Ballumbie facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ballumbie |
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 Ballumbie
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| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
Ballumbie is a neighborhood located on the northeast side of Dundee, Scotland. It used to be a large piece of land with a main building, which was first Ballumbie Castle. This castle was a strong building from the mid-1500s. Later, in the 1800s, a new house called Ballumbie House was built.
Today, Ballumbie also has a golf course. This golf course is partly surrounded by an old stone wall. There is also a spot where a very old church from the Middle Ages used to be. The castle and the house are actually just outside Dundee city, in an area called Angus.
Ballumbie Castle: A Historic Scottish Stronghold
Ballumbie Castle was built by the Lovell family. Experts believe it was built around the 15th or 16th century.
The castle was a large, rectangular area, about 21 meters (69 feet) on each side. It had round towers at its corners. From the castle, you could look out over a stream called the Fithie Burn.
In the early 1600s, the castle became owned by the Maule family. This family later became important noblemen called the Earls of Panmure. By 1682, parts of the castle were already falling apart. However, some of its eastern and southern walls were later used to build the stables for Ballumbie House.
Today, Ballumbie Castle is a ruin once again. It is privately owned, and for safety reasons, people are not allowed to go past the security fences.
The land around Ballumbie Castle is known as the Ballumbie Castle Estate. This estate is separate from other lands simply called Ballumbie. Because of this, there are two different "Lairds" (Scottish landowners): a Laird of Ballumbie Castle and a Laird of Ballumbie.
Ballumbie House: From Mansion to Modern Homes
In 1810, Ballumbie House was built right next to the old castle. It was a two-story house built in a classical style. It had an ice house (a place to store ice) and stables. There was even a pond with flamingos! The house was built using some of the remaining parts of Ballumbie Castle.
By 1902, a merchant named Alexander Gilroy owned the house. He hired an architect named James Findlay to make changes. The house was updated in a style that mixed Arts and Crafts with traditional Scottish castle design (called Scottish Baronial).
From 1965 to 1981, Ballumbie House was used as a hotel. But in 1982, a fire badly damaged the building, leaving it without a roof. For more than 20 years, it was just an empty shell.
However, the house was eventually rebuilt into modern apartments. Also, about 230 new houses were built in the large grounds around it.
Ballumbie Parish Church: Uncovering Ancient History
The Ballumbie parish church was first mentioned in records around 1470. It was last talked about about a hundred years later. For a long time, no one knew exactly where it was located.
In 2006, a company called SUAT Ltd did some digging before new houses were built. They found graves and the remains of a stone building. The digging showed a simple rectangular stone building, about 14 by 4 meters (46 by 13 feet). There were graves both inside the building and in a graveyard outside.
A small chapel or "laird's aisle" was attached to the southeast side. This smaller room was about 4 meters (13 feet) square. These chapels allowed the laird (landowner) and his family to be buried separately from other people. At Ballumbie, the Lovell family were likely the lairds at that time.
The Lovell family were the feudal owners of Ballumbie in the 1100s. They might have been part of a plan by King David I to bring new Norman overlords to the area. Their old castle is about half a mile from the church, which they might have built.
The excavations also uncovered something even older: a Christian long cist cemetery. This ancient burial ground was underneath the medieval church buildings. It contained the remains of several adults and children.
