is a lighted wall closet, and at the
opposite end is the fireplace, with windows in the side walls having stone
seats.

The upper floor is very similar in arrangement to the first. From its
wall closet a garde-robe is projected on the south front. This is now very
ruinous, only the supporting stone corbels remaining with the upper
courses of the sloping stone roof. The continuation of the stair to the
battlements is gone, as well as the " cape house " on the top of the stair
and the parapets.

There is a set-off inside the walls at the top, evidently for the
support of roof beams, but of what form the roof was, whether flat or
sloping, we cannot precisely say. From the terms of the licence to
be presently quoted there was to be erected on the roof warlike
apparatus for its defence, so that in all likelihood the roof was flat.
Mr. Fraser, in his work on Caerlaverock, informs us of the important fact
that James n., on the 15th March 1449, granted a licence to Herbert
Lord Maxwell " to build a castle or fortalice on the Barony of Mearns in
Renfrewshire, to surround and fortify it with walls and ditches, to
strengthen it by iron gates, and to erect on the top of it all warlike
apparatus necessary for its defence." This interesting circumstance adds
greatly to the value of Mearns Castle historically, making it a standard
by which we may estimate the date of other similar structures. Most
of the buildings of this class and period being undated, any authentic
information of this sort is of the utmost importance. We need have
no hesitation in assuming that the fortalice was built shortly after
the date of the licence, as it corresponds in general arrangements and
in the style of its corbels with other castles, such as Borthwick, of
which the date is known. In 1589 James vi. writes from Craigmillar
to William, fifth Lord Herries, commanding him to deliver up the
castles of Caerlaverock, Threave, Morton, and the place and fortalice of
Mearns.

About the middle of the seventeenth century Mearns was sold by the
Earl of Nithsdale to Sir George Maxwell of Nether Pollok, in the
immediate neighbourhood, and shortly afterwards it passed into the pos-
session of the ancestors of its present possessor, Sir Michael Shaw Stewart.
The castle has been in use till comparatively recent times as a place for
local balls and festivities, but it is now entirely neglected, and is fast
falling into utter ruin.

ELPHINSTONE CASTLE 233 THIRD PERIOD

ELPHINSTONE CASTLE, MIDLOTHIAN.

This is one of the most remarkable and best preserved of the Scottish
keeps of the fifteenth century. Situated on the southern brow of a hill
overlooking Ormiston and the valley of the Tyne, a wide prospect is
obtained from its windows and battlements. It is a simple oblong on
plan (Fig. 192), 50 feet 5 inches long by 35 feet wide, and 58 feet
3 inches in height to the top of the parapet. The tower contains a
basement floor covered with a round vault (having _ corbels for a joisted
intermediate floor), a first floor with a high pointed vault, and two
stories above, which appear to have had wooden floors, thus making
five floors in all. It is quite usual for towers of this period to have
chambers and closets in the thickness of the walls, but in this case that
arrangement is carried to an extreme length, all the walls being honey-
combed with a perfect labyrinth of small mural chambers. We have
endeavoured to make the following description of this rather intricate
building as clear as possible by complete plans and sections, to which the
reader may refer.

The entrance doorway, which is round-headed, is on the north side,
and up a few feet from the ground. In the thickness of the north wall a
straight stair, with roof arched in compartments (see Section along north
wall), leads up, first to the upper floor of the lower vault, and then con-
tinues up to the level of the great hall floor. To the right of the
entrance to the keep a few high steps lead to a wall chamber, raised
thus to give room for another chamber sloping down from the basement
floor, the door to which is seen on the Section looking west. These
were probably the guard-room and prison. A wooden trap leads down
a few steps to the basement floor from the raised entrance. The great
hall occupies most of the first floor, and measures 29 feet in length by
20 feet in width, and 23 feet high to the top of the vault. It is a noble
apartment lighted by two side windows, with wall chambers leading off
each (Fig. 193), and by two high windows, also in the side walls, shown
by dotted lines on the plan. At the west end is a large fireplace, sadly
mutilated ; adjoining this fireplace a door, now built up, led to a small
private room, also reached by a door from the north window recess,
while a narrow newel stair between the room and window led to a similar
room above, both being contained within the height of the great hall
(see Section along north wall). There is a very peculiar arrangement
connected with this upper private room (Entresol Plan). It contains
a fireplace, alongside of which a door leads into a window recess in the
west wall ; this window opens into the chimney-flue of the great hall
fireplace, and in the breast of the flue, opposite the window, and at the
same level, is a large splayed inner window overlooking the great hall

THIRD PERIOD

234

ELPHINSTONE CASTLE

about 10 feet above the floor (Sections looking west and north). Thus
the lord or lady, by stepping out of their private room to this window,
could overlook what was going on in the hall, subject to the incon-

FIG. 192. Elphinstone Castle. Plans and Sections.

veiiience of the smoke (when there was any) from the great hall fire.
Spy-holes are frequently to be met with in old castles, but this one is of
a unique kind. Into this very fireplace there is a small spy-hole from

ELPHINSTONE CASTLE

235

THIRD PERIOD

the adjoining staircase (shown on the Plan). The above window would
also give some light in the hall, not otherwise too bright, and the upper
part of the chimney may have been used for curing hams, etc., to which
the door above referred to would give access. The kitchen, about
13 feet by 7 feet (including the fireplace), is at the opposite end of
the hall, and is provided with a service window and large wall closet.
Within the height of the great hall (see Sections along the wall and

FIG. 193. Elphinstone Castle. Window in Hall.

through kitchen) the space above the kitchen is divided into two
upper stories, the joisting of which still remains, although the floor
immediately above the kitchen may be regarded as only a passage to
wall chambers at the south-east corner of the keep. This passage is
reached by a circular stair in the north-east corner, while the upper
kitchen floor must have been reached by a ladder. This stair leads to
the floor above the hall, and to a large intermediate wall chamber 6 feet
4 inches wide by about 24 feet long, taken out of the haunch of the great

THIRD PERIOD

236

ELPHINSTONE CASTLE

hall arch (Section looking west). Another stair in the south-west corner
leads to both floors above the hall, and also to the battlements, while
another private stair in the thickness of the north wall communicates
between these two floors. Both of the upper floors are divided into two
rooms, all having fireplaces, garde-robes, and wall closets. Adjoining the
apartments over the hall in the north wall (plan of second floor) is a
gallery 30 feet long by 6 feet wide communicating with both rooms.
This is perhaps the most striking example of the system of wall chambers
carried to excess. It will be recollected that we drew attention to this
practice as possibly being a tradition from the time of the Celtic Brochs,
and we believe that a careful study of this plan, and still more of the
building itself, will tend to confirm this view.

The present Lord Elphinstone, in M'Neill's Tranent and its Sur-
roundings, assigns the erection of this castle to John de Elphinstone,
who died about the year 1260; but we cannot agree with his Lordship
in giving it such an early date. In all its architectural features it
resembles ordinary fifteenth-century work, while the corbelling, cable

tm>.

FIG. 194. Elphinstone Castle. View from the South-West.

moulding, and gargoyles at the parapet (Fig. 194-), some of which are
carved to resemble cannons, cannot be earlier than the end of the

ELPHINSTONE CASTLE

237

THIRD PERIOD

century. As throwing some light on the subject, we may draw attention
to the armorial bearings carved over the hall fireplace, and which are
illustrated and named in their order (Fig. 195). The Seaton arms occur

SEATON MArTLAND'DOUGLAS MENZTES ELPHINSTONE

JOHNSTON MAJTLAND

FIG. 195. Elphinstone Castle. Arms over Fireplace in Hall.

twice, and that family was twice connected with the house. The
Johnston arms also occur. After the battle of Piperdean, in 1435, where
Sir Alexander Elphinstone was killed, his only daughter Agnes suc-
ceeded to the estate. She married a Johnston of Annandale, and it
was in all probability after this event that the castle was built, and
hence the Johnston arms, which are also painted on the arched roof of
one of the hall closets with the letters S. D., along with a pierced heart,
a thistle, and a rose. The other arms probably indicate previous alliances
with the house.

Traces of painting can be seen throughout the great hall, but in too
fragmentary a state to admit of description. It is a pleasure to add that
the building is well cared for, and the roof, which is modern, is in good
order, and is perfectly water-tight.

In the seventeenth century a wing was added to the north of the
keep, but it has now been removed.

COMLONGAN CASTLE, DUMFRIESSHIRE.

Comlongan Castle, Dumfriesshire, is situated about midway between
Dumfries and Annan, and lies about two miles inland from the Solway
Firth. It is very similar to Elphinstone Castle, and is clearly of about
the same date. The building is in a good state of preservation, but no

THIRD PERIOD

238

COMLONGAN CASTLE

ENTRESOL ENTERING
FROM HALL AT A

COMLONGAN CASTLE

239

THIRD PERIOD

special care has been taken for a long time to maintain it, so that cracks
and fissures are beginning to develop themselves in various parts of the
building, which unarrested will soon bring about its ruin. The castle
is nearly square on plan (Fig. 196), measuring 48 feet 10 inches from
east to west by 42 feet 7 inches from north to south. Its height
is about 59 feet to the top of the battlements (see Section), and
about 68 feet to the top of the south-east watch turret, which is the
highest point. The basement has a vault 17 feet 5 inches high,
divided with an intermediate wooden floor. The vault carries the
floor of the hall, and above this there are two stories which had joisted
floors.

Fi<;. 197. Coinlonpan Castle. Interior of Hall.

The entrance doorway, which is up five steps, is at the north side,
through a round arched doorway with an iron yett and bar-hole. A

THIRD PERIOD - 240 - COMLONGAN CASTLE

newel stair in the north-east corner leads straight to the top, com-
municating with all the intermediate floors. Another wheel stair leads
from the hall at the south-west corner down to the loft in the vault.
There is a well near the centre of the basement floor.

The hall (Fig. 197) is a very fine chamber, measuring 29 feet 4 inches
by 21 feet 2 inches, and about 14 feet 6 inches in height to the under
side of the beartls. It has a finely carved fireplace t the west end, with
the unusual feature of an oaken beam for its lintel 10 inches in depth
by 12 inches thick, the length between the supports being about 10 feet
9 inches. As the sketch shows, it is far from being horizontal.

Adjoining the fireplace on the south wall there is a fine sideboard
or ambry (Fig. 198) 3 feet 6 inches above the floor, and about 6 feet high
in itself, by 4 feet 9 inches wide over the moulded shafts. The arched
top is wrought in two stones, and the two halves do not correspond, which
produces a singular but by no means unpleasing effect. The details are
of the usual late Gothic kind, frequently found in castles of the latter
half of the fifteenth century.

The hall is well lighted with three windows, having seats in the
recesses. The walls being from 9 to 12 feet in thickness, the recesses
are very deep. Besides these windows there are four small windows,
two in each gable, placed high in the wall near the ceiling. Two good
mural chambers enter from the hall level, and others from the other
floors. Indeed, throughout the castle the walls are quite burrowed with
small chambers, and in this respect Comlongan bears a considerable
resemblance to Elphinstone. One of these mural chambers enters from
the hall down ten steps. This chamber is divided into a guard-room and
prison, and lighted with small seated windows. From the first chamber
a hatchway drops down to a totally dark dungeon 10 feet 9 inches below
the level of the floor. The dungeon measures about 1 8 feet by 6 feet,
and seems to have no communication with the open air.

The inner of these two mural chambers has a garde-robe opening off
it. A few steps up the main stair from the hall there is another large
mural chamber with garde-robe. A wall chamber entering off the main
stair at the hall level seems to have been the kitchen. It is about 14 feet
long by 6 feet 3 inches wide, and is lighted with one small window. It
occupies a similar position, and is of about the same size as the kitchen
at Elphinstone. Originally this chamber seems to have opened directly
into the hall by an open arch (shown on Plan) 10 feet 6 inches wide
by 7 feet 6 inches high. The partition between the arch and the hall
(hatched on Plan) has not the appearance of being original, and may
have superseded an earlier screen. In this partition there is a service
window. This kitchen is really nothing more than a large fireplace.
The flue has been long closed up, but its continuation may be seen at
the back of the fireplace in the room above. The hall is paved with the

COMLONGAN CASTLE

241

THIRD PERIOD

red pavement of the district, in stones of about 18 inches square. In a
panel let into the wall over the fireplace, but considerably off the centre,

Fio. 198. Comlongan Castle. Ambry in Hall.

the Royal arms are carved in stone, and at each side are two stone
corbels, with angels holding shields charged with the amis of the family.

THIRD PERIOD

242

COMLONGAN CASTLE

The corbels for carrying the beams of the floor above are also charged
with arms, which are a good deal defaced and destroyed.

FIG. 199. Comlongan Castle. View from the South-Bast.

The two floors above need not be particularly described, as they are
similar to the hall, with deeply recessed windows, mural chambers, etc.,
and will be easily understood from the plans. We may however refer
to the two mural chambers or cupboards side by side in the south wall.
They are continued up in the wall, till lost in darkness, as a gradually
narrowing flue. The roof of the castle, a comparatively new one, covers
in the space above ; and if there was a chimney-stack it has been
removed. The whole arrangement naturally suggests a fireplace which
has been altered. The doors have all the appearance of being original.

CARDONESS CASTLE 243 THIRD PERIOD

It should however be noted that there is 110 upper hall in this castle,
such as there usually is in such buildings. Possibly the above aperture
was at first intended for the fireplace of an upper hall, but the builder
having changed his mind during the construction of the building, had
the hall divided into two rooms, each with a separate fireplace, and
caused the large fireplace to be converted into two cupboards, as we now
see them. The fireplace at the east end of the second floor, already
referred to, has a bead and hollow moulding round the jambs and lintel,
.and (what is unusual) the same moulding is continued along the edge of
the hearth as well, so that it has the appearance of a moulded picture
frame. The beams and joisting of the upper floors still partly remain,
and are indicated on the plan.

The battlements of Comlongan are most interesting. The staircase
is continued up as a watch turret (on the right, Fig. 199), reached by a
stone stair following the slope of the roof behind the turret, and con-
tinued up a few steps higher (see Plan of Watch-towers). Another
watch-tower, with chimney flues in the parapets, is attached to the
cape house in the centre of the view (Fig. 199), and rises above it.
At each of the corners of the battlements at the east end (Fig. 199)
there is a roofed cape house, with an open battlemented parapet between,
while the whole length of the parapet at the west end is roofed in, form-
ing a long gallery with a fireplace, and lighted with the embrasures con-
verted into windows (Fig. 196). One cannot be certain whether this
gallery is original or not, there being features which tell both for and
against that supposition ; but at all events it is not of recent construction.

The castle of Comlongan was built by the Hurrays of Cockpool,
whose original residence was the castle of Cockpool, the ruins of which
are still traceable within a short distance of Comlongan. Their original
charter was granted by Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, to his nephew,
William de Moravia, in the fourteenth century. The castle still belongs
to the same family, being now the property of the Earl of Mansfield.

CARDONESS CASTLE, KIRKCUDBRIGHTSHIRE.

Cardoness Castle is situated on the Fleet, a small stream which empties
into Wigtown Bay about one mile farther down. The castle (Fig. 200)
occupies the summit of a thickly wooded ridge rising up from the right
bank of the Fleet. The ground slopes rapidly all round, there being only a
narrow level strip adjoining the walls. Although it is a building of small
size, it has a most imposing appearance as seen by the traveller approach-
ing from the bay, and a closer inspection shows it to be a very fine keep,
only wanting a roof to render it practically entire. It would be well
worthy of the small expense of roofing, as it is a very interesting building of
its class, of excellent masonry and workmanship, and ingeniously planned

THIRD PERIOD

244

CARDONESS CASTLK

aiTangements. In the latter respect it recalls the plans of Elphinstone
and Comlongan Towers. The castle is oblong in plan, measuring over
the walls 42 feet 1 1 inches by 31 feet 11 inches (Fig. 201). It is 53 feet
high to the top of the walls, and 71 feet to the top of the gables. The
basement has a vault 15 feet 3 inches high, containing an intermediate
floor. The upper floors, which were of wood, are all gone (see Section).

FIG. 200. Cardoness Castle. General View.

The entrance door is in the side wall (see Plan of Ground Floor).,
with a slot-hole for the bar behind the door, and leads into a passage in
the thickness of the wall, entering from which on the left hand is a
small mural guard-room, and on the right hand is the wheel stair, which
goes to the top and the intermediate floors. In front are two doors
leading to the two chambers into which the under vault was divided.
The larger of these, lighted by two narrow slits, contains two singular
round recesses at the angles of the main walls, with massive diagonal
sills about 3 feet 6 inches above the floor.

This peculiar shape makes their purpose somewhat obscure. Pro-
bably these circular recesses were formed as a kind of inner turret, to
enable the loopholes to be used for defensive purposes. Entering oft'
the stair, at about the level of the upper room or entresol in the vault,
are two mural chambers (see Plan of Entresol). One of these extends
over the entrance lobby, and has a trap down to it, useful both for defence
and for hauling up goods ; the other, in the end wall, enters off the
passage to the entresol. It has been an upper prison or guard-room,
with a garde-robe, and has a trap down to a dark dungeon beneath.

The view of the hall (Fig. 202) is very striking in its ruined state,
with the bold arch thrown from wall to wall for supporting an upper
partition which divides the top floor into two rooms. The hall is lighted

CARDONESS CASTLE

245

THIRD PERIOD

with two seated windows, and two others kept at a high level in order
to admit of the mural chambers above described below them (see
Section). The mural chamber off the side seated window is in a similar
manner kept at a high level, so as to allow the mural chamber over the
entrance passage to have suitable head-room. Two other small chambers

FIG. 201. Cardoness Castle. Plans and Section.

enter off the hall, each having a garde-robe. The fireplaces of the hall
and the upper hall (both seen on the sketch, Fig. 202) are good
examples of the fifteenth-century type so common in Scotland, but
they are above the average in design and workmanship. Unfortunately

THIRD PERIOD

246

CARDONESS CASTLE

both are in a slightly ruinous state, but are well worthy of having means
taken to preserve them. As will be seen on the plan of the hall, there
is a curious opening from the ingoing of the fireplace, about 12 inches

FIG. 202. Cardouess C'astle. Interior of Hall.

square, which turns at right angles and opens into the hall, somewhat
like a similar opening seen at Gylem.

