Aberdour Castle

About

Aberdour Castle is in the village of Easter Aberdour, Fife, Scotland. Parts of the castle date from around 1200, making Aberdour one of the two oldest datable standing castles in Scotland, along with Castle Sween in Argyll, which was built at around the same time. The earliest part of the castle was a modest hall house, on a site overlooking the Dour Burn. Over the next 400 years, the castle was successively expanded according to contemporary architectural ideas. The hall house became a tower house in the 15th century, and was extended twice in the 16th century. The final addition was made around 1635, with refined Renaissance details, and the whole was complemented by a walled garden to the east and terraced gardens to the south. The terraces, dating from the mid-16th century, form one of the oldest gardens in Scotland, and offer extensive views across the Firth of Forth to Edinburgh. The castle is largely the creation of the Douglas Earls of Morton, who held Aberdour from the 14th century. The earls used Aberdour as a second home until 1642, when their primary residence, Dalkeith House, was sold. A fire in the late 17th century was followed by some repairs, but in 1725 the family purchased nearby Aberdour House, and the medieval castle was allowed to fall into decay. Today, only the 17th-century wing remains roofed, while the tower has mostly collapsed. Aberdour Castle is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland, and is open to the public all year.

The barony of Aberdour was acquired in 1126, by Sir Alan de Mortimer, on his marriage to Anicea, daughter of Sir John de Vipont. Sir Alan built St Fillan's Church, which still stands, next to the castle, in around 1140, and his family probably built the original hall house in around 1200, or possibly even earlier. In 1216, another Alan de Mortimer is recorded granting land to the monks of Inchcolm Abbey. There is no record of what happened to the de Mortimers, but in the early 14th century, King Robert the Bruce granted Aberdour to his kinsman, Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray (d. 1332). Moray's grandson granted the barony in turn to Sir William Douglas of Liddesdale (c. 1300–1353), in 1342. In 1351, Sir William Douglas gave the lands of Aberdour to his nephew, Sir James Douglas of Dalkeith, although he retained the castle for himself until his death two years later. The grant was confirmed by King David II in 1361. In 1386 Aberdour and Dalkeith were combined to form a single barony, with the principal seat at Dalkeith, near Edinburgh, and Aberdour as a secondary residence. James, fourth Lord Dalkeith, succeeded to the joint barony in 1456, and was created Earl of Morton in 1458, prior to his marriage to Joanna, the deaf-mute daughter of James I. The newly created earl expanded the existing hall house, heightening and rebuilding the structure to suit his elevated status. The second earl carried out extensions to Aberdour Castle around 1500, building a new stair tower and south block.

In 1538 James V summoned the 3rd Earl of Morton before the Privy Council, accusing him of non-payment of his feudal dues, and in 1540 he banished the Earl to Inverness. Morton reached Brechin, in Angus, where he signed a deed resigning his lands to his kinsman Robert Douglas of Lochleven. Lochleven was compelled to resign the lands in turn to James V, although he was permitted to keep Aberdour Castle. After James V's death in December 1542, George Douglas of Pittendreich and the Earl of Arran assisted Morton in reclaiming his lands, including Aberdour. In return their sons were to marry two of Morton's three daughters. Pittendreich's son James (1525–1581) married the heiress, Elizabeth, and succeeded, in 1553, as 4th Earl of Morton. Regent Arran pledged his some of his silverware with Morton for a loan, and it was taken to Aberdour for safekeeping. Aberdour Castle was reserved to Morton's mother-in-law, Katherine Stewart, dowager Countess of Morton, until 1564. During the war with England known as the Rough Wooing, she was authorised to keep a garrison at Aberdour and her men were exempted from other service in February 1549. Morton went to law against her in 1553 over the lands of Aberdour. She had tried to hold a tenantry court at Aberdour, and Morton objected on the grounds that women who held lands in "conjunct-fee" had never held courts. In 1564, Mary, Queen of Scots, confirmed Morton's right to the whole barony of Dalkeith and Aberdour. In 1566, Morton was involved in planning a rebellion against the Queen, which resulted in the murder of Queen Mary's secretary, David Riccio, but failed to gain further momentum, and Morton was forced to flee to England. However, by the end of the year he had returned, and by July the following year, Mary was imprisoned and had been forced to abdicate by the Scottish noblemen. Morton was appointed Regent of Scotland, for the child King James VI in 1572. Morton undertook extensions to the castle in the 1570s, rebuilding the south block of c. 1500, and extending it further south to form the present central range. He also drew inspiration from contemporary gardens in England, such as Hampton Court, in laying out the terraced gardens. The Privy Council met at Aberdour Castle in August 1576, but Morton's regency came to an end in 1578. He was later implicated in the 1567 murder of Queen Mary's husband, Lord Darnley, and executed in 1581 on the orders of the young King. While Morton was in prison, his lands were given to his nephew, Archibald Douglas, 8th Earl of Angus, but were granted to the Earl of Lennox after Morton's execution. In 1587, Lennox returned the Morton lands to Angus, who was now acknowledged as the 5th Earl of Morton. On Angus' death, in 1588, the earldom of Morton passed to another kinsman, William Douglas of Lochleven (d. 1606). William's son predeceased his father, but his widow, Jean Lyon, continued to live at Aberdour with her third husband, Lord Spynie. James VI and Anne of Denmark stayed for five days with Lord Spynie in December 1590. Colonel William Stewart and Sir James Sandilands accused Spynie of entertaining the rebel Earl of Bothwell at Aberdour in 1592 but he denied this.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.