The upper floors, as already mentioned, are each divided into two

NEWARK CASTLE

24?

THIRD PERIOD

apartments. These do not enter one off the other as usual, the one
farthest from the stair being reached by a mural passage, as shown on
the plan of the second floor.

Cardoness belonged to the MacCullochs, a family of old standing in
Galloway, and it is generally supposed that the castle is of about the
same date as Threave, but its details show it to be of a later period, pro-
bably the end of the fifteenth century.

NEWARK CASTLE, SELKIRKSHIRE.

This interesting old keep, so full of historical and romantic associa-
tions, is situated on the top of a steep wooded bank rising above the

i
-

Pio. 203. Newark Castle. View from the North.West,

river Yarrow, about 4-^ miles up from the town of Selkirk. Mr. Fraser,
in his work on the Scotts of Buccleuch, states that in a charter of

THIRD PERIOD

248

NEWARK CASTLE

Archibald, Earl of Douglas, dated 1423, it is called the "new Werk," in
distinction from an older castle which has now disappeared. It may
therefore be regarded as belonging to the beginning of the fifteenth
century. Newark was the Royal hunting-seat in the forest of Ettrick,
and bears the Royal arms on the shield in the west gable, of which an
enlarged sketch is given (Fig. 203). It was attacked and taken by the
English in 1548. In 1645 one hundred prisoners taken on the field of
Philiphaugh, which lies within a few miles of it, were shot in the court-
yard, and in 1650 it was occupied by Cromwell's troops. The Barons
of Buccleuch were the Captains of Newark from an early date. Anna,
the Duchess of Monmouth and Buccleuch, and wife of the famous Duke
of Monmouth, who was beheaded under James vn., resided here after his
death, and it is during her time that Scott here introduces the " last
Minstrel," and makes him sing his mournful lay.

FIG. 204. Newark Castle. Plan of Ground Floor.

Newark is a massive oblong keep (Fig. 204), 65 feet by 40 feet, with
walls 10 feet in thickness. The basement is vaulted, and sufficiently
high to contain the usual loft in the vault. Above this there are four
stories, which had wooden floors, now entirely gone. The original
entrance was on the first floor ; the doorway still remains above the
present modern entrance on the ground floor (Fig. 203), where, however,

NEWARK CASTLE

249

THIRD PERIOD

there may have originally been a door giving access to the basement.
The internal communication between the first floor and the basement is
by a staircase in the north-west angle of the walls, partly circular and
pai'tly straight. The first floor (Fig. 205) contains the hall at the east
end, and the kitchen at the west
end. The latter had a separate
entrance from the newel stair,
and seems to have been divided
from the hall by a partition, in-
dicated by dotted lines, as at
Klphinstone Castle. It has a great
fireplace, with seat and cupboard
at one end, and two mural closets.
The hall was lighted with two
large windows to the south, set

Pio. 205. Newark Castle. Plan of First Floor.

in deeply recessed square bays.

The north wall contained within its thickness a small guard-room
adjoining the entrance to the keep and the staircase, and two other
mural chambers. A second newel staircase in the south-east angle of

FIG. 206. Newark Castle. View from the South-East.

the walls, together with that in the north-west angle, gave access to the
upper floors. These are now inaccessible, but evidently contained the

THIRD PERIOD 250 - NEWARK CASTLE

usual kind of accommodation, which in this case must have been extensive.
The top story, of course, comprised the parapet for defence (Fig. 206).
The corbel table is rudely executed, probably owing to the scarcity of
freestone in the district, while the angle turrets, instead of being round
and projecting on well-carved corbel courses, and being finished with
conical-pointed roofs, are square, and carried up as gabled cape houses.

It seems most likely that here, as at Comlongan Castle, the top story
had originally a simple parapet carried all round the building, and that
the gabled angle turrets were added at a later period. A very distinct
instance of this process may be seen at Benholm Tower, Forfarshire.

The walls of the barmkin still remain to a considerable extent.
They are of later date than the keep, and are pierced with shot-holes
(Figs. 204 and 206). The position of the original entrance gateway can
also be traced. One of the drives through the fine grounds of Bowhill,
one of the seats of the Duke of Buccleuch, passes through the barmkin
by means of two apertures in the walls. The freestone dressings of the
windows have been at some period rudely torn out, but it is delightful to
find that what still remains of this historic pile is carefully guarded and
preserved from further ruin.

AFFLECK OR AUCHENLECK CASTLE, FORFARSHIRE.

This highly interesting castle is situated in the parish of Monikie, in
Forfarshire. The building is in perfect preservation, but it is uninhabited.
It is of the common oblong keep form on plan (Fig. 207), with a slight
projection at the south-east corner for the staircase, and measures over
the walls 37 feet 6 inches by 26 feet 7 inches. This projection shows
one of the small modifications of the simple keep plan which were now
being introduced. The height to the top of the parapet is 51 feet
6 inches, and 8 feet more to the ridge of the roof. It contains five floors
(see Section), the vault under the floor of the hall, which is about 20 feet
high, comprising two of them. The arched entrance doorway (Fig. 208)
is in the re-entering angle, with its iron yett still hanging behind the
wooden door.

The ground floor, which is down a few steps from the entrance, is
divided into two apartments. The upper floors, each in a single apart-
ment, measure 26 feet 8 inches by 16 feet 2 inches. The first, which is
the only vaulted one, has no fireplace, but the window recesses are pro-
vided with stone seats. The staircase, which commences at the entrance
passage, ends on the second floor at the hall, which is 14 feet 5 inches
high, and has three windows, a large fireplace at the north end, a garde-
robe near the door, and wall closets. In the thickness of the east wall
a stair of eleven steps, 2 feet 9 inches wide, leads up to an entresol over
the principal staircase (see Plan of Entresol) measuring 7 feet 8 inches

AFFLECK CASTLE

251

THIRD PERIOD

by 7 feet, lighted by two small windows. This was evidently a private
room or bedroom. Off' this, up two steps, is a garde-robe, lighted from
the outside, and having a small spy-window into the hall, as seen on the
section. We have several examples of these windows, as at Libert on,
Elphinstone, and elsewhere, and in all cases they were doubtless for the
use of the lord or lady of the house, to enable them unseen to overlook
what was going on in the hall. Every person going to the upper floors

SECOND FLOOR FIRST FLOOR GROUND FLOOR

SECTION

FIG. 207. Affleck Castle. Plans, Section, and Details.

must of necessity go through the hall and pass under this window, so as
to reach the other stair, which begins on this level at the opposite side
of the hall, and leads to the top. The floor above this has been the with-
drawing-room. It is similar in arrangement to the hall, only that its
fireplace is in the east wall. Opening off this apartment, up one step,
there is a beautiful little chapel or oratory (see enlarged Plan, Fig. 207,
and view, Fig. 209), entering through a round arch 4 feet 9 inches wide.
The chapel, which has a circular vault, measures 7 feet 5 inches by
6 feet 10 inches, and is 8 feet 6' inches high, and is lighted by a small
cusped window on the west side. On the wide splayed jamb of the

THIRD PERIOD 252 AFFLECK CASTLE

entrance there is a stoup for holy water (see Fig. 207) corbelled out
from the jamb, with three shields on the fully-relieved sides, on one of
which are three lozenges. On the wall alongside the window there is
a piscina (Fig. 207) with pointed ambry and three dedication crosses
over. Against the east wall there are two corbels moulded in the same
manner as the piscina, evidently meant for supporting candles, the altar
space being between the corbels. There is also an ambry in this wall.

Fio. 208. Affleck Castle. View from the North-East

The entrance to the chapel seems to have been guarded by a low
railing, as in the faces of the jambs there is a groove for a rail sliding
into, as will be seen in the view of the chapel.

On the battlements are two cape houses or watch turrets, one over
the upper staircase and another over the chapel (Figs. 208 and 210).
The parapets with their corbels, without machicolations, and the watch
turrets and chimneys, are all in good preservation. The parapets, how-

253

THIRD PERIOD

254

AFFLECK CASTLE

ever, appear to have been restored. They would no doubt originally be
provided with embrasures, as at Balvaird, and the projecting bartizan
over the entrance door would certainly be originally furnished with
machicolations. The workmanship at Affleck is of the best kind, the
details, although simple, being well wrought out. In particular, there is
a completeness about the little oratory which makes it almost without a
parallel in Scotland.

FIG. 210. Affleck Castle. View from the South-West.

The Auchenleck family are said to have possessed this estate from
very early times, and in the reign of James i. they are designated as
" Auchenlecks of that Ilk."

The castle evidently dates from about the end of the fifteenth
century, and continued to be inhabited till the year 1760.

CHAIGNETHAN CASTLE 255 THIRD PERIOD

CRAIGNETHAN CASTLE, LANARKSHIRE.

This castle now the property of the Earl of Home is of peculiar
interest, whether we regard its picturesque situation, the exceptionally
good state of preservation of the enclosing walls and towers, or the
romantic charm which has been imparted to its ruins as forming the
prototype of Sir Walter's Tillietudlem. The approach to the castle from
the Vale of Clyde at Crossford, about six miles below Lanark, lies for
about a mile through the beautiful valley of the Nethan, with its precipi-
tous and wooded banks.

The castle occupies the top of a lofty and rocky promontory formed
by a sharp curve in the river, at the point where the narrow pass widens
into an opener country to the south. The site is further isolated by a
deep cleft on the north, through which a small burn flows. The road to
the castle from the north crosses this stream by an old but substantial
bridge. It then ascends the steep hill by zigzags, and, on reaching the
level platform on which the castle stands, it seems formerly to have
passed through a gateway with towers, which defended the access. Of
this some slight remains may still be traced. From this point a view of
the west or entrance front of the castle (Fig. 211) is obtained. This
consists of a battlemented wall with a square tower at either extremity,
and an arched gateway in the centre, all provided with horizontal em-
brasures near the ground for guns. The gateway leads into the outer
courtyard (Fig. 212), 190 feet by 140 feet, which is surrounded with walls
similar to the front enclosure on the north, west, and south sides, and by
a dry ditch or moat 30 feet wide on the east, which divides it from the
inner courtyard of the castle. The latter is 82 feet by 65 feet, and con-
tains the central citadel or keep, which is in the form of a parallelogram
70 feet by 54 feet. This court has also been surrounded with high walls
and towers, the tower at the south-east being of unusual size.

The oldest part of the castle is undoubtedly the keep. It is built on
a plan very unusual in Scotland, being a simple parallelogram divided
into a double keep by an internal wall running from east to west the
whole length of the building. Another unusual circumstance is that the
principal floor is in this case on the ground level, instead of being,
according to the ordinary rule, on the first floor. But this may be
explained by the fact that there is here a vaulted basement floor under
the ground level.

The entrance door in the centre of the west front (Fig. 2 1 3) is arched
in the usual manner, and is surmounted by a panel with a shield contain-
ing the Hamilton arms. It has been provided with double doors, and
has a groove in the wall for the ordinary strong bar. This leads into an
entrance lobby of unusually large dimensions, from which access was

THIRD PERIOD

256

CRAIGNETHAN CASTLE

257

THIRD PERIOD

FIG. 212. Craignethan Castle. Plan of Ground Floor.
R

THIRD PERIOD

258

CRAIGNETHAN CASTLE

CRAIGNETHAN CASTLE - 259 - THIRD PERIOD

obtained to the wide principal staircase in the south-west angle, and also
to a stair under the above leading to the vaults below. The great hall
also enters from this lobby. The hall is 40 feet 3 inches by 20 feet
6 inches wide, and has a lofty semicircular vault well constructed with
hewn freestone, now, unfortunately, in a very ruinous state. Two wide
windows light the hall on the south side, and one at the east end. These
and the other wall openings have bold rolls with raised fillet on the
angles. The fireplace seems to have been in the central wall where now
demolished. The private room, with fireplace and garde-robe, entered off
the hall at the north-east angle, where there is also access to a private
newel stair to the upper floors. To the north of the entrance lobby is a
small apartment or guard-room (now partly filled up), from which there
must have been originally a door to the kitchen, the great fireplace of
which still remains. The newel stair from the guard-room to the roof
would be used for manning the battlements.

The upper portion of the building is now a total ruin, and cannot be
inspected with safety.

A vaulted basement extends under the whole of the keep, divided
similarly to the principal floor. The cellar under the east end of the
hall contains a circular-built well.

The keep has had battlements all round and probably a stone roof
with open bartizans corbelled out at the angles (Fig. 213). There is also
a projecting bartizan over the entrance door. The corbelling is of the
same design as that of Edzell Castle, and shows the transition from the
earlier massive corbelling with machicolations to the later style when the
corbels were entirely ornamental. The corbels of the lower of the two
rows have in this case nothing to support and are used merely for
ornament.

The bartizans have each a peculiar angle shaft on the outer face,
which mitres into the string-course at bottom, and probably supported a
shield with coat of arms or a crest or other ornament rising above the
parapet. But of these finials no trace now remains.

Judging from the style of the building, this keep seems to belong to
the latter half of the fifteenth century. It was no doubt originally sur-
rounded with walls which extended as far as the present moat, and portions
of which are probably incorporated in the existing walls of enceinte.

It is generally related that this castle was built by Sir James
Hamilton of Finnart, who was Superintendent of Royal Palaces and
Castles under James v. in the first half of the sixteenth century, but the
keep is undoubtedly of older date. The lands of Draflfane, the ancient
name of Craignethan, were acquired by James, Lord Hamilton, in the
middle of the fifteenth century, probably on the forfeiture of the Earl
of Douglas in 1455. It was not till 152.9 that these lands were settled
by the first Earl of Arran, Lord Hamilton's successor, on his illegitimate

THIRD PERIOD 260 CRAIGNETHAN CASTLE

son, the foresaid James Hamilton of Finnart. He is generally believed
to have been himself an architect (a view which his office of Super-
intendent of Royal Palaces seems to support), and to have designed
and directed the works in the rebuilding of Draffane or Craignethan.
To him are to be attributed the enclosing walls and towers round the
keep, including the large south-east tower. He also appears to have
created the outer courtyard and surrounded it with the walls and towers
which still stand.

As originally built, the keep and surrounding wall were well detached
by the moat or ditch from the adjoining land, but when the outer court-
yard was added it became necessary, in order to obtain room for it, to
place the west wall close to a high point of land, which greatly cramps
the approach, and which completely overlooks the interior of the outer
courtyard. This courtyard, although very ornamental, is thus but of
small value in point of defence, and would never have been so constructed
had not the previous existence of the keep and the nature of the site
rendered it unavoidable. Hence also the great care which is bestowed
on the defences of the inner courtyard. These consist in the first place
of the moat, 30 feet wide and probably 12 feet deep, though now partly
filled up. It is faced on each side with dressed walls, and so far as can
now be ascertained, the only access from the outer to the inner courtyard
was by a narrow gateway, 5 feet wide, provided with a portcullis, from
which in all probability a drawbridge gave entrance to the tower (now in
ruins) on the inner side of the moat. It will be observed that this gate
is as wide as the entrance to the outer court. The intention evidently
was not to make gateways suitable for wheeled conveyances, which
could scarcely reach this lofty and inaccessible site, and were scarcely
ever used in those days, but for foot-passengers or horses only.

The west side of the inner court has been defended with a very
strong wall or rampart. The foundations, which are now only a few feet
above the level of the inner courtyard, are fully 16 feet wide. This
thickness probably contained a wall on each side with a vaulted passage
between, and was made of this great width in order to receive heavier
artillery on the summit. The guns were probably mounted in upper
vaulted chambers in the thickness of the wall, and provided with hori-
zontal loops similar to those of the south-east tower (to be noticed
immediately), or there may have been two tiers of guns, one over the
other, and an open battlement above.

The enclosing walls on the north and east sides are greatly ruined^
but that on the south side is still in fair preservation. It is strengthened
with a square tower adjoining the moat, and another in the centre, both
provided with horizontal embrasures for guns.

The south-east tower (Fig. 214) is of unusual size, being 34 feet by
31 feet 9 inches externally, and is three stories in height. The base-

CRAIGNETHAN CASTLE

261

THIRD PERIOD

ment floor is on the level of the ground outside, while the first floor is on
the level of the ground inside the walls.

THIRD PERIOD

262

CR.UGNETHAN CASTLE

263

THIRD PERIOD

The adjoining courtyard to the east of the keep is also brought to the
upper level by a vaulted basement. These vaults enter from a small
door in the south wall leading to a passage from which the doors of the
vaults open. This passage may also have had communication with the
vaults under the keep.

The first floor of the south-east tower contains a kitchen 26' feet
3 inches by 19 feet 3 inches, with a lofty vault built with well-dressed
freestone. It enters from the courtyard, and has three large windows in
the outer walls, which are 6 feet 6 inches thick. From chases which
remain in the walls there would appear to have been some elaborate
apparatus for roasting animals whole in front of the great fireplace.

The upper floor (over the vault) has been mounted with cannons (Fig.
214), for which horizontal embrasures are provided in the south and east
walls, immediately under the corbels of the parapet. Embrasures of this
description are very uncommon at this height, being generally situated
on the ground floor. In this case they are sloped downwards so as to
command the very steep banks which descend from the castle to the
river. Access to this top floor and the battlements was obtained by an
external stair on the north side of the tower, now demolished.

The outer court lying to the west of the moat, being overlooked from
the adjoining ground, was not so
carefully fortified as the inner court,
but it was surrounded with a sub-
stantial wall 3 feet 6 inches thick,
provided with embrasures for guns at
the ground level, and with a conti-
nuous battlemented parapet on top.

The west front (Fig. 211), being
the most exposed, is strengthened
with towers at the angles, and the
central gateway is also defended by
a tower.

The angle towers formed guard-
rooms, and each had a stair leading
to the battlements. The north-west
tower (Fig. 21 1) has the upper story
fitted up as a pigeon-house ; the
upper wall is thinned off so that
a passage for the parapet walk
round the outside may be obtained.
All round the interior of the walls,
at the level of the parapet walk,
there is a row of corbels to carry a wall plate. This may either have
served to receive the ends of the rafters of the roofs of stables and other

FIG. 216. Craignethan Castle. Old Oak Door.

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264

CRAIGNETHAN CASTLE

offices placed against the walls (similar to those adjoining the gateway,
Fig. 215), or they may have been for supporting a wooden platform for
widening the parapet walk and rendering it more serviceable in case of
a siege. The north and south walls are terminated at the moat with
large buttresses (Fig. 214), that of the north wall being pierced with
a gun embrasure near the base. There was also an outer wall north-
ward from the north wall of enceinte connected with which the remains
of a turret are traceable at the north-east angle. The lean-to buildings

FIG. 217. Craignethan Castle. Doorway of House at South-West Angle of Courtyard.

against the west wall (Fig. 215) are apparently of the same date as the
walls, and seem to have been kitchen offices, one of them having a large
fireplace. The lintel over the door has a carved ornament (Fig. 215),
and the crow-steps are of an unusually ornate design. This kitchen was
probably used in connection with the accommodation for retainers, which

SAUCHIE TOWER 265 THIRD PERIOD

may have been erected in the south-west angle, where a more modern
house now stands. Exterior kitchens in courtyards are not infrequent
in later castles. The crow-steps on the pigeon-house tower are of the
same form as those on the kitchen buildings in the courtyard.

The gable of these buildings next the entrance archway (Fig. 215)
contains a panel and shield with the arms of James Hamilton of Finnart,
and beneath it a stone stoup, which was probably used for conveying
water into the kitchen from the adjoining well. An old oak door is
preserved in the new house, which is apparently of the date of the older
work (Fig. 21 6). It is ornamented with good specimens of the linen
pattern, which are rather rare in Scotland.

The house in the south-west angle of the enclosure was erected by
Andrew Hay, to whom the Duchess Ann sold the castle in 1665. The
doorway in the round stair turret is surmounted with a panel (Fig. 21?)
containing the arms of Hay with the above date. In erecting this house
the old walls and south-west tower have been made available, and have
been incorporated in the new building. The outside kitchen is a peculiar
feature in this structure. This building has been somewhat modernised,
and is still inhabited, but all the remainder is more or less ruinous. It
is sad to see the rapid dilapidation which is overtaking the keep and
other portions of this most interesting and historic building. Only quite
recently the north-west angle bartizan of the keep, a large part of the
vaulting, and some of the stairs fell, and unless some attention is paid to
it, the whole of the castle will soon become a shapeless ruin.

SAUCHIE TOWER, CLACKMANNANSHIRE.

Old Sauchie Tower, not far from Alva, in Clackmannanshire, is a
well-preserved specimen of about the middle of the fifteenth century.
Externally it is a simple parallelogram (Fig. 218) 38 feet by 34 feet,
with walls about 6 feet thick. The entrance door, which is in the west
wall, is on the ground floor, and communicates with all the upper floors
by a circular staircase in the north-west angle of the walls. Adjoining
the entrance there is a small recess for the guard. As usual, the ground
floor is vaulted, but what is not common, is that the upper chamber in
the vault has been used as a hall or good apartment, having a large
window at the south end, with stone seats in the recess (see Section).
The ground floor has been a storeroom, with a draw-well in the south
wall, and small cellar adjoining in the thickness of the west wall. This
wall is made 1 1 feet thick, so as to contain small apartments on the
ground floor, first floor, and second floor. On the entresol (as seen on
the Entresol Plan and Section) this small apartment forms the kitchen,
with a fireplace in the south wall under than the room. The first floor
contains the hall, 2() feet by 18 feet 6 inches, with a deeply recessed

THIRD PERIOD

266

SAUCHIE TOWER

window iii the west wall provided with stone seats. A small apartment
enters from the window recess, which was probably a private parlour ;
and it had a small window to overlook the hall and. see all that went on
there. This was a very common arrangement in the solars of English

f f-Lr

FIG. 218. Sauchie Tower. Plans, Sections, and Details.

castles. The hall has a fine fireplace, 8 feet 6 inches wide, with good
jamb mouldings (see sketch).

SAUCHIE TOWER

267

THIRD PERIOD

There appears to have been a small wooden screen at the door of the
hall (to conceal the door to the garde-robe), but it did not form a screen
across the whole hall, as in many of the larger castles, nor is there
height for a gallery above it. There is, however, a stone basin (see
sketch), with an ogee-shaped arch, and a drain to the outside, at this
end of the hall, probably used as a wash-hand basin, as at Borthwick.
It has a plain ogee arch over the recess for the basin.

FIG. 219. Sauchie Tower. View from the North-West.

The second floor is increased in size by thinning the west wall (see
Section). This was the proprietor's private apartment. Some of the oak
beams over this floor, and the hall floor, as well as the ground floor, still

THIRD PERIOD

268

SAUCHIE TOWER

269

THIRD PERIOD

THIRD PERIOD 270 - SAUCHIE TOWER

exist, but they are fast decaying and falling down. The fourth story
contained bedrooms, and the attic, on the level of the parapet, was (as
at Clackmannan) no doubt for the garrison. The corbels of the angle
turrets and battlements are well preserved, and are peculiarly placed in
relation to one another (Fig. 219). The stone roof of the pentagonal
stair turret is also noteworthy. On the outside of the turret there are
stone steps to enable the watchman to climb up to the gutter behind the
turret roof, which would thus form a look-out post.

We also find here an interesting fragment of the original wall of
the enceinte, with remains of a circular tower and long loop (Fig. 220).
These have now been incorporated in a very picturesque specimen of the
sort of buildings which the proprietors erected in their courtyards against
the enclosing walls in the seventeenth century. This building is much
later than the period we are now treating of, but it is good of its kind,
and is here illustrated along with the older buildings.

From an interesting account of this castle, written by Mr. Bennett,
Secretary of the Alloa Archaeological Society, we learn that the barony
of Sauchie was granted by Robert Bruce, in 1324, to Henry de Annand.
It afterwards was divided between two coheiresses, his descendants,
who married William Brown of Colston, and James Schaw of Greenock.
The Schaws ultimately acquired the whole property. The tower was in
all probability built by James Schaw of Sauchie between 1430 and 1440.
The mansion on the west wall (Figs. 222, 223) was erected by one of his
descendants in 1631. The tympanum over the entrance door contains
the Schaw arms and motto, " I mein weill," together with the above
date. On each side stands a figure with a scroll containing the legend

BY PROMTS MADE RESTORED YE BE
TO HAVE A BLESSED ETERNATTY.

On the left-hand dormer window is the motto, " EN BIEN FAISANT," and
on that on the right, " JE ME CONTENTE." " The two phrases," says Mr.
Bennett, " may be taken as forming one sentence and freely translated ,
' In well-doing I satisfy myself,' a paraphrase of the Schaw motto."

KINNAIRD TOWER, PERTHSHIRE.

Kinnaird Tower is situated in the Carse of Gowrie, about three miles
from Errol Railway Station. It is perched on the summit of a grassy
knoll, on the southern slope of the Carse hills, in a situation of great
beauty and security. It is isolated from the heights behind by a deep
dell, through which a little burn runs, and, commanding the situation on
all other sides, the fortalice at the time of its erection must have been
a place of great strength and security.

The building is in a fine state of preservation, having been thoroughly
renovated a few years ago by the late Sir Patrick Murray Threipland, Bart.

KINNAIRD TOWER

271

THIRD PERIOD

When it came into his possession it was a roofless ruin ; but appreciating
its value, Sir Patrick had it repaired, and converted it into an interesting
local museum, in which capacity we trust it will long remain a monument
of his enlightened taste.

FIG. 222. Kinnaird Tower. Plans.

The building, which stands on a terrace, is reached by a flight of
eight or ten steps, and consists of an oblong keep 38 feet 6 inches east
to west by 27 feet 2 inches north to south (Fig. 222). It is 60 feet high
from the terrace to the top of the parapet, and about 7 feet more to the
ridge of the roof, while from the additional height of the terrace, and
the sudden fall of the ground all round, the castle has a most command-
ing appearance. There has been a courtyard on the west side of the
building ; the remains of its enclosing wall will be seen projecting on the
ground floor plan, at the north-west corner. It has extended westwards
towards the roadway shown on view (Fig. 223). A similar broken end
of the wall will be observed as a continuation of the projection at the
south-west corner of the keep. In the same view is the door leading

THIRD PERIOD

272

KINNAIRD TOWER

out from the staircase of the tower on to the parapet walk of the enclos-
ing wall, at about 15 feet above the ground level. This has been fitted

Pio. 223. Kinnaird Tower. View from the South-West.

with double doors, the outer one evidently folding over like a draw-
bridge. The sockets in which it wrought, and the iron ring through

KINNAIRD TOWER - 273 - THIRD PERIOD

which the lowering and raising rope or chain passed being still in posi-
tion. Opening off the terrace the entrance door to the tower is in the
centre of the south front, and is strongly protected with an iron " yett "
formed with a circular top to fit the doorway, and constructed in the
usual way, having the upright and horizontal bars reversing in the
opposite quarters. The stair starts on the left hand on entering. It is
formed in the thickness of the wall, and continues as a straight flight
till it joins the wheel stair leading to the upper floors. The ground floor
has the peculiarity of having been only partly vaulted for a space of
from 5 feet to 6 feet at each end, while the centre portion between
(about 16 feet () inches long) has been of timber, as is apparent from the
corbels for resting the beams, which are still in position. All the upper
floors of the tower have also been of timber supported on similar corbels,
while two of the small mural chambers in the south wall are arched in
stone, the stone arches being carried through the wall so as to show on
the outer face, as seen on sketch (Fig. 223).

In the ground floor, where shown on plan, there is a pit cut out of
the solid rock. It is 18 feet deep by about 4 feet 8 inches in diameter.
It is believed to have been used as a dungeon, and not as a well. This
may have been so, as it is quite dry, and is tapped by the ravine behind,
and by the ground descending rapidly to the front. There is a small
dungeon in the south-west wing under the stair, at the depth of a few
feet below the floor and the outside terrace. Throughout the ground
floor the rock crops up in various places.

There are garde-robes in the walls of all the upper floors, the soil
from those at the north being thrown clear from the walls by well-pro-
jected sloping stones.

The small projecting buttress at the south-west angle is a remarkable
feature. It has apparently been intended partly to contain the staircase,
and also to be carried up as a watch-tower. It is also utilised for wall
chambers on each floor. The upper chamber in the south-west turret is
shut off from the rest of the house by an iron " yett," suggesting that it
may have been a sort of prison.

Adjoining the tower (Fig. 224) there is a two-storied house. From
its dormer window (Fig. 225) we learn that it was built in 1610. It

PT
contains the letters u MQ. This building on the ground floor contained

the kitchen, 14 feet 6 inches by 13 feet 6 inches, with a high-arched
fireplace, 13 feet 6 inches by 6 feet. The floor above is reached by
a modern stair, the house being inhabited by the keeper of the castle.
There is a small service window at the end of the kitchen next the tower,
opposite the terrace steps (see Plan). This kitchen is interesting, as
showing the progress of ideas in domestic comfort and convenience.
It is probably about a century later than the tower itself, and doubtless

THIRD PERIOD

during all that period life went 011 in the tower, as in many others

FIG. 224. Kinnaird Tower. View from the South-East.

BURLEIGH CASTLE

275

THIRD PERIOD

throughout the country, subject to the discomfort and inconvenience of
extremely limited arrangements.

In 1674 Patrick Threipland purchased the estate of Kinnaird, which
immediately adjoins Fingask, a property which he acquired two years
before. Kinnaird previously belonged to the branch of the Livingstone
family, raised by Charles n. to the Earldom of Newburgh.

BURLEIGH CASTLE, KINROSS-SHIRE.

This ancient seat of the Bal fours, which stands close to Milnathort,
is now reduced to the old keep, and the gate and gatehouse of the court-
yard. All the other buildings, which no doubt formerly formed a quad-
rangle, are now completely swept away.

FIG. 225. Burleigh Castle. View from the South-West.

The family of Balfour came into possession in 1446, and the keep
appears to belong to the latter half of the fifteenth century.

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276

BURLEIGH CASTLE

The arrangement of the plan and the style of the corbels and
parapet (Fig. 225) are of that date.

The keep is a simple oblong tower, and the internal arrangements
are very primitive. The ground floor (Fig. 226) contains a vaulted cellar

FIG. 226. Burleigh Castle. Ground Plan.

with entrance door to the keep, and a spiral staircase in the north-east
corner. The hall occupies the first floor (Fig. 227), with windows on
three sides, and stone seats in the recesses, and a door in the north side,
which might be used without the risk of surprise, as might happen if the
lower door was opened.

PIG. 227. Burleigh Castle. Plan of Upper Floors.

The upper floor is similar to the hall, and there was another room in
the roof. The first and second floors have garde-robes in the north-west
corner, and a shoot door to the moat, traces of which may be seen close
along the west side of the castle (Fig. 225).

BURLEIGH CASTLE

277

THIRD PERIOD

The existing portion of the west wall of the courtyard, and the round
gate tower at what was the south-west angle of the courtyard (Figs. 225,
228), are very interesting. From the inscription on the skew-put
(Fig. 227), the date of the tower is 1582. The same stone carries a
shield with the arms of Balfour of Balgarvie, with the letters IB and
MB, probably for Sir James Balfour of Mountquhanie, who married
Margaret Balfour, heiress of Burleigh. On the other skew-put (Fig. 227)
is the red rose which is the distinguishing mark of this family amongst
the Balfours.

FIG. 228. Burleigh Castle. Gatehouse from the North-West.

The basement contains a vaulted cellar, from which the curious
horizontal embrasures for guns could be utilised. The door, although
now outside the courtyard wall, was originally inside it. The turret, so
picturesquely inserted in the angle, contains the staircase to the upper
floors. The first floor contains a room brought nearly to the square
internally, while the upper floor is corbelled out in the rather extrava-

THIRD PERIOD

278

DUFFUS CASTLE

279

THIRD PERIOD

gant but effective manner characteristic of the above date, so as to
make it square externally as well as internally. This enables it to
be roofed with gables, and these have the rare peculiarity of being
finished with flat skews, and not with crow-steps, as was the almost
invariable practice at the time. The shot-holes under the windows
of the upper floors have the usual widely splayed ingoing, but it is
divided with fillets to prevent bullets from being guided into the
interior by the slope of the aperture.

DUFFUS CASTLE, ELGINSHIRE.

This castle occupies a remarkable site. It stands on the top of an
isolated gravel mound in the centre of a flat plain, about two miles north
from Elgin, and is still surrounded with a wide ditch on the level ground
beyond the base of the hill, enclosing about nine acres of ground. There
is nothing to indicate when this ditch was made, but, from the extent of
ground enclosed, and from the nature of the site generally, it seems not
unlikely that this was originally a fortress of the ancient type before the
existing stone-and-lime castle was built.

A castle is said to have been
erected here in the time of David n.,
but the present building is probably
about a century later.

In the centre of the space enclosed
with the fosse there is a natural
mound of some extent.

The general plan (Fig. 230) shows
that this raised ground was surrounded
at the top of the slope with a high
wall of enceinte, some portions of
which still remain, and may possibly
be older than the keep. The latter
occupies the u motte," or highest point
of the site, which is probably in whole or part an artificial mound, as the
foundations on the north side have slipped, and large masses of the north
wall of the keep have slid, almost in one piece, down the slope (Fig. 229).
The motte, as was usual in .ancient fortifications, is placed on the line of
the enceinte.

The plan of the keep (Fig. 231) is somewhat unusual, the ordinary
quadrilateral figure being broken up with several projections, and the
east wall, which is within the wall of enceinte, has a carefully dressed
base with a triple splay.

Fio. 230. Duffus Castle. Plan of Site.

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280

DUFFUS CASTLE

The windows have well-formed recesses, and the jambs have double

splays. The small square windows of
the basement recall similar openings at
IBT Rait Castle, and the small pointed win-

^f~~ dows are also of a similar character in

^ both buildings.

It is now impossible to decide what
the internal arrangements were, but it
is probable that the stair ascended in
the passage to the left of the entrance
door, the other wall recesses being occu-
pied with guard-room, passages, garde-
robes, etc.

The castle belonged originally to the
De Moravia family, and afterwards passed

, ,-, f .-, /> rj .-, , j > ,

to the family of Sutherland, who bore
the title of Lord Duffus from 1650 till 1843.

PIG. 231. Duffus Castle. Plan of Keep.

REDCASTLE, FORFARSHIRE.

Redcastle occupies a very ancient site, overlooking the German
Ocean, at the mouth of the Lunan Water, a few miles south from
Montrose. A castle was erected here by William the Lion as a hunting-
seat, and it is possible that the fragment of the ancient and massive wall

5 6-

Fio.' 232. Redcastle. Ground Plan.

of enceinte still existing (Fig. 232) may be a part of the original fortress.
The keep has been of the ordinary quadrilateral figure, the foundations

REDCASTLE

281

THIRD PERIOD

of the whole being still traceable, but only the north gable and parts of
the side walls now remain. These walls are of nearly the original height,
and have been crowned with a parapet and angle bartizans (Fig. 233),
the double corbels of the former and the projecting corbelling to
support the latter being still entire. The walls are faced with good red
freestone ashlar.

FIG. 233. Redcastle. View from the North-West.

The above features indicate that this keep belongs to the fifteenth
century.

DUNOLLY CASTLE, ARGYLLSHIRE.

Dunolly Castle is grandly situated on the top of a precipitous rock
some 70 or 80 feet high, overlooking the sea, about a mile north from
Oban. It consists of a keep, built on and forming a part of the walls of
enceinte of the castle. The courtyard, which is about 90 feet from north
to south by about 88 feet from east to west, over the walls, is nearly
square on plan (Fig. 234), and the keep, which is in the north-east angle,
is set diagonally to the walls of the courtyard. Only the east and
north curtain walls remain throughout their whole length, while along

THIRD PERIOD

DUNOLLY CASTLE

the south and west the face of the cliff determines the area of the court-
yard. On both these fronts the rock was a sufficient protection from
assault, walls being only necessary to screen the courtyard. The exist-
ence of walls along these fronts is now indicated by grassy mounds, except
at the north-west angle, where there are remains of what seem to have
been later buildings. Outside the two existing curtain walls to the
north and east, the summit of the rock is fairly level for an average
distance of about twenty yards, beyond which the ground falls steeply.
The approach to the castle was from the north. The castle is of great
strength, the walls varying from 9 to 1 1 feet in thickness. The entrance
is in the east curtain, through a doorway about 5 feet wide, provided with
a bar-hole. There is another zigzag entrance through the north curtain.

FIG. 234. Dunolly Castle. Plans.

The keep measures 39 feet by 37 feet outside, and contains a vaulted
chamber on the ground floor about 14 feet high, lighted by two narrow
slits. This is the only vaulted floor in the keep, all the upper floors
having been of timber, the corbels for the beams of which still remain.
The entrance doorway to the keep is on the ground floor. In the right-
hand ingoing of the doorway a straight stair, 2 feet 3 inches wide, formed
in the thickness of the wall, leads to the first floor, landing near the
centre of the south wall. This floor, which was not the principal one,
was also reached from the courtyard by a ladder (Fig. 235), the door being
nearly above the one below. This doorway has the unusual arrangement

DUNOLLY CASTLE

283

THIRD PERIOD

of a bar-hole inside, while, curiously enough, the door below is not so
provided. The first floor, measuring 21 feet 9 inches by 19 feet 6 inches,
is lighted by two windows, and contains a garde-robe and fireplace.

FIG. 235. Dunolly Castle. View from the South-West.

The second or hall floor is reached by a stair in the thickness of the
wall, starting from the ingoing of the outer entrance doorway similarly
to the stair below, and from the top of this stair a " corkscrew " in the
south-west angle leads to the top. The hall, entered at the south-west
corner (see Plan), is similar to the floor below, only that its windows are
wider, and contain stone seats, and it is of greater height, being 12 feet
as against 9 feet. The upper floor over the hall measures about 8 feet
from the corbels for supporting its floor to the parapet walk. The height
from the ground to the parapet walk is thus about 45 feet in all, and,
allowing 5 feet for the parapet, brings the height of the walls to about
50 feet.

Like the neighbouring castle of Dunstaffnage, Dunolly has a tradi-
tion carrying the date of its erection much further back than sober
history can follow. It is supposed to have been the original seat of the
Macdougalls, Lords of Lorn, and may have been the site of a primitive
fortalice. There is, however, no reasonable grounds for dating it earlier
than the beginning of the fifteenth century, although the site, which is
a markedly strong one, may have been occupied for defence at a very
early period.

THIRD PERIOD

284

BENHOLME TOWER

BENHOLME TOWER, KINCARDINESHIRE,

A fifteenth-century keep, situated on the high ground above the sea
a few miles north from Montrose. It is still entire, and is attached to a
modern mansion. The tower is crowned with a parapet and angle
bartizans (Fig. 236), having the corbels of the usual form of this period.

FIG. 23(i. Benholme Tower. View from the South-West.

A square cape house, or watch-turret, has been erected at a later date
upon the top of one of the bartizans. This indicates in a more primitive
form the various additions which were sometimes made on the parapets,
by raising them and covering them in with roofs, as at Comlongan and
Newark Castles. The hall (Fig. 237) is unaltered, and contains all the
ordinary arrangements windows with deep square recesses, wall
chambers, garde-robe, etc. The ornamental ambry (Fig. 237) or side-

DRUMMOND CASTLE

285

THIRD PERIOD

board at the upper or fireplace end of the hall is a characteristic feature
of the time.

Fia. 237. Benholme Tower. Plan and Details.

DORMERS OVER
ENTRANCE

DRUMMOND CASTLE, PERTHSHIRE.

This castle is built on a rocky eminence about three miles from
Crieflf. It is situated in
an extensive and beauti-
ful park, and commands
a fine view over Strath-
earn.

Sir John Drummond
purchased this property
in 1487 and built the

original castle. It con- r PLAN OF SECOND FLOOR

sisted of an oblong keep
(Fig. 238), 43 feet by
'M feet, set on the high-
est point of the rock.

The entrance was on
the first floor (to which
an outside stone stair
now leads), whence a
narrow stair in the thick-
ness of the wall descends
to the vaulted basement,
and a newel staircase in a
projecting turret ascends

to the upper floors. FIG. 238. Drummond Castle. Plans.

The first floor contained the common hall, and the second floor the
principal hall of the castle, with windows furnished with stone seats.

FIRST FLOOR

THIRD PERIOD

286

DRUMMOND CASTLE

Above this there were originally one or two stories, but the upper part
of the keep is now modernised.

FIG. 239. Drummond Castle. View from the West.

The family acquired the title of Earl of Perth in 1605, and the wing
which adjoins the old keep on the south was built soon after. The
dormers (Fig. 238) contain the Drummond arms with the Earl's initials,
and the dates 1630 and 1636.

FIG. 240. Drummond Castle. Inner Courtyard.

On the ground floor of this wing is the arched gateway to the castle
(still provided with its double iron gate) and a porter's room.

The upper floors gave extended accommodation connected with the
keep, but have now been modernised and converted into an armoury,
containing many curious Highland relics.

An extensive range of buildings was also erected on the north side of
the keep (shown by dotted lines on Plan), probably at the same period,

DRUMMOND CASTLE

287

THIRD PERIOD

288

ROSYTH CASTLE

DRUMMOND CASTLE

289

THIRD PERIOD

but these are now so ruinous that it is impossible to distinguish their various
uses. They no doubt contained vaulted kitchen and offices on the ground
floor, and the reception-rooms common at the time on the upper floors.

The castle is said to have suffered greatly at the hands of Cromwell
in the middle of the seventeenth century. It was strengthened in 1715,
and garrisoned by Royal troops. To prevent this again happening, the
Dowager Duchess of Perth is stated to have caused the walls to be
levelled with the ground in 1745.

The old castle being ruinous, a modern mansion was erected to the
eastward about 1689. A view of the courtyard (Fig. 240) is given, from
which it is apparent that it has been somewhat modernised. The north
side of this mansion overlooks a terrace on the top of the rock above
the approach. The terrace (Fig. 241) is supported with large and massive
buttresses, which are partly old, and contribute greatly to the picturesque
effect of the pile. The beautiful terraced gardens on the south side of
the castle are of world-wide fame.

The estate now belongs to Lady Willoughby d'Eresby.

ROSYTH CASTLE, FIFESHIRE.

Rosyth Castle is situated on a low-lying, flat peninsula on the north
margin of the Firth
of Forth, opposite
Queensferry, and is
surrounded at high
tides by water. The
peninsula towards the
Firth presents a rocky
face a few feet above
the water, gradually
merging into sandy
shores as it approaches
the land.

The castle (Fig.
243) consists of a keep
and buildings of a later
age, the latter being
now very ruinous. The
keep is in tolerable
preservation, and is ob-
long on plan (Fig. 243),
measuring 48 feet 6
inches by 41 feet 3 GROUND

inches over the walls, Fio. 243. Rosyth Castle. Plans.

with a staircase at the south-east corner, 17 feet in breadth over the

THIRD PERIOD

290

ROSYTH CASTLE

FIG. 244. Rosyth Castle. Section of Keep and
Elevation of West Window of Hall.

walls, and projecting 5 feet. The height from the ground to the top
of the battlements is 57 feet 6 inches, and about 68 feet to the ridge
of the gables. It contains four stories (Fig. 244), the basement and the
first floor or hall being vaulted. The walls throughout are of consider-
able thickness, varying from 6 feet to 10 feet 6 inches.

The entrance doorway, with
elliptic arch, is on the south
side towards the Firth, adjoin-
ing the staircase tower (Fig.
245), and leads directly by a
passage through the wall to the
ground floor, which is two or
three steps down. From this
passage the corkscrew stair, un-
like the arrangement found in
most other keeps, goes to the
top. The lower vault is sub-
divided into two stories, the up-
permost of the two floors being
reached by a stair down from
the hall on the first floor.
The hall (Fig. 246), which is 27 feet long by 20 feet wide, and
20 feet high, is vaulted. It is lighted by three windows, the large ones
at each end, which have mullions and transoms, being insertions. The
original end windows, which can still be partly traced, were small, and
high up from the floor. The lower compartments of the inserted windows
(Fig. 244) were closed with shutters, the upper compartments having
been glazed. On the outside of the under transom of the west window
is the inscription, much wasted, E. I., an anchor, S. M. N., ANNO 1635 or
55. The E. is doubtful, the rest fairly legible. The fireplace is in the
south wall, and has had a flat arch, moulded on edge, and the moulding
is continued down the jambs. Adjoining the fireplace there is a mural
chamber. Half-way up to the second floor a garde-robe is formed in
the east wall, the small window of which has a curious upright division
in the ingoing, as shown on the plan, probably for the purpose of
enabling one loop to light both the garde-robe and the adjoining
passage, which contains a stone basin and drain. The upper hall, which
is of the same size as that just described (Plan, Fig. 243), has the fire-
place in the west end. It contains two mural chambers and a garde-
robe, and is entered through a porch from the stair. The top story
in the roof is quite ruinous.

The additions to the castle extend westwards and southwards from
the keep, and formed a courtyard (Fig. 243). Of these buildings only the
north and part of the west walls now remain, in a very ruinous condition,

ROSYTH CASTLE

291

THIRD PERIOD

292 -

ROSYTH CASTLE

the remainder being traceable here and there, as shown by dotted lines.
The extensions being so ruinous, we have included this castle amongst
the simple keeps, rather than the castles with courtyards.

PIG. 246. Rosyth Castle. Interior of Hall.

The entrance to the courtyard is on the landward or northern side
through an elliptic archway 6 feet wide, having a slightly projecting
porch with a stone roof (Fig. 247). Above the porch are two panels, the
arms on the undermost being quite decayed ; but the one above, in an
ornamental frame, is well preserved. This panel contains a shield sur-
rounded by a wreath of Scotch thistles and a crown above. At the base
is a crouching unicorn, occupying the full width of the panel, which
contains the date 156l, and the letters M. R. (Maria Regina), with a
crown above the latter. It was in August of that year that Queen Mary
sailed into the Forth on her return from France, and landed on the
opposite shore at Leith. It is to be hoped that some effort will be made

ROSYTH CASTLE

293

THIRD PERIOD

to secure the preservation of this memorial of that event, as this part of
the castle is fast going to destruction. On the level of this panel, adjoin-
ing the keep, there are the corbels of a projecting turret staircase, of
which only the merest fragment remains. This staircase has entered
from the keep at the two main floors, and formed a connection between
the keep and the additional buildings. The corbelling of another turret
may also be seen at the north-west corner of this wall.

Fio. 247. Rosyth Castle. Entrance Porch to Courtyard.

Built into the walls of a farm-steading adjoining are some carved
window pediments from the castle. One with a scroll contains the name
of Stewart.

The dovecot at Rosyth (Fig. 248) is oblong in plan, with a fine stone
roof and gabled ends, having crow-steps with gablets, a form by no means
common in Scotland. There is a remarkable scroll carved on the lintel
of the doorway.

The ancestor of the Stewarts of Rosyth was James Stewart of Duris-
deer, brother-germaii to Walter, the Great Steward of Scotland, father
of King Robert n.

THIRD PERIOD

294

ROSYTH CASTLE

There are no features about this castle which definitely fix the date

of its erection. There is the same small break to contain the staircase

LEVEN CASTLE

295

THIRD PERIOD

here as at Edzell and Affleck, and the plan of the building also corre-
sponds with these keeps. We may therefore assume that its date is
similar, or about the end of the fifteenth century.

LEVEN CASTLE, RENFREWSHIRE.

Situated on the steep bank of a stream near Gourock on the Clyde,
this castle (Fig. 249) is built on a plan very unusual at this period,
viz., that of a double tower. This form of plan was however adopted
in some cases at a later period. Leven Castle seems to have been
originally a simple keep of the usual plan of the fourteenth or fifteenth

LEVEN CASTLE

NCAR

GOUROCK
RENFREWSHIRE

FIG. 249. Leven Castle. Plan.

century, the wing to the south-east being probably a later addition.
The ground floor contains two vaulted cellars, one of them having a
private stair down from the hall. The entrance door was on the ground
floor, with a narrow straight stair to the first-floor landing, which is
continued as a newel stair in the south-west angle to the upper floors.
The hall windows have square recesses furnished with stone seats. From
the style of the corbel table (Fig. 250) it may be inferred that the south-
east wing was added about the beginning of the sixteenth century,
when the old keep seems to have been remodelled, and the same cornice
continued all round the building. It is of the ornamental pattern, in
which mock corbels are introduced as ornaments. At this period addi-
tional accommodation has been desired, particularly a kitchen, which
has led to this peculiar form of wing being built. The larger newel
staircase between the two towers has apparently also been introduced at
the same time.

This castle may possibly have been all built at one time, but we are
inclined to think that the above account of it is more likely to be correct.
In the later double-tower keeps, such as Burgie, one of the divisions is
carried up as a watch-tower, which is not the case here. The numerous
stairs from the basement are also very unusual features. The straight
stair was all that was necessary, and is evidently original, together with

THIRD PERIOD

296

LEVEN CASTLE

the well-guarded lobby at the entrance, these being features common to
most of the keeps of the period. This leads us to infer that the straight
stair was the original one, and that the newel stair connecting the two
towers was a subsequent addition. The hollow in the wall of the wing,
where access from the stair is obtained on the different floors, has also the
makeshift appearance of an addition. The vault seen in the foreground
(Fig. 250) has probably been connected with outbuildings in the barmkin.

FIG. 250. Leven Castle. View from the South- West.

Before 1547 this castle .belonged to the Mortons. At that date it
passed to the family of the Sempills, and it is not unlikely that the
remodelling was carried out about that time. It is now the property of
the Shaw Stewarts.

INVERKIP CASTLE, RENFREWSHIRE,

The original seat of the Stewarts, now represented by Sir Michael R.
Shaw Stewart, is situated on the edge of a cliff near Inverkip, on the
Firth of Clyde. There was a castle here in the days of Bruce, which is
referred to by Barbour, but the present building (Fig. 251) is evidently
of later date, probably about the end of the fifteenth century. The
style of corbelling at the parapet was not introduced till about that

INVERKIP CASTLE

297

THIRD PERIOD

time (see Edzell Castle). The entrance to the hall was, as usual, on the
first floor, to which a modern stone stair has now been built.

FIG. 251. Inverkip Castle. View from the North- West.

CRAIGNEIL CASTLE, COLMONELL, AYRSHIRE.

A rectangular tower, 42 feet by 30 feet, situated on the top of a
rocky height on the south side
of the river Stinchar, opposite the
village of Colmonell. The hill
being partly composed of lime-
stone, has been quarried out as
far as the base of the castle, an
operation which has greatly in-
creased the picturesqueness of
its situation (Fig. 253).

This tower may belong to the
fourteenth or fifteenth century.
The walls are 6 feet thick. The
entrance doorway is on the ground
level at the south-east angle,
where a newel staircase led to the
upper floors (Fig. 252). A pecu-
liarity here is that the basement has not been vaulted. There was a
large hall on the first floor, but the principal hall was on the second
floor, the roof of which is vaulted, and where remains of the great fire-
place may still be traced.

Fio. 252. Craigneil Castle. Plan ami Section.

THIRD PERIOD

298 -

CRAIGNEIL CASTLE

Craigneil is said to derive its name from Nigel Bruce, King Robert's
brother, but this tradition is very doubtful.

M
Irak!

^mM^-# :: ' : A
^^^^m^

Pio. 253. Craigneil Castle. View from the North-West.

This castle is now the property of William M'Connel, Esq. of Knock-
dolian.

KILKERRAN CASTLE, AYRSHIRE.

This is a fragment (Fig. 254) of the original castle of the Fergussons
of Kilkerran, now represented by Sir James Fergusson, the sixth baronet.
The estate was granted to the family in the fourteenth century, and,
judging from the admirable style of workmanship, and the form of the
simple parapet and corbel table, this keep was probably erected in the
fifteenth century. It stands in a retired upland glen about one mile

KILKERRAN CASTLE 299 THIRD PERIOD

from New Dailly, on the Girvan Water. It has been a good specimen of

FIG. 254. K ilkerran Castle. View from ll:p North-West.

the keeps of the period, but it is unfortunately fast crumbling away.

THIRD PERIOD

300

VVHITTINGHAM TOWER

WHITTINGHAM TOWER, HADDINGTONSHIRE.

This tower, which is in a state of perfect preservation, is situated
about two miles from East Linton, in East Lothian. It stands near the
edge of a steep bank, running along by the end of the platform for
cannons, seen on the ground plan (Fig. 255). The tower is an oblong,

PLATFORM FOR GUNS

FIRST FLOOR
Fio. 255. Whittingham Tower. Plans and Section.

measuring 31 feet by 23 feet 6 inches, and is 39 feet high to the top of
the parapet. A square wing, containing the staircase, is projected
towards the east from one of the narrow sides of the keep, which is con-
trary to the ordinary practice, the wings of the |_ plan being generally
placed on one of the larger faces of the keep. The picturesque entrance
doorway (Fig. 256), with large bead and hollow mouldings, having a shield
with the Douglas arms carved on the lintel, leads to the vaulted ground
floor, 13 feet 6 inches high. This was subdivided, the upper room
having originally entered from the staircase, but it has been altered, and
the door built up. The first floor, containing the principal apartment,
about 18 feet by 15 feet, and 8 feet 9 inches high, is well lighted with
two deeply recessed windows. This was originally the hall, and is
interesting as still retaining, screened off at the entrance, the place
anciently known as the " screens " for the service of the dining-room.

\VIIITTINGHAM TOWER

301

THIRD PERIOD

Entering off one of the " screens " is a small mural closet. The interior
of this apartment has been renovated in the seventeenth century, and
contains some good plaster and wood work of that period. The richly
panelled ceiling of plaster-work (Fig. 257) is of similar design to those
of Winton House, Moray House, and other seventeenth-century buildings.
The door architraves, with egg and dart enrichment, are probably con-
temporary with the ceiling, and are certainly much later than the tower.
The staircase continues to the top, and is surmounted with a cape house.

FIG. 256. Whittinghain Tower. Entrance Doorway.

The battlements are interesting, and are quite entire, with a walk all
round about 3 feet wide, but intersected by a wall where the staircase
joins the main tower, through which wall there is a narrow passage about
2 feet high. The parapets are high, and have a moulded coping with
a double bead continued all round the embrasures. There is an apart-
ment in the roof entering from the parapet walk. The windows of the
tower, so far as visible under a prodigious growth of ivy, are designed
like those of the fifteenth and sixteenth century Tudor buildings in
England, of which we have also an example in the chapel windows of
Craigmillar, with a wide splay and label mouldings. Extending south-

TU1RD PERIOD

302

WHITTINGHAM TOWER

wards from the tower towards the steep bank there is a mound of earth
about 10 feet high by about 80 feet long, having a retaining wall along
the west side and south end, with a slope towards the east. This is of
later date than the tower, and was doubtless erected for guns. The

FIG. 257. Whittingham Tower. Interior of Dining-Room.

mound stops short of the tower, and the space between is occupied with
vaulted chambers of seventeenth-century work, shown hatched on plan.
Two open staircases from opposite sides lead up to the mound, and there
seem to have been apartments over the above chambers entering from
the mound platform ; but the whole of this addition is now very ruinous
and indistinct. This tower (Fig. 258) is of superior design to many of
the keeps of the period,, the windows, parapet, etc., being somewhat
ornate, and carefully finished. It corresponds, however, in details with
many of the larger castles of the reigns of James iv. or v., at which period
it seems to have been built. It is satisfactory to find that Whittingham
Tower is well taken care of, for, as the scene of some important events
in Scottish history, it is well worthy of preservation. It was here, in

BALQUHAIN (\\STLE

303

THIRD PERIOD

.January 1566-7, that the Earl of Morton came to visit his cousin Patrick
Douglas, and was met by Bothwell, whose castle of Hailes, on the other
side of Traprain Law, is within a short distance of Whittingham, and by
Secretary Lethington, whose castle of the same name is likewise in the

FIG. 258. Whittingham Tower. View from the North- West

neighbourhood, when the foul conspiracy for the murder of Darnley was
first hatched and decided on. " And," says Tytler, referring to subse-
quent events, " it was only a year and a half before that in this fatal
house, the conference .had been held between Lethington, Bothwell, and
Morton, in which the King's murder was determined. Bothwell was now
a fugitive and an outlaw ; but his associates in guilt, the same Letbington
and Morton, now received Moray at Whittingham^ and cordially sym-
pathised with him when he expressed his horror for the crime, and his
resolution to avenge it."

BALQUHAIN CASTLE, ABERDEENSHIRE.

This ruinous keep (Fig. 259) stands in the parish of Chapel of Garioch,
about half a mile from the church, and two miles from Inveramsay Junc-
tion, on the North of Scotland Railway. It was originally a quadrangular
keep (Fig. 260), probably of the fifteenth century, which was destroyed
in 1526 in the feuds between the Leslies (the proprietors) and their
neighbours the Forbeses. The lower part of the walls is extremely thick,
and has the deep recesses and the narrow loops then in use. The castle
was rebuilt in 1 530 by Sir William Leslie, seventh Baron of Balquhain,

THIRD PERIOD

304

BALQUHAIN CASTLE

probably on much the same lines as the older keep. Unfortunately so
little of it now remains that it is scarcely possible to ascertain the dis-
position of the interior ; but its massive and weather-stained grey walls

FIG. 259. Balquhain Castle. View from the South-East.

have a commanding and impressive effect. The walls enclosing the
barmkin, which occupied the highest part of a knoll, and some of the
out-buildings, can still be traced (see Fig. 260).

Balquhain was the abode of Queen Mary the night before the battle
of Corrichie, in 1562, and it stands within a short distance of the more

Fi. 260. Balquhain Castle. Plan.

famous battle-field of Harlaw (1414). The castle was burnt by the Duke
of Cumberland in 1746.

DARNAWAY CASTLE, MORAYSHIRE.

Of this ancient seat of the Earls of Moray little now remains ; but
fortunately, whilst almost all the masonry is new, the ancient oaken

DARNAWAY CASTLK

305

THIRD PERIOD

Fi.:. L'Ol.-Darnaway Castle. Interior of Hall.

THIRD PERIOD 306 DARNAWAY CASTLE

roof (Fig. 26l) of the hall has been preserved, and is a specimen almost
unique in this class of work in Scotland. The open timber roofs of the
Parliament Houses at Stirling and Linlithgow have entirely disappeared,
as well as those of Doune, Dirleton, Tantallon, and all the larger castles
of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The fine roof of Darnaway, the
smaller one of the House of the Knights of St. John in Linlithgow, 1 and
that of the Parliament House, Edinburgh, are almost all that remain to
give an idea of what these others must have been.

Darnaway Castle is situated on a rising ground in the midst of an
extensive forest not far from the river Findhorn, and about three miles
from Brodie Railway Station.

A castle was originally built here by Thomas Randolph, Earl of
Moray, who was Regent during the minority of David n., and the pre-
sent building is traditionally said to be Randolph's castle. It appears
however from the Exchequer Accounts that the existing ancient hall was
begun by Archibald Douglas, Earl of Moray, about 1450. The Earl
being forfeited, the King allowed the building to be proceeded with in
the style of grandeur and solidity which Douglas had contemplated (see
the Accounts for 1456-58). In 1810 a large new castle was erected in
front of the ancient hall, and connected with it, so that the hall forms part
of the existing mansion. The walls have however been greatly altered.
The old Statistical Account describes it before the alterations as an ancient
pile 89 feet long and 35 feet wide, having a balcony in the outer end, with
a music gallery above, from side to side. There was a large chimney in
the opposite end, and another spacious fireplace on one of its sides.

The modern fireplace in the north side of the hall probably occupies-
the position of the latter, but the other fireplace and the balcony and
gallery have been swept away.

All that now remains of the ancient hall is the open timber roof. It is
well preserved, and is of fine dark oak. From its style it seems to belong to
the latter half of the fifteenth century. In constructive design it somewhat
resembles the roof of the hall of Edinburgh Castle, which was probably
erected by James v. The design is in this respect rather weak. The
principals of the roof are very varied in design, but they have all the fault^
like those at Edinburgh, of not having a proper tie. They evidently belong
to a late period of Gothic art ; the variety of the forms of the rafters is in
itself an evidence of this.* The simplicity and purity of the earlier forms,
of which so many specimens exist in England, is here conspicuously absent.

It is only in its general effect, not in detail, that this roof can suggest
the probable appearance of those of a simpler and earlier style, of which
we have a solitary example in the House of the Knights of St. John. 1

We have however in the Parliament House and the Tron Church iit
Edinburgh good specimens of open timber roofs of a still later date.
1 Demolished since the above was written !

BADENHEATH

307

THIRD PERIOD

BADENHEATH, DUMBARTONSHIRE.

Badenheath is situated not far from Moulinburn, in a detached part
of Dumbartonshire, about nine miles east from Glasgow. It is now a
mere fragment, being the southern half of an oblong keep (Fig. 262),

FIG. 262. Badenheatli. Plans and View.

probably of the end of the fifteenth century. It has been built of fine
regularly coursed masonry, which has proved too strong a temptation to
the needy builders of later times. This is much to be regretted, as from
the style of work remaining, Badenheath has apparently been a fine
example of a peel tower. The entrance doorway (with its bar-hole),
fortunately preserved, is, as will be seen from the sketch (Fig. 263), of a
remarkable and unusual design. The hall mantelpiece, which is also

THIRD PERIOD

308

BADENHEATH

entire, is finely moulded, of the style so frequently used in Scotland, as at
Ruthven, Cardoness, Craigmillar, and other castles, while the little that is
left of the windows, both inside and outside, with the corner turrets,
corbelling, and stone cornice inside, show that this must have been a
superior tower of its class. It measures 42 feet by 30 feet 6 inches over
the walls, which are from 6 feet to 7 feet thick, and four stories high.

Fio. 263. Badenheath. Entrance Doorway.

Adjoining the entrance doorway in the west wall, the wheel stair led to the
first floor, where it terminated in the usual manner. In the south gable of
the hall is the fireplace, already referred to, and adjoining it another wheel
stair led to the upper floor and to the top. The southern room on the
ground floor remains entire with its vaulted roof, and is lighted by three
long narrow slits. In one corner will be seen on plan a small mural
chamber on the floor level, 6 feet long by 3 feet 9 inches wide, and from
3 feet to 4- feet high, which was probably a sleeping-place.

CAIKNBULG CASTLK

309

THIRD PERIOD

CAIRNBULG CASTLE, ABERDEENSHIRE.

Cairnbulg Castle, about two miles distant from Fraserburgh, in a
southern direction, towers above the waste of sandhills and bogs (now
mostly reclaimed) with which it is surrounded. Close by is the deep
sluggish water of Philorth, which doubtless proved useful as a defence
to the castle from the west, and for supplying water to flood the moat
which at one time evidently surrounded the mound on which it stands.

The castle consists of buildings of two periods. There is first the
large oblong keep, which probably dates at the earliest from the end of
the fifteenth century, and the buildings of a later date, which have been
so contrived as to convert Cairnbulg into a castle with diagonally opposite
towers, the old keep being made available as one of these towers.

The keep is oblong on plan, with a
projection for the wheel staircase at the
south-east end (Fig. 264). It measures 41
feet in length by 29 feet 8 inches along
the west end, and along the east end and
staircase projection it measures 40 feet, with
walls from 6 feet to 7 feet thick. The
entrance doorway (now built up) was from
the ground level on the east side of the
staircase turret. The ground floor, as also
the first floor, are vaulted with pointed
vaults. There is no access to the portions
of the building above the first floor, the
place being in great ruin and the staircase
gone. The hall, which is on the first floor,
measures 25 feet 4 inches by 16 feet 7 inches, and is well lighted by
four windows. The entrance to the hall is in the recess of the large end
window. The other three windows are provided with stone seats, and
off the one in the south-west corner there is a mural chamber about 10
feet by 6 feet. In the opposite corner of the hall another mural chamber,
5 feet by 2 feet 9 inches, has a stone sink opening to the outside. The
fireplace is in the west gable, opposite the entrance. It is quite plain,
having merely a bead moulding round the jambs and lintel. We are
unable to say where the original kitchen was.

In the original castle there was evidently a curtain wall extending
southwards from the face of the staircase wall for about 30 feet, and then
running eastwards at right angles. On this wall have been built the
later additions to the castle. The curtain wall was from 4 to 5 feet
thick, and of great height, as seems to be indicated by a fragment of a
row of small corbels seen high up on the east front (Fig. 265).

The building of the second period, shown hatched on plan, measures

PIG. 264. Cairnbulg Castle. Plan.

THIRD PERIOD

310

CAIRNBULG CASTLE

CAIRNBULG CASTLE - 311 - THIRD PKRIOD

from east to west 77 feet 2 inches by 29 feet in width, with a round tower
about 27 feet in diameter projecting at the south-east corner. This tower
has been four stories high, with probably an attic, but it is, like the keep,
in a state of great ruin. The whole of the ground floor of the extended
buildings, containing the kitchen, is vaulted, with rooms leading off a
passage along the north side. The communication between the old
and new house has been by a passage at the wheel stair, as shown on the
plan. At the west end of the new house there seems to have been an
anteroom, with a great window facing the west, inserted into the old
curtain (see Fig. 265), and leading off this was the great hall or principal
apartment in the house, about 59 feet long by 21 feet 2 inches wide.
This room had probably two fireplaces. One is still remaining in the
north wall near the east end, and the other in the wall at the west end
is, in all likelihood, represented by the splayed recess, of which one side
is seen on the plan.

Entering from the east end of this grand hall was a private room in
the round tower, 16 feet diameter, lighted by four windows, having a
fireplace and two square recesses in the walls. The plaster still remain-
ing on the walls of this room is covered with painted ornament. From the
entrance passage to this room a passage in the thickness of the wall leads
to a garde-robe, and also to a narrow service stair leading down to the
kitchen.

The access to all the upper floors is by the old staircase of the keep,
which had steps of a width of about 4 feet 6 inches. The top of the
staircase, as usual, contains a room at a great height above the ground.
This upper room is possibly an addition, as at a lower level on the south
side there are two projecting corbels, probably the remains of the corbels
which supported a parapet walk at this level. Similar corbels, indicating
a change in design, may be observed at Craigmillar and Glamis, the
alteration at the former being almost identical with what took place here.

This noble keep is unfortunately in a very rent and torn condition.
The parapet, with its open corbelled bartizans and embrasures, is
evidently of the end of the fifteenth century. The corbel table of the
south-east tower (Fig. 266), which is much later in date, has been
executed in imitation of the older one.

In the year 1375 Cairnbulg, along with the barony of Philorth, passed
into the possession of Sir Alexander Fraser of Corrie, on his marriage with
Jean Ross, the youngest daughter and coheiress of the Earl of Ross.
There seems to be no information as to when the keep was built, but it
must have been at a considerably later period, probably about a hundred
years after.

Part of the enclosing walls of the courtyard remain along the east
side, with a fine arched entrance gateway (Fig. 266).

The later additions were built by Sir Alexander Fraser about the year

THIRD PERIOD

312

CAIRNBULG CASTLE

313

THIRD PKHIOI)

1545. This is the same Sir Alexander who is suggested by us as having
built the Wine Tower at Fraserburgh. In 1619 his grandson and suc-
cessor, Sir Alexander Fraser, who built the castle at Kinnaird Head,
Fraserburgh, sold the lands and castle of Cairnbulg. Was this to enable
him to raise the funds necessary for the pursuance of his scheme in
founding the town and harbour of Fraserburgh 1 If so, and it seems not
unlikely, the inhabitants of that rising town should regard the venerable
walls of Cairnbulg with feelings of no ordinary interest.

The castle seems to have remained inhabited for a considerable time
after this, as we gather from the following tombstone inscription in the
neighbouring churchyard of Kirkton (Fraserburgh) : " Here lyeth the
Body of George Marten, Lawful Son to James Marten, Presently Resid-
ing at the House of Cairnbulye, who died January the 8th the year 1781."

FARME, LANARKSHIRE.

An ancient square keep on the Clyde, near Rutherglen, now incor-
porated with a modern mansion (Fig. 267). It has the appearance of
having been built in the fifteenth century, and is a good instance of the

FIG. 267. Farme Keep.

persistence of the simple keep style of building. The estate has
belonged to the Stewarts, the Crawfords, and others, but it is not known
by whom the castle was built. It now belongs to Allan Farie, Esq.

THIRD PERIOD - 314- - AUCHINDOUN CASTLE

THIRD PERIOD KEEPS WITH ONE OR TWO WINGS.

We shall now give some examples of keeps built during the Third Period
011 the L plan, i.e, with a wing at one end, or with two wings.

It will be observed that although these retain the general features of
the plans of similar keeps erected in the fourteenth century, they gene-
rally exhibit more refinement and ornament in details. Some modifica-
tions of the plan, such as the insertion of a tower in the re-entering
angle of the L to contain the staircase, are introduced during this period.

AUCHINDOUN CASTLE, BANFFSHIRE.

This massive ruin is situated on the top of a conical hill which rises
in the centre of an amphitheatre of bare and barren mountains in Mort-
lach parish, Banffshire. It is about three miles from Dufftown, and lies
on the way from Elgin into Aberdeenshire. A more desolate and lonely
site for a dwelling can scarcely be imagined ; but it seems from the
earliest times to have been selected as suitable for a place of strength.
The hill on which the present castle stands is surrounded with the
remains of several wide and deep ditches, which have evidently been the
defences of an early hill fortress. The steep banks sloping on three
sides to the glen of the Fiddich, about 200 feet below, formed a good
position for these primitive fortifications, and the hill was cut off from
the adjoining ground on the fourth side by a wide fosse.

The castle is said to date from the eleventh century, but the present
building does not appear to be older than the fifteenth century. It is
reputed to have been rebuilt by Cochrane, the favourite of James in.,
and so far as its style goes, it might belong to that period. The castle
came into the possession of the Gordons from the Ogilvies in 1535, and
it is possible that it may then have undergone alterations, and the
additions round the walls of the courtyard may then have been made.

It is now a very massive and imposing ruin, and has not been occupied
for the last two hundred years.

This castle (Fig. 268), although built on the L plan, has not the
entrance, as is usual, in the re-entering angle. The south or entrance front
is demolished, but the door has evidently been near the staircase at the
south-west angle. There is another staircase at the north-west angle, but
it is smaller, and appears to have led to a postern doorway. The ground
floor would enter from the level of the entrance doorway. It contains one
large apartment, with elliptic barrel vault, and is lighted by one narrow
loop at the north end. There is a stone sink in the west side, with
drain, which would seem to indicate that this was the kitchen, but there
is no fireplace. It may have been the cellar, in connection with which
the sink would be useful. The other room on the ground floor in the

AUCHINDOUN CASTLE

315

THIRD PEKIOD

wing
been

has been entered by a stair down from the hall, and may have
the private cellar. The walls are 8 to 10 feet in thickness.

C B UUNO (-'LAN

Fio. 268. Auchindoun Castle. Plans and Details.

The first floor is occupied with the hall, 30 feet 6 inches long and
19 feet wide (Fig. 268). It has a large fireplace at the north end, and
two windows in the east and west sides, near the fireplace, with stone
seats in the recess. The east window has a cupboard, and the west
window a door to the postern stair in the thickness of the wall. At the
entrance from the principal stair there is a small guard-room in the
thickness of the wall.

The room in the wing on this floor has been the private room, with
garde-robe, windows with seats, etc.

The most remarkable thing about the hall is the vaulting. This is
not of the usual barrel form, such as we find at Borthwick and Craig-
millar, but has been groined and ribbed in two bays. The springings of
the arches still remain (see sketch, Fig. 268), showing that they were of
good form, and were supported on corbels. The central springing is
carefully managed, and the mouldings are good, but the angle groin has
not been so successfully set out, and an intermediate cap has had to be
introduced to enable a fresh start to be made.

THIRD PERIOD

316

AUCHINDOUN CASTLE

/'rij^^^ff^^

PRESTON TOWER - 317 THIRD PERIOD

The floor above the hall has evidently been an upper hall with large
windows, but it is now inaccessible. In the wing there were two stories
in the height of the hall, and other rooms above. It is not clear whether
these had a separate stair from the hall, or whether they were approached
by passages in the thickness of the walls leading from the staircase in
the south-west angle. The latter was the plan adopted at Crookston,
and probably here also.

The whole character of the building, including its massive walls, with
closets, stairs, and passages in their thickness, the vaulted hall, with
its stone-seated windows and great fireplace, all seem to point to its
being of about the same period as Borthwick, or towards the middle of
the fifteenth century.

The castle has been surrounded with a high wall enclosing a court-
yard, along the east and south sides of which there have been extensive
ranges of buildings. The original plan seems to have contemplated
buildings along the south wall, where the entrance gateway, with its
remarkable arch (sketch, Fig. 268), is situated. These no doubt con-
tained a guard-room, stables, etc.

The range along the east wall, however, appears to be of more recent
date, and to have been pushed out beyond the original wall. From the
large fireplaces, ovens, etc., still remaining, these buildings have evidently
contained the kitchen offices. The round tower at the north-west angle,
with shot-holes enfilading the walls, is also an addition of late date.

PRESTON TOWER, HADDINGTONSHIRE.

Preston Tower, for many ages the property of the Hamilton family,
to whom it still belongs, has some peculiar features. The ground floor
is unconnected with the rest of the building save by a trap in the vault.
The main entrance to the tower is by a circular-headed doorway (now
cut square) on the first floor (Fig. 270), and the defences of this door seem
to have been of a rather remarkable kind. There are corbels over the
door, and also round the corner on the south side of the tower, which,
together with the apertures for joists at the floor level, appear to indicate
that there has been a projecting wooden hoarding, with lean-to roof,
round this part of the tower. The moveable stair for access would be
lowered from this hoarding, which would also form a passage with a door,
to give additional security to the entrance. A recess for this door, when
open, is visible at the south-east angle of the building (Fig. 270). The
stair to the upper floors enters from the recess (Fig. 271) of the door in
the south wall entering from this outside passage, so that access to the stair
could be got directly from the passage without passing through the hall.

The two immense corbels at the parapet immediately over the main
doorway were also no doubt intended to carry a wooden platform, which

THIRD PERIOD

318

PRESTON TOWER

would project beyond the hoarding at the door, and thus give additional
protection at this point. The parapet above the corbels being of late
work, unfortunately nothing remains but these corbels to indicate the

Fio. 270. Preston Tower. View from the South-East.

nature of the hoarding which was supported by them. The general plan
(Fig. 271) is of the usual kind. The basement contained stores, with
loft in the vault. The first floor, which is also vaulted, contained the

PRESTON TOWER

- 319

THIRD PERIOD

hall, with its usual arrangements, and an additional story in the vault.
The private room is in the wing. The arrangement of what appear to
have been the guard-room and dungeon of this tower is peculiar, and, so
far as we know, unique. Under the floor of the passage leading from
the hall to the private room, there is a straight stair down to the flat
below the private room (see Section). This stair must have been entered
from a hatch in the passage floor, as it still is. There is also a smaller
hatch in the floor of the private room leading to the room below. From

FIG. 271. Preston Tower. Plans and Section.

this lower room there is a larger hatch to a similar room on the basement
floor, which had no other means of access, the existing door on the base-
ment floor leading to the cell in the wing being modern. This basement
cell has apertures in the vault, apparently for ventilation, and a curious
shaft or tube, 7 inches in diameter, recessed in one corner. Various
theories have been started with regard to the use of these cellars ; but
it seems most in accordance with the customs of the time to regard the

THIRD PERIOD

320

PRESTON TOWER

first cellar as a guard-room, and the second or deepest pit as the dungeon.
The drain above referred to, and the openings for ventilation, favour this
view. At Dirleton Castle there is a similar arrangement of guard-room
and dungeon under the owner's private room.

There was a fair amount of private accommodation in the original
upper flats, but it was found desirable to extend it in the seventeenth
century, when the whole building was raised by a couple of stories built
above the parapet.

There was thus a new house built on the top of the old one, in a
totally different style of architecture. Hence the peculiar telescopic
effect of the elevation.

The arrangements of the plan, and the details of the corbels, etc.,
show that this castle belongs to the fifteenth century.

CASTLE HUNTLY, PERTHSHIRE.

This castle occupies a prominent site in the middle of the Carse of
Gowrie, being situated on a mass of rock which rises on the west side

Fio. 272. Castle Huntly. Plans.

abruptly from the plain, and slopes gradually down towards the east.

CASTLE HUNTLY

321

THIRD PERIOD

The castle is thus a striking object in the level carse, although exter-
nally it has been greatly modernised.

FIG. 273. Castle Huntly. View from the North -West.

The original castle dates from about 1452, when a Royal licence is
said to have been granted for its erection to Andrew, second Lord Gray
of Foulis. This statement of the writer in the old Statistical Account is

THIRD PERIOD 322 CASTLE HUNTLY

called in question, but however that may be, the castle seems to belong
to the latter half of the fifteenth century. It has however been so
much altered and added to that it is now somewhat difficult to deter-
mine its pristine features.

The original plan is of the L form, with entrance on the first floor
(Fig. 272) in the re-entering angle, where the original beaded doorway
still exists. The ground, with a passage round the west side of the main
body of the keep is now made up to the level of the doorway, although
originally the door was most likely at least one story above the ground.
The door enters into a vestibule or guard-room in the west wing, beneath
which, and entered by a trap in the floor, is the vaulted dungeon, with a
small loop to the open air high above the ground, as seen in Fig. 273.
The buildings which now fill up the space at the re-entering angle are
cellars, etc., added at a later date. A pointed doorway leads from the
guard-room into the cellars in the main building, and also to the newel
staircase in the thickness of the wall. The walls of the keep are all about
10 feet thick. The staircase is carried up to the roof., and gives access to
every floor. The third Earl of Kinghorn is said to have excavated this
staircase out of the solid wall. It appears however to be original, at least
for the first two stories, but on the third floor there is a circular well in
which a stair may formerly have existed for the service of the upper
floors. The second floor contains a lower hall, with a room in the wing, and
the third floor contains the upper or principal hall, with a private room
in the wing. These floors are now cut up with partitions, and entirely
modernised, but the old garde-robes and wall chambers can still be traced.

In 1615 the estate was acquired by Patrick Lyon, first Earl of King-
horn, and in the latter half of the century the castle was much added to
and " improved " by his grandson, the third Earl of Kinghorn and first Earl
of Strathmore, who also " improved " the castle of Glamis. He likewise
erected gateways in the Renaissance style (one of which still exists), and
adorned the grounds with statues, in the same manner as he did at
Glamis.

In the end of last century the estate was sold to George Paterson,
Esq., who added a modern mansion to the east side of the old keep, and
renovated the exterior with the modern sham turrets and battlements
which it now exhibits.

GIGHT, OR FORMANTINE CASTLE, ABERDEENSHIRE.

This castle, now a shapeless ruin, was formerly celebrated for its great
strength, to which the thickness of its crumbling walls still bears witness.

It occupies a strong and commanding site on the summit of the
' f Braes o' Gight," which rise precipitously from the river Ythan, about
three miles from Fyvie.

GIGHT, OR FORMANTINE CASTLE 323

THIRD PERIOD

The estate became the property, in 1479, of William Gordon, third
son of the second Earl of Huntly, and the castle is supposed to have
been built by him.

The House of Gight descended in his family till it belonged to
Catherine Gordon, the mother of Lord Byron. It was purchased from
her by Lord Aberdeen in 1787.

Fio. 274. Gight, or Formantine Castle. Plans.

The plan of the ground floor is well preserved, and is somewhat
remarkable (Fig. 274). It is on the L plan, but the door enters in the
centre of one limb, and has a long passage running right through the
building to the staircase, which is in the centre of the back wall. The
same arrangement may be observed at Craig Castle. From a bend in the
passage a shot-hole commands the entrance door. In the vault of the
lobby adjoining the door there is a small compartment of ribbed and
groined vaulting, which is a feature peculiar to several castles in Aberdeen-
shire. The kitchen has the usual large fireplace, and a service window to
the stair. The other apartments, which are vaulted, were bakehouse and
cellars, one having the private stair down from the hall. The hall, which
occupies the principal portion of the building on the first floor, was
a spacious apartment, 37 feet by 21 feet. It is entered in a peculiar
manner by a straight stair, through one of the window recesses, the
stair to the cellar, which was also continued up to the upper floors,
also entering from a similar door in the opposite side of the window
recess. A small vaulted room is obtained between the hall and the
private room, and the walls of the latter are riddled with wall
chambers in the manner common in the fifteenth century.

From the thickness of the walls, and the number of wall chambers
and other features, this castle evidently belongs to the fifteenth century,
although probably it was remodelled at a later date. The remains of
the tympanum of a dormer window still existing (see sketch) seem to
point to this.

THIRD PERIOD

324

NIDDRIE CASTLE

NIDDRIE CASTLE, LINLITHGOWSHIRE.

Niddrie Castle is familiar to the thousands who travel by rail between
Edinburgh and Glasgow, from the glimpse obtained as the train emerges
for a moment from the long rocky defile some three miles east of Lin-
lithgow. The castle stands on a hillock, once skirted by a burn along
the north-west, as shown on the sketch (Fig. 275). This, which must
have been a considerable protection on the side of the entrance, has
been diverted to suit railway purposes.

. ?***?

Fio. 275. Niddrie Castle. View from the North-West.

The building is of the L plan (Fig. 276), and is quite empty, ruinous,
and roofless. The door at the re-entering angle is protected in front by
a wall of probably later construction than the castle. It opens into a
lobby giving access to the main building, which measures inside 30 feet
9 inches by 18 feet 3 inches, and leading off this is a dark vaulted

NIDDRIE CASTLE

325

THIRD PERIOD

chamber or dungeon in the wing, measuring 1 1 feet by 9 feet 9 inches.
This dungeon is two stories high, and vaulted. The upper floor was of
timber, resting on corbels, and entered from the wheel stair. It was

JZarmers

GROUND FLOOR

Fio. 276. Niddrie Castle. Plan.

lighted with a long narrow slit, having a shot-hole beneath. The walls are
on an average 9 feet thick. A corkscrew stair adjoining the door leads
to the top, but the steps are nearly all gone, and the floors, which were
all of timber, are wanting. The stone corbels for supporting the floors

Fia. 277. Niddrie Castle. Window of Upper Story.

still remain. The great hall, on the first floor, had a large fireplace at
the west end, but it is entirely gone. When increased accommodation
was wanted at Niddrie, security from attack was evidently of greater

THIRD PERIOD

326

NIDDRIE CASTLE

consequence than convenient arrangement of plan, so, instead of extend-
ing the walls, the proprietor rather added a story or two to the already
lofty keep. The building had originally a parapet walk round the top,
the corbel table of which still remains, and the roof probably rose at
once above this, as at Elphinstone, Whittingham, and many other
places. The parapet was now raised as the wall of an additional story,
and thus a feature was created which afterwards became the usual form
of the upper floors of later designs. Some of the windows of this
raised portion are deeply recessed and splayed outwards, as shown on
Fig. 277. They resemble in these respects the east windows of Linlith-
gow Palace, built about 1500. They seem to have had pointed arched
pediments of a curious and unusual design.

Niddrie, or Niddrie Seaton, to give the full designation by which it
was anciently known, was built by George, fourth Lord Seaton, who fell
at Flodden in 1513. The castle and lands remained in the same family
till the time of Charles i., when they passed into the possession of the
Hopes of Hopetoun, the ancestors of the present Earl of Hopetoun.

CRAIG CASTLE, ABERDEENSHIRE.

Situated in a romantic and strong position on the rocky bank of a
remote glen in the parish of Auchendoir, Craig Castle has for centuries

FIG. 278. Craig Castle.

been the residence of the ancient family of the Gordons of Craig. The

CRAIG CASTLE

32?

THIRD PERIOD

present castle was begun by Patrick Gordon in 1510, and completed by
his son William in In 18, as recorded, along with their coats of arms, on
the walls (Fig. 278).

The castle is designed on the L plan, but the entrance door is not
as usual in the inner angle, but a little way off the angle, and with the
coats of arms and deep embrasures adjoining it has a striking effect
(Fig. 278). It opens into a passage which goes right through the building
to a newel staircase leading to the upper floors, in the same way as at
Gight Castle. The basement contains three vaulted cellars, one of which
has a stair to the hall, and one was probably the kitchen. The hall, with
private room, as usual, occupied the whole of the first floor. The building
has been much altered internally, but the widely splayed port-holes in use
at that time are still visible externally on the different floors (Fig. 279)-

Fio. 279. Craig Castle. View from the North-East.

The arrangements of the upper part of the building are peculiar. A
roofed-in passage goes all round the castle at the top of the walls, and
thus provides a covered parapet for defence (Fig. 279). The rooms on

THIRD PERIOD

328

CRAIG CASTLE

this floor are lighted by borrowed lights in the inner wall of the passage.
This arrangement seems to have been original, as the corbels for the
wall plate of the roof of the passage, and the water table above, are
carried all round the top floor. Portions of the inner walls of the parapet
or passage are carried up as gables, and have the appearance of rising
through the roof.

The top story is unfinished, and has been altered by the introduction
of chimneys, etc., which block the covered passage at intervals. The roofs
have the rather unusual finish of gabled crow-steps on the skews. These
are more frequently found in connection with ecclesiastical work,
although sometimes met with in castles, as at Edinburgh Castle, Farnell
Castle, etc.

The old church of Auchendoir is close to Craig Castle. It has a good
doorway and other first pointed features.

DUNDAS CASTLE, LINLITHGOWSHIRE.

Dundas Castle, near the village of Dalmeny, and about eight miles
west from Edinburgh, is in a good state of preservation so far as its
masonry is concerned, but having been about the beginning of this
century fitted up as a distillery, its interior arrangements are in

Fro. 280. Dundas Castle. Plans.

various places concealed by the brick erections connected therewith.
The castle stands on the summit of a rocky hill,_and externally it pre-

DDNDAS CASTLE

- 329

THIRD PERIOD

sents the appearance of being all of one age. It is only after making
a plan, and carefully studying the building, that it is found to be of two
periods. The original building is on the L plan (Fig. 280), with two rooms,
one in each compartment, on the various floors. It is four stories in height,
all the floors in the wing being vaulted, while in the main building the base-
ment and top floors only are vaulted (section, Fig. 281). In the addition

THIRD FLOOR

PIG. 281. Dundas Castle. Plan of Third Floor and Section.

(to be afterwards described) three of the four floors are vaulted. The
entrance door, which is round arched, is in the re-entering angle. In
order to increase the head-room, the haunches of the arch have in recent
times been cut out to the square, and the width of the passage to the stair
has been increased to the extent of cutting away the masonry containing
the rest or mortice for the sliding bar. The original strong iron yett still
hangs in the doorway. A circular stair in the angle leads to the first floor,
and terminates there. This stair has been altered from a corkscrew to a
straight flight for the upper ten or twelve steps, in the manner shown on
plan. The hall on the first floor is 28 feet 8 inches long by 19 feet 9 inches
wide. The fireplace (Fig. 282) is of an unusual design, with its putt-stones
for resisting the arch thrusts. This feature was not uncommon in earlier

THIRD PERIOD

330

DUN PAS CASTLE

examples, when the putt-stones were sometimes elegantly carved as
sconces to receive lamps, etc. Adjoining the hall is a private room,
which was previously of the same size as the room above, but has been
considerably reduced in size by the alteration of the stair just described.
This room and the great hall formerly entered directly from the circular
stair, and not as at present. In the various floors there are garde-robes
in the west wall. In order to reach the stair leading to the upper floors
the great hall has to be crossed. This staircase is circular, placed in the
angle, and continues up to the roof, where it lands in a large round
turret with a groined ceiling inside. Above this vault, and reached by
a ladder from the main roof, is the post for a beacon light and watch
tower surrounded by a stone parapet (section Fig. 281). The beacon
light could be seen at Blackness Castle, Rosyth Castle, Fordel Castle
(where an iron beacon still remains), Dunfermline, Donnybristle, and
various other castles along the Forth.

PIG. 282. Dumlas Castle. Fireplace in Hall.

The addition to the castle consisted of a wing at the north-west
corner. Its peculiar and irregular shape seems to have been a necessity of
the rocky site ; its sharp corners, as will be observed (Figs. 283, 284), are
splayed off towards the top. The various floors are reached from the
staircase last described. How the ground floor was reached cannot at
present be determined, owing to building and other alterations connected
with^the distillery ; the circular well of the staircase seems to be con-

DUNDAS CASTLE

331

THIRD PERIOD

tinued down to the ground, and probably in this way an access was
obtained. The kitchen is on the first floor of the new wing, and contains
the usual stone sink. The fireplace has been entirely removed.

The roof is at present a flat platform covered with cement ; in its
original state it was in all likelihood constructed of stone flags resting on
the vault, somewhat like the roof of Craigniillar, with an inclination just
steep enough to let the water run off. It will be observed from the
section that the parapets rise above the crown of the arches of the roof,
so that there was no necessity for steep roofs, as in the case of Borthwick
and others, where the parapets are placed at the springing of the arches.
The machicolations between the corbels have been all filled up during
the recent repairs. There is a small low penthouse near the centre of
the roof, probably used as a guard-room (Plan of Roof, Fig. 280).

FIG. 283. Dundas Castle. View from the North-East.

The family of Dundas of that Ilk were in possession of this barony
since about the beginning of the twelfth century down to a few years
ago. The present castle was probably erected during the first half of
the fifteenth century, when, about 1416, a fortalice seems to have been
erected under a warrant from Robert, Duke of Albany. The additional
wing being so exactly in the same style, as to height and all other features,
we may conclude that it was built not long afterwards, and that the sub-
sequent warrant which was granted by James i. in 1424 refers to it.

We have in Dundas Castle a good example of the |_ plan, and
also a good illustration of the efforts which were made in the fifteenth

THIRD PERIOD

332

DUNDAS CASTLE

century to extend the accommodation. No sooner apparently was
the castle built than it was found to be too small, and the awkwardly
shaped north-west wing had to be added to provide a kitchen, as well
as additional chambers. That this is an addition is evident from the
way in which the doors leading to it from the staircase have been slapped
in the original wall.

FIG. 284.- Dundas Castle. View from the South-West.

A fine piece of Renaissance work, comprising a fountain and a sun-
dial, stands in the pleasure-ground adjoining the castle (Figs. 285, 286).
This originally formed the centre of a parterre enclosed with walls of
hewn stone, having a baiiqueting-house at each corner ; but nothing of
all this, except the fountain, now remains. It is a beautiful work of art,
both as regards workmanship and design. The great mass of the surface
carving is in low relief, with masks projecting boldly at intervals. The
cornice on the top does not seem to be the original one ; at all events,
it has a crude outline, entirely unlike the spirited details of the other
parts of the monument. It will be observed that the central portion of
the cornice is projected on elaborately carved trusses on three sides.

DUNDAS CASTLE

333

THIRD PERIOD

while against the fourth side the stair arch abuts. On the trusses,
to quote the minute description by W. W. Fyfe, in his work Summer
Life on Land and Water at South Queensferry, " are heads, male and
female ; on the third an exquisite alto-relievo of two cherubs, bearing a
delicate floral wreath, and underneath the cypher of Sir Walter Dundas
in interlaced letters. The corner compartments are also ornamented
with sculptures of the Dundas crest, a lion's head wreathed with oak
leaves, the Dundas cognisance, a lion gules (on which the remains of
the red paint are perceptible), the shield of the knight, quartered with
that of his lady, Dame Ann Menteith, whose cypher is also given ; and,
separately, the salamander of the house of Dundas, noticed as a

FOUNTAIN AND DIAL

i2l

- /

1 -

| STEPS

WATER

FK;. 2S5. Dundas Castle. Plan of Fountain.

peculiarity in George Mackenzie's Heraldry, who, speaking of compart-
ments in armorial bearings, says that besides the Royal Arms they were
only allowed in those of Douglas and Perth, but that some families
were permitted achievements, of which he adduces as an instance this
'salamander in flames, proper' in the arms of the Laird of Dundas."
On each of the four faces are two panels in the frieze, with Latin inscrip-
tion, thus translated by Mr. Fyfe :

" See, read, think, and attend.

Through rocks and crags by pipes we lead these streams

That the parched garden may be moistened by the spring water.

Forbear to do harm therefore to the fountain and garden which thou see'st.

Nor yet should'st thou incline to injure the signs of the dial.

View and with grateful eyes enjoy these hours and the garden,

And to the flowers may eager thirst be allayed by the fountain.

In the year of human Salvation 1623."

THIRD PERIOD

334

DUN DAS CASTLE

Beneath, in a line with the capitals, are further inscriptions, thus
rendered in the same work :

FIG. 286. Dnndas Castle. View of Fountain.

"Sir Walter Dundas, in the year of our Lord 1623 and 6lst of
his own age, erected and adorned, as an ornament of his county and

liALVAIRD CASTLE - 335 - THIRD PERIOD

family, sacred to the memory of himself, and as a future memorial of his
posterity, as also an amusing recreation for friends, guests, and visitors,
this fountain in the form of a castle, this dial with its retinue of goddesses,
and this garden with its buildings, walls, and quadrangular walks,
surrounded with stones piled on high, rocks having been on all sides
deeply cut out, which inconveniently covered the ground.

" Whosoever thou art who comest hither, we, so many half-fiendish
spectres, are placed here lately by order, expressly for bugbears to
the bad, so that the hideous show their visages, lest any meddling,
evil-disposed person, should put forth his hand on the dial or garden.
We warn robbers to depart, burglars to desist, nothing here is
prey for plunderers ! For the pleasure and enjoyment of spectators
are all these placed here ; but we, who rather laugh with joyous
front, to a free sight we bid frankly the kind and welcome friends
of the host. Boldly use every freedom with the Master, the dial, the
garden, and with the garden-beds and couches him for friendship and
conversation, them for the recreation of the mind and thought. With
ordinary things to content us here, is to be even with others we envy
not their better things."

The width of the fountain at the base is . . G ft. 1 1 in.

Greatest width at water troughs, . . . 8 ft. 3 in.

Height from ground to top of do., . . . 2 ft. 3 in.

Do. to top of cornice, . . (> ft. 11^ in.

Height of dial and shaft from top of cornice, . 5 ft. 2 in.

Total height of fountain, . . . .12ft. liin.

The plan of the foundation is taken immediately above the water
troughs.

BALVAIRD CASTLE, FIFESHIRE.

Balvaird Castle, in Fifeshire, stands at the top of Glen Farg, on the
boundaries of Perthshire and Fifeshire, and from its lofty site it commands
a fine view over the valley of the Eden and the Lomonds of Fife. It is a
fifteenth-century keep, and presents a fine and rather advanced specimen
as regards its planning and arrangements. It is of the common L plan
(Fig. 287), but the entrance and staircase, instead of being inserted in
the thickness of the wall, have a special turret provided for them in the
re-entering angle. A wider and better staircase is thus obtained than
under the old plan of carrying the staircase up in the thickness of the
wall.

The ground floor is vaulted, and contains the usual stores, with sleep-
ing loft above. The joists of the sleeping loft, with an ashlar wall
supporting them, are still preserved. Descending from a wall chamber

THIRD PERIOD

336 -

BALVAIRD CASTLE

in the north-east corner of this entresol floor is the usual pit for prisoners.
The kitchen is on the ground floor in the wing.

FIG. 287. Balvaird Castle. Plan of Ground Floor.

The hall is on the first floor (Fig. 288), with private room adjoining,
in the wing. The fireplace is well preserved, and is a good specimen of
fifteenth-century work (Fig. 289). There are three large windows with
seats, and a fine ambry or sideboard (Fig. 289), ornamented with the
late Gothic carved work of the period, very similar to that at Borthwick,
and with the letters of the sacred monogram Jesu Maria.

BALVAIRD CASTLE

337

THIRD PERIOD

There is also a small wall chamber with its original door adjoining
the fireplace. The garde-robes are placed so that the flues all descend
together in one vent. The soil from the garde-robes fell into a small
chamber on the ground floor, and was removed by pulling out a move-
able stone at the ground level outside.

FIG. 288. Balvaird Castle. Plan of First Floor.

This circumstance of a stone being removeable from the castle wall,
and in communication with a flue, derives confirmation from the lines in
the ballad of " Edom o' Gordon," where the besieged matron cries from
the battlements to her traitorous servant, who seems to have shown the
besiegers how the keep might be set on fire :

" Wae worth, wae worth ye, Jock, ma man,

I paid ye weel your fee,
Why pu' ye out the grund-wa-stane,
Lets in th e reek to me ?

Wae worth, wae worth ye, Jock, ma man,

I paid ye weel your hire,
Why pu' ye out the grund-wa-stane,

To me lets in the fire ? "

and it explains the meaning of the twice-recurring line in the ballad,
"Why pu' ye out the grund-wa'-stane ?" as referring to a known move-
able stone with a specific name, the pulling out of which would give
access to the smoke from burning branches piled against the castle wall.
There is an unusual arrangement of stone spouts from the roof,

THIRD PERIOD

338

BALVAIRD CASTLE

whereby these garde-robes could be washed out with rain-water (sketch,
Fig. '288).

FIG. 289. Balvaird Castle. Fireplace, Anibry, etc.

This points to an improvement in civilisation, and, looking to the
elegance of the work, both external and internal, we must recognise in
this castle a great advancement in architecture. Here, as at Sauchie, we

BALVAIRD CASTLE 339 THIRD PERIOD

observe the change from the original and simply useful forms of the

machicolations and corbels to a more ornamental design (Figs. 290, 29),

THIRD PERIOD 340 BALVAIRD CASTLE

292). This shows the commencement of the change in the character-

^esi^

'>^P" ^^

,31

istics which distinguish this earlier period from the later amongst our

BALVAIRD CASTLE 341 THIRD PERIOD

Scotch towers. The watch-turret over the staircase (Fig. 290), and the

ornamental chimney copes, are also distinctive features. These and the
parapets are here in much better preservation than usual, and render

THIRD PERIOD

342

BALVAIRD CASTLE

FIG. 293. Balvaird Castle. Plan of Hoof.

this castle peculiarly interesting. Fig. 293 shows the complete arrange-
ments of the parapets and parapet walks for defence, and a small sketch
in Fig. 289 shows the ornamental finials with which the gables were
terminated.

There is a story above the hall with a timber floor, the beams of which

still remain, supported on stone corbels,
and hanging from the beams are the
remains of the bracketing of the pend-
ent plaster ceiling, while portions of the
ornamental plaster-work still remain on
the walls, or strew the floor. Of some
scattered parts of these sketches are
given (Fig. 289), showing by their style
that they belong to the date of the
later additions to the castle.

In the wing there are four stories
above the kitchen ; only the joists of
the second story now remain, their
under sides being beautifully carved
with rosettes in a hollow (Fig. 289).

In 156? considerable additions were
made to this castle. Another court

was formed containing stables and other offices, some of which still remain.
Opposite the gate of the outer court is the arched gateway to the inner
court or quadrangle, with the date of the work (1567) carved in a panel
above the arch (sketch, Fig. 289). There is a vaulted guard-room on one
side, and a series of apartments on the other. Over the entrance passage
is a large room, with access from the keep, said to have been the chapel.
There were also buildings on the west side of the quadrangle, but these
sixteenth-century erections are all greatly ruined, and their use can
scarcely be recognised. These additions would no doubt convert this
keep into a castle surrounding a courtyard ; but as the keep is so well
preserved, and is such a good specimen of its kind, we have thought it
better to disregard the subsequent additions, and class it along with the
keeps with wings.

An enclosure to the south has evidently been a pleasure garden, and
there is a large walled garden or orchard adjoining the castle on the
east, all pointing to the more peaceful and settled condition of the
country, and the amelioration of manners in the early days of Queen
Mary's reign.

Over the plain, full-centred arch of the entrance doorway to the
keep are the remains of several armorial bearings (Fig. 294). The arms
are supposed to be those of Margaret Barclay and her husband, Sir
Andrew Murray, and if this be the case, the building must be as old as

BALVAIRD CASTLE

343

THIRD PERIOD

/ ' W

the reign of James iv., 1487 till 1513. A recumbent statue lying in the

castle was brought from the old church of Arngask when the latter was

demolished, and it is supposed to

have been the monument of Lady

Margaret Barclay, who married Sir

Andrew Murray, youngest son of Sir

William Murray of Tulliebardine,

and who, as the surviving child of

James Barclay of Kippo, to whom

the barony of Balvaird and Arngask

previously belonged, brought with

her in marriage these baronies.

Baron Balvaird is a title in the
peerage of Scotland, conferred, 17th
November 1641, on the Reverend
Andrew Murray, minister of Abdie
from l6l 8, a second son of David
Murray of Balgonie, and Agnes
his wife, a daughter of Moncreiff
of Moncreiff. In 1631, on the death
of Sir David Murray of Gospertie,
first Viscount of Stormont, the
minister of Abdie succeeded to the
baronies of Arngask and Kippo.

He was knighted at the coronation
of Charles i. in Scotland, 1633,
and three years afterwards he had
a charter of the lands of Pitlochie.
In 1638 he was a member of the

General Assembly held at Glasgow, Fl - 294 Balvaird Castle. Entrance to Keep.

of which Henderson was Moderator, and for the part he took in affairs
he was favourably represented to the King by the Commissioner, the
Marquis of Hamilton, and in the same year he was deprived of Abdie by
the Church for his moderate views.

Charles afterwards raised him to the peerage, with the title of Lord
Balvaird, doubtless to the great contempt and hatred of his clerical
brethren, as he was prohibited by the Assembly from bearing improper
titles.

On the death of Viscount Stormont in 1642 Lord Balvaird succeeded
to the lands, lordship, and barony of Stormont, while the title of Viscount
Stormont went to the second Earl of Annandale. Lord Balvaird died on
24th September 1644. By his wife, Lady Elizabeth Carnegy, fifth
daughter of the Earl of Southesk, he had five sons and three daughters.
His eldest son, second Lord Balvaird, succeeded to the titles of Viscount

THIRD PERIOD

344

BALVAIRD CASTLE

Stormont and Lord Scone, and the title of Lord Balvaird became there-
after merged in that of Viscount Stormont.

BORTHWICK CASTLE, MIDLOTHIAN.

By far the finest of our castles built on the model of the keep is
Borthwick in Midlothian, about two and a half miles south-east of
Gorebridge. This keep, together with its courtyard and outworks, are
fortunately all in good preservation, and have been little added to or
altered (Fig. 295). The date of Borthwick Castle is known, as the licence
to build it was granted by James i., in 1430, to Sir William Borthwick,
afterwards Lord Borthwick. The site of this castle, like that of so many
others, is a tongue of land jutting out into the middle of a valley, at the
junction of two streams, towards which the ground slopes precipitously.

FIG. 295. Borthwick Castle. General Plan.

The general plan of the main block of the keep is, as usual, a
parallelogram, containing the great hall ; but in this case, instead of one
projecting wing to give additional accommodation, as in several instances
above referred to, there are two such projecting wings.

The outer walls enclose a courtyard of irregular form, about 240 feet
in length by 120 feet in average breadth. These walls stand at the top
of steep banks, at the bottom of which there is a ditch. The angles and
curtains are defended with towers and bastions, that flanking the gate-
way being circular, and of great strength ; it is 35 feet in diameter, and
the walls are 12 feet thick, leaving a chamber in the centre only
1 1 feet wide.

The gatehouse has had a drawbridge and outer gate, as well as a
portcullis in the inner archway.

BORTHWICK CASTLE

345

THIRD PERIOD

There is also a tower, or outhouse, at the south side of the courtyard,
built so as to strengthen that flank, which was probably occupied by part
of the garrison, or by the followers of visitors.

These towers, and some of the walls, contain large horizontal port-holes
for guns, which may in some instances have been insertions, but it is more
likely that the portions containing these embrasures are of later date. One
of the port-holes in the basement of the gate-tower is remarkable; it com-
mands the slope of the hill approaching the castle, and the port-hole,
instead of being built horizontally in the wall, as usual, is set at the same
angle as the side of the hill, so as to sweep the whole hillside (Fig. 296).

FIG. 296. Borthwick Castle. View from the South- West.

The north end of the courtyard has been cut off from the main court
by a wall, and probably contained the stables and other outbuildings.

To reach the entrance door of the keep from the gateway the visitor
had to pass round two sides of the keep and then to ascend a staircase

THIRD PERIOD 346 - BORTHWICK CASTLE

leading to the parapet of the outer wall, from which the keep was

FIG. 297. Borthwick Castle. Plans of First and Second Floors.

entered by a bridge on the level of the first floor. The bridge is now

BORTHWICK CASTLE

347

THIRD PERIOD

destroyed, but the stones wrought for the springing of the arch still
remain in the castle wall.

Beneath this is the doorway to the basement floor, which is a few
steps down from the court (see section D E, Fig. 300).

The main portion of the basement is divided into three store-rooms,
each with a single loop for light, and that next the entrance has a stair
to the first floor. In the south wing there is a draw-well (section, Fig.
299) and a separate stair to the first floor. In the north wing was the
dungeon (section C B, Fig. 300), apparently divided into two floors, with
a garde-robe entering off the upper floor, and a small ventilation opening
set high in the wall.

The apartments on the basement floor are all vaulted, and there was
a loft in the vault over each. In the case of the well room, the vault is
low, and there is an entresol room above (Fig. 299). The walls are 12
to 14 feet thick, and the only openings in the basement are small loops
for light and ventilation.

FIG. 298. Borthwick Castle. View of Chapel and of Basin in Screens.

On the first floor (Fig. 297) the whole of the main building is occupied
with the great hall, 50 feet 8 inches by 23 feet 6 inches. The main

THIRD PERIOD

348

BORTHWICK CASTLE

entrance from the bridge is protected by the guard-room in the thickness
of the wall. The stair from the basement also landed in this guard-
room, so that all communication, in or out, up or down, was well watched.
The kitchen occupies the north wing, and the private parlour the south
wing, on this floor.

The kitchen has an immense fireplace, with three windows opening
into it, and the usual stone sink and drain. There is a small pantry
between the kitchen and the hall, and at the north end of the hall there
has evidently been a passage cut off by a screen, as there is a window
provided in the east wall for lighting it. There is also a service window
from the kitchen into this passage, which in England would be called the
"screens." This is amongst the earliest examples of this arrangement,
which afterwards became a common feature. From the " screens " the
common stair in the north-east angle conducts to the upper flats and the
roof. Over the " screens " was no doubt situated the minstrels' gallery.

In the screens is a very handsome wash-hand basin (Fig. 298), with
carved and ornamental canopy, and drain to the outside. An ornamental
basin of this kind in the screens is a common feature in English halls,
but is not so common in Scotland.

PIG. 299. Borthwiek Castle. Transverse Section through Hall.

The hall is 29 feet high to the apex of its pointed barrel vault
(Figs. 299, 300), which has evidently been all open to the hall without
any loft in the vault.

BORTHWICK CASTLE

349

THIRD PERIOD

The windows are rather few and small. At the south end there is a
large and sculptured fireplace 9 feet wide (Fig. 301), with caps and cornice,
enriched with mouldings and ornaments of the period (Fig. 302), and a
lofty pointed hood ; there is also a sideboard, or seat, with enriched canopy

SICTWN C B V*-*/y " ' '""F- SECTION . T> . E.

FIG. 300. Borthwick Castle. Transverse and Longitudinal Sections.

of fifteenth-century work. A triangular-headed door leads from the hall
to the private parlour in the south wing, and the door has had a wooden
porch to shut off the stair-landing (see Plan of First Floor, Fig. 297).

There is a privy closet adjoining this parlour, the arrangements of
which show more attention to sanitary requirements than these old
builders often receive credit for.

The well being immediately below this room, it has been found
advisable not to carry down the flues from the garde-robes in the thick-
ness of the wall, or to discharge them to the exterior in the usual
manner, but to remove the materials in a special way so as to avoid
contamination ; instead of a flue from this privy closet, therefore, a
moveable receptacle was used. In the same way provision is made for
removing similar receptacles from the garde-robes in the floors above
this, by an aperture in the ceiling, through which they could be lowered
and carried away (see Plan).

The stair leading from the screens was no doubt the common stair
used by the domestics and soldiers ; it also gave access to the musicians'
gallery over the screens, and to a passage in the wall leading to another

THIRD PERIOD

350

BORTHWICK CASTLE

stair, communicating with the tier of rooms over the kitchen in the
north wing (except one, to be afterwards mentioned), and to the roof.
Another stair in the angle of the south wing and hall led to the upper
floors over the south wing, and also to the roof.

FIG. 301. Borthwick Castle. Interior of Hall.

There are three stories over the hall, the upper story only being
vaulted in order to carry the stone roof, the other floors being of wood.
The floor over the hall was occupied with the drawing-room and the
chapel. The former is well lighted and has a good fireplace, and com-
municates directly with a handsome room in the north wing (section C B,

BORTHWICK CASTLE

351

THIRD PERIOD

Fig. 300), with a hooded fireplace, which was evidently meant for a
principal or guest's bedroom or boudoir. This is the room which.,
as we noticed, the stair in the north wing passes but does not
communicate with. The section C B also shows the remarkable manner
in which the wall of this room, and the two rooms below it, are affected
by the slope of the inner wall of the kitchen chimney. The chapel was

FIG. 302. Berth wick Castle. Enrichments of Fireplace.

probably also used as a sitting-room, the oratory (Fig. 298) being confined
to the recess of the east window, in which are situated the piscina and
locker. The two upper floors were no doubt bedrooms, that in the loft
of the vault being probably used by the garrison who manned the roof.
The defences of the keep are, as usual, at the roof (Fig. 303). The
parapet is carried on bold corbels with open machicolations on all sides
except the east where
the parapet is continued
straight up from the face of
the wall. This is a subject
which has given rise to
some ingenious theories,
but although at first sight
somewhat puzzling, its ex-
planation is very simple
and natural.

This side of the keep
has been battered by artil-
lery, generally supposed to
have been by Cromwell in
1650, and it still bears dis-
tinct marks of such action.
The east parapet, with its
corbels and angle bartizans, were then destroyed, and, in restoring the
parapet, it has been carried up flush with the face of the wall. This
is quite evident on a careful examination on the spot. Parts of the
circular bartizans at the angles and some of the corbels, and the holes
where the others have been inserted all round, are still to be seen.

FIG. 303. Borthwick Castle. Plan of
Roof and Battlements.

THIRD PERIOD 352 BORTHWICK CASTLE

The stone gutters on the top of the walls are wide, and afford ample
space for the operations of a numerous garrison. Some traces are still
visible of the painting with which the vault of the great hall was
decorated, but they are fast disappearing.

AVONDALE CASTLE, LANARKSHIRE.

This building, now reduced to one round tower and fragments of the
walls, occupies a lofty isolated mound, with steep rocky slopes on all
sides, and nearly surrounded by the Powmillan Burn, a tributary of the
Avon.

The castle overlooks the town of Strathavon in Lanarkshire, about
seven miles south of Hamilton. The town is evidently a place of some
antiquity, and its ancient houses, its steep and narrow streets joined
with bridges over the burn, the whole surmounted with the ruins of the
castle, all combine to form a prospect more than usually picturesque.

Avondale Castle seems to have been built by Andrew Stewart, an
illegitimate grandson of the second Duke of Albany, who obtained the
barony in 1456, and became Lord Avondale in 1457.

FIG. 304. Avondale Castle. Plan.

The building has apparently been designed on the plan (Fig. 304) of
a parallelogram, with two towers at diagonally opposite corners. One of
these towers still remains at the north-west angle overlooking the town
(Fig. 305). It is circular on plan, and contains large port-holes for
guns, with the broad external splay usual in the end of the fifteenth
century.

A fragment of the cornice, which can still be traced on the small
surviving portion of the south wall of the main building (sketch, Fig.
304), is also characteristic of the fifteenth century.

A considerable part of the north wall exists, but it has been greatly
altered, and now contains few original features. The castle was occupied
till 1717 by the Duchess of Hamilton, whose memory is still lovingly
cherished by the people of Strathavon. After her Grace's death the

STRUTHERS CASTLE - 353 - THIRD PERIOD

valuable old furniture was dispersed, and the castle allowed to fall into

Fia. 305. Avondale Castle. View from the North-East.

ruin, a process which has evidently been greatly hastened by the hand
of man.

STRUTHERS CASTLE, FIFESHIRE.

Struthers Castle is situated about three miles south from Cupar in
Fife, and midway between Scotstarvet Tower and the ruins of Craighall.
Although formerly a place of great size and strength, and inhabited by
its noble owners till last century, it is now a mere fragmentary wreck.
Neither the strength of its walls nor the associations thrown over it by
the genius of Sir David Lindsay, have availed to save Struthers from
becoming a prey to the most ruthless spoliation, so that little more than
a bare outline of its plan is all that can now be traced. The main
portion has been of the L form (Fig. 306), with a wing projecting
eastwards from the centre of the eastern limb. The gable of this wing,
with the beginning of the return walls, is entire.

This gable is flanked by two huge buttresses (Fig 307), measuring
about 9 feet broad, tapering upwards, and rounded at the top by
corbelling, so as to support a turret. These are remarkable features, and

THIRD PERIOD

354

STRUTHERS CASTLE

they are of admirable design and workmanship. With the exception of
those on the north side of Bothwell Castle, shown in Figs. 77 and 78, we

FIG. 306. Struthers Castle. Plan.

cannot recall anything like them in any other Scotch building. They
resemble in their method of tapering the buttresses at the east end of
the Grey Friars' Church at Stirling, and other late
fifteenth or sixteenth century churches in Scotland.
Struthers is in all likelihood of that age. The
south gable of the southern limb of the L is also-
entire (Fig. 308), with part of the east return wall and
the base of a single buttress, which stands at right
angles to the gable, whereas the two above described
are built in continuation of the east gable. A con-
siderable portion of the west wall remains, with four
large lofty round-headed windows (Fig. 308). These
are insertions corresponding in style to the seven-
teenth-century work at Craighall House, above
mentioned as in the vicinity. At the west end of
the other limb are the remains of a circular vault,
and standing clear and detached is another buttress,
about 7 feet 4 inches square, and about 20 feet high.
Adjoining this is the well. The foundations of
walls extending westwards and southwards from
this can still be made out, evidently enclosing a
FIG. 307. Struthers Castle, courtyard (as shown on Plan), with an oblong build-
Buttress of East Gable. - ng t() the ^^ indicated in outline.

The total length of the buildings from east to west, over the walls, is
about 146 feet, by 87 feet from north to south, each range of buildings

STONEYPATH TOWER

355

THIRD PERIOD

having a width of about 28 feet, and varying from four to five stories in
height.

Struthers was the Fifeshire residence of the Lords Lindsay of the
Byres, a branch of the Lindsays who ultimately succeeded to the Craw-
ford peerage. But probably the place is now best known in connection
with Sir David Lindsay of the Mount, who, as a scion of a younger
branch of the Byres family, was a frequent visitor at Struthers, where he
enjoyed the congenial company of " Squyre Meldrum," who in his later
years acted as steward or mareschal to Lord Lindsay, and whose stirring
adventures by sea and land are the theme of Sir David's most amusing
poem, "The Historic of Squyer Meldrum."

FIG. 308. Struthers Castle. View from the South-West.

In the beginning of the year 1651 Charles n. spent two days at
Struthers, and two years afterwards the place was occupied by the soldiers
of Cromwell.

According to Sir Robert Sibbald, " Struthers, or Ochterother Struther,"
is so called from the morasses round it, and Sir Robert mentions it as
" a large old house, with gardens, great orchards, and vast enclosures and
planting."

STONEYPATH TOWER, HADDINGTONSHIRE.

This interesting specimen of an L tower exists in a wofully dilapi-
dated state about two miles up the Papana Water from Whittingham
Tower, and near to what was the Nunnery of Nunraw, now converted
into a modern mansion-house. The situation of Stoneypath, in a little-
frequented glen, is very fine ; it stands on the edge of a high and steep

THIRD PERIOD

356

STONEYPATH TOWER

bank rising up from the wooded dell through which flows the Papana
Burn, and as seen from the bed of the stream the tower forms a striking
object. The main block measures over the walls 44 feet by 31 feet, the
projection being 27 feet by 19 feet. It contains a central vault (section,
Fig. 309), which supports the floor of the hall, 19 feet high. The space
under this vault is as usual divided with an intermediate floor. The

FIG. 309. Stoneypath Tower. Plans, Section, and View.

tower was also vaulted at the roof, and between this vault and the hall
floor it contained two full floors, and one floor in the vault. The entrance
was at the south side, at the level of the upper floor, under the central
vault, and about six or eight feet above the ground. From this floor
access was gained to the circular staircase at the north side, which led
down to the basement floor and up to the top. The total height to the
top of the staircase is about 60 feet above the ground floor. The posi-
tion of this staircase on the plan is peculiar. Frequently the staircase is
a square structure projected in the re-entering angle, of which arrange-
ment several examples have been given. But at Stoneypath the stair
turret is as it were folded over, and placed inside the re-entering angle.
In the small apartment at the north-west corner of the basement floor,
in the thickness of the wall, was, we understand, the well, now heaped
full of ruins ; but we are informed that it existed in the memory of
persons now living. The room in the wing at the north-east corner is
low and vaulted, and lighted by a narrow window, which goes up in the
thickness of the wall to a considerable height above the ceiling, so that
it resembles a chimney flue. This was probably used as a dungeon.
The hall floor is very ruinous, but for such a small tower the hall has

FEDERATE CASTLE 357 THIRD PERIOD

been well finished, having been lighted with lofty arched windows, pro-
vided with stone seats, and one of them having an ambry above the seat
with an O.G. arched lintel. The ruinous fireplace at the east end is very
remarkable. It has measured about 9 feet 6 inches by 7 feet 6 inches,
having a flat arched opening to the hall. This fireplace seems to have
been contrived "a double debt to pay/' being at once the hall fireplace
and the kitchen. It has the usual stone sink and drain to the outside,
and is lighted by a small high window. The small apartment about 7
feet 6 inches square adjoining probably entered off the fireplace, and may
have been used as a part of the kitchen. The turret roof, built with
stone, on the top of the staircase still exists, but it is in a very threaten-
ing condition, and unless some repairs are made on it, it will soon fall
to the ground. It is a picturesque structure of a lofty bee-hive shape,
unlike that of any other tower known to us. There is a projecting
garde-robe from the upper floor at the west end, and remains of a
circular corbelled turret at the north-east corner.

The name of John Lyle of Stoneypath occurs as early as 1446 in a
charter by James ir. to Robert de Lyle of Duchal, and on a shield near
the south-west, corner of the tower what seems to be the Lyle arms
are scratched rather than carved. The arms are fretty of six pieces.
At a later time the tower belonged to the Douglas family. The build-
ing probably belongs to the early part of the sixteenth century, but there
are no features to enable its age to be accurately determined.

FEDERATE CASTLE, ABERDEENSHIRE.

Federate Castle is situated within two miles of New Deer. It now
stands amidst corn-fields, but in the days of its strength it was surrounded
with a morass and a fosse. The castle was reached by a causeway and
drawbridge, traces of which were visible when the first Statistical Account
was written. What remains is a building of the L plan (Fig. 310),
with rounded corners, measuring 58 feet 8 inches by 44 feet, with walls
7 feet and 8 feet thick. The castle has the appearance of having been
crashed right through diagonally, as if by heavy artillery (Fig. 311); and
it is said to have been besieged by King William's troops when held by
some of the partisans of James n., who fled thither after the battle of
Killiecrankie. But it also appears, from a note in Dr. Pratt's Guide to
Buchan, inserted after his account of Federate was written, that a great
part of the ruin was caused by an attempt to blow up the castle with
gunpowder, the result being that the area floor and part of the first floor
lie buried in ruins.

The ground floor and first floor were vaulted, and there seem alto-
gether to have been four floors, although Dr. Pratt mentions that it was
six or seven stories high. Above the hall there is a set-off all round, as

THIRD PERIOD

358

FEDERATE CASTLE

seen in the view (Fig. 311). The entrance is not in the usual place, viz.,
the re-entering angle, but in the west wall, almost below the wide window

FIG. 310. Federate Castle. Plans.

shown on the plan. It led directly into the kitchen, and a circular stair

on the left hand gave access to the upper rooms.

The first floor, which is the one
shown on the plan, contained two
apartments the hall, 29 feet by
1 8 feet 6 inches, by 1 7 feet or 1 8 feet
high, being one, and the private
room in the wing the other. On
the first and second floors, in the
thickness of the walls, are numerous
wall closets and garde-robes.

There seems to be no definite
information ,as to the date of the
erection of this castle.

The property of Federate was
possessed by the Crawfords in the
end of the thirteenth and the be-

ginning of the fourteenth centuries, and, judging from its style, it was

probably erected about the end of the fifteenth century.

The keep towers of the Third Period which we have above described
are detached buildings standing alone or surrounded with their enclosing
walls. We shall now proceed to the consideration of castles of which
similar keeps have formed the nucleus, but which have been enlarged and
extended so as to become castles with buildings surrounding a courtyard.

FIG. 3ii. Federate Castle.

EDZELL CASTLE - 359 - THIRD PERIOD

THIRD PERIOD KEEPS ENLARGED IN VARIOUS WAYS
BY ADDITIONS.

The keeps of this period, like those of the previous century, were
frequently added to and enlarged. This was generally done by erecting
buildings round the courtyard, so as to convert the keep into a castle
surrounding a quadrangle, as at Edzell, Balgonie, etc. Sometimes
detached buildings were added, and only connected with the keep by
means of a drawbridge or otherwise, as in the case of Ruthven Castle and
Dean Castle. The keeps were also sometimes so enlarged by additions
made to the keep itself as to convert it into an enlarged mansion, as at
Fallside. We shall now give some examples of the various methods
adopted for utilising the keep in connection with buildings of a later
period.

First, KEEPS ENLARGED INTO CASTLES SURROUNDING
A COURTYARD.

EDZELL CASTLE, FORFARSHIRE.

This castle, the seat of the Lindsays, Earls of Crawford, was the
most extensive baronial residence in Forfarshire. It is situated near
the West Water, at the point where the plain of Forfarshire terminates,
and the hills begin to rise. The castle is of considerable extent, and
comprises an original fifteenth-century keep, which was enlarged in the
sixteenth century into a castle built round a quadrangle, and at the same
date a large pleasure garden was enclosed with a remarkable and
highly ornamental wall, with a garden-house and bath-house attached.
The oldest part of the edifice is the keep (Fig. 312), situated at the
south-west angle of the principal courtyard, and called the " Stir-
ling Tower," from the family through whom the estate came to the
Lindsays by marriage in the middle of the fourteenth century. The
keep probably dates from the latter half of the fifteenth century. The
shape of the port-holes for guns, the projection for the comparatively
wide staircase (breaking the simple square form), and the design of the
corbels under the parapet (Fig. 313), are features which point to that
date. The corbels are specially worthy of note. This is a striking and
early instance of corbels used purely for ornament. There are two tiers
of apparent corbels in the cornice under the parapet, but the lower tier
is entirely useless. In the older corbelling there were sometimes several
tiers of corbels, but they were always one above the other, the upper
ones being supported by those below. But here the corbels are placed, not
over one another, but alternately, so as to produce a chequered effect,

THIRD PERIOD

360

EDZELL CASTLE

the result being that the upper corbels (which project only the same
distance as the lower ones) are alone useful in carrying the parapet. The

i .

8 .

lower tier of corbels carries nothing, and simply forms an ornament or
enrichment.

This is a form of corbelling which was introduced about the end of

EDZELL CASTLE

THIRD PERIOD

362

EDZELL CASTLE

the fifteenth century, when the primitive,, simple features of the earlier
style began to yield to the growing taste for ornament. Numerous
examples of this form of enrichment are to be met with in all parts of the
country. As we shall afterwards see, the degradation of the corbel into
mere ornament was gradually pushed to such an extent that at last the
purpose of the corbel was entirely lost to view, and it became a mere
chequer ornament.

FIG. 314. Edzell Castle. Plan of First Floor.

There is nothing very special in the arrangements of the keep.

There are two cellars on the ground floor, one with the usual private
stair from the hall. The hall occupies the first floor (Fig. 314), and has
an elegant little vaulted private room in the north-west angle. The
upper stories appear to have had the usual arrangements, but the floors
are now gone.

In connection with this simple keep a very extensive quadrangle was
erected by David, ninth Earl of Crawford, at the end of the sixteenth

EDZELL CASTLE - 363 THIRD PERIOD

century. The buildings 011 the west side of the quadrangle are still
fairly preserved ; those on the north side are very much ruined, while on
the east and south sides they have, with the exception of the outer wall,
been entirely removed (Fig. 312).

The west range contains, on the ground floor, a kitchen, an arched
passage forming the principal entrance into the courtyard, and various
cellars and stores. On the north side we find traces of a most extensive
kitchen, the fireplace having apparently been 23 feet wide by 10 feet
deep. From this fireplace there is an access to a large oven, and in the
kitchen a drain to the outside. The other buildings no doubt contained
the bakehouse, the brewery, etc., while the stables and other offices were
probably on the other sides of the courtyard. On the first floor the
buildings in the quadrangle contained the great hall, 50 feet by 24 feet,
at the north-west angle, and adjoining it, in the west range, were apart-
ments which seem