Dirleton Castle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dirleton Castle |
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| Dirleton, East Lothian, Scotland grid reference NT 51824 83959 |
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The 13th-century keep
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 Dirleton Castle
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| Coordinates | 56°03′N 2°47′W / 56.05°N 2.78°W |
| Type | Castle of enceinte |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Historic Environment Scotland |
| Open to the public |
Yes |
| Condition | Ruined |
| Site history | |
| Built | Early 13th century |
| Built by | John de Vaux |
| In use | Until 1650 |
| Materials | Stone |
Dirleton Castle is an old medieval fortress in the village of Dirleton, East Lothian, Scotland. It's about 2 miles (3 km) west of North Berwick and 19 miles (30 km) east of Edinburgh. The oldest parts of the castle were built in the 1200s. People stopped living there by the end of the 1600s.
A man named John De Vaux started building the castle around 1240. It was badly damaged during the Wars of Scottish Independence, when the English captured it twice. In the 1300s, the Haliburton family fixed Dirleton. Then, in 1505, the Ruthven family took over. The Ruthvens were involved in several plots against Mary, Queen of Scots and King James VI. Because of this, they lost the castle in 1600.
Dirleton Castle was no longer a home after that. However, Oliver Cromwell had to attack it in 1650 during the Third English Civil War. He needed to get rid of a group of "mosstroopers" (people who raided and stole things) hiding inside. After being damaged, the castle was bought by John Nisbet, Lord Dirleton. He decided to build a new house nearby. The Nisbet family kept looking after the castle's gardens. In 1923, they gave Dirleton to the state. Today, Historic Environment Scotland looks after the castle ruins and its beautiful gardens.
Dirleton Castle sits on a rocky hill. It's in the middle of rich farming land and helped guard the coast towards Edinburgh from England. The castle ruins include a keep from the 1200s and a house built by the Ruthvens in the 1500s. Only the lower parts of the 1300s and 1400s additions by the Haliburtons remain. These included a large hall and a tower house. Other buildings inside the castle walls have been pulled down. Around the castle are gardens. They might have been started in the 1500s, but most of the plants you see today are from the 1900s. The garden walls also surround a 1500s doocot, which is a pigeon house.
Contents
Castle History: Who Owned Dirleton?
The de Vaux Family Builds the Castle
The de Vaux family came from France and moved to England after the Norman Conquest in 1066. In the 1100s, two de Vaux brothers were invited to Scotland by King David I of Scotland. They were given land. John de Vaux received the land of Dirleton. He built two earlier castles, but they don't exist anymore.
In the 1220s, another John de Vaux started building a new stone castle at Dirleton. This castle was mentioned in records in 1225. In 1239, John de Vaux became a steward for Marie de Coucy, who married King Alexander II. Marie's father had built a large castle in France called the Château de Coucy. Dirleton Castle's design was probably inspired by this French castle. The stone castle, with its strong keep, showed how important the de Vaux family was. Building it took a long time and needed peaceful times.
Peace didn't last forever. In 1296, the Wars of Scottish Independence began. Dirleton Castle was important because it guarded the way between Edinburgh and the English border. So, it was captured by both sides many times. In 1298, English forces led by Bishop Antony Bek attacked the castle. Dirleton held out for months. But after the English won the Battle of Falkirk, they brought big siege engines. The castle was soon taken.
The English kept soldiers at Dirleton. But the Scots must have taken it back before 1306, when the English captured it again. Finally, the Scots took it back before 1314. They then deliberately damaged the castle to stop the English from using it again.
The Haliburton Family Repairs and Expands
Dirleton Castle and its lands went to the Haliburton family when John Haliburton married the de Vaux family's heiress around 1350. By 1363, the castle had been repaired. In the 1420s, Sir Walter Haliburton helped get King James I released from being held captive by the English. For this, he was made Treasurer of Scotland in 1439.
The Haliburtons did a lot of work on Dirleton Castle. They made the original towers taller and built a new gatehouse. In the 1400s, they added a large hall and a tower house to the east side of the castle.
King James IV visited Dirleton in 1505. He gave money to the builders working on the north-east part of the castle. Later that year, Patrick, the last Haliburton of Dirleton, died. His lands were divided among his three daughters.
The Ruthven Family and Royal Plots
The eldest daughter, Janet, married William Ruthven, 2nd Lord Ruthven in 1515. This meant Dirleton Castle and its lands went to the Ruthven family. Their son, Patrick Ruthven, 3rd Lord Ruthven, was one of the leaders of the group who killed David Riccio, who was Queen Mary, Queen of Scots's private secretary, in 1566. Patrick had to escape to England, where he died.
His son, William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie, became the Earl of Gowrie in 1581. Lord Gowrie led a plot called the Raid of Ruthven in 1582. In this plot, the 16-year-old King James VI was captured. Ruthven then ruled in the king's name while James was held. Even though Gowrie was forgiven later, he was executed in 1584 for another plot. His lands, including Dirleton, were taken by the crown. Lord Gowrie loved trees and is thought to have planned the gardens at Dirleton.
After the plot failed, Lord Gowrie's widow, Dorothea Stewart, was told to give up Dirleton and other castles to the king. King James VI then gave Dirleton to the Earl of Arran. The Earl entertained the King there for twelve days in 1585. The castle was given back to Dorothea Stewart in 1586. By 1600, it belonged to her second son, John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie.
Dirleton Castle is part of the story of the “Gowrie Conspiracy” of 1600. Many people have thought that the castle was taken from the Ruthvens and given to Thomas Erskine as a reward. This was for helping King James VI in the killing of John, 3rd Earl of Gowrie, and his brother Alexander. The King said that he and his men went to Gowrie House because Alexander invited him. But, the King claimed, the two brothers tried to kill him, and in the fight, the Ruthvens were killed.
Many people doubted the King's story. They believed James went to Gowrie House to kill John and Alexander. This was partly because the King owed the Earl of Gowrie a lot of money. Also, there was a rumor that Gowrie was a grandson of James IV, which could have put him in line for the throne before James VI. After the killings, the King divided the Gowrie lands among the men who were with him. Erskine received Dirleton Castle in November 1600. Some saw this as a payment for his help. Erskine was later made Baron Erskine of Dirletowne in 1604.
Erskine sold the castle in 1625. It was sold a few more times, eventually to James Maxwell in 1631. He became the Earl of Dirletoun in 1646.
Cromwell's Attack and the Castle's Decline
Oliver Cromwell's army invaded Scotland in 1650. They defeated the Scottish Royalists at Dunbar. Cromwell then controlled southern Scotland. But groups of Royalist "moss-troopers" kept attacking English supply lines. One such group was based at Dirleton. Cromwell ordered his generals, Monck and Lambert, to capture the castle. They did this on November 10, using mortars to destroy the drawbridge and inner gate. The leader of the moss-troopers was executed.
The castle was damaged again on purpose to stop it from being used. It was briefly used as a hospital, but then it was left to fall apart.
The Nisbet Family and Modern Care
The lawyer John Nisbet, Lord Dirleton bought Dirleton Castle and its lands in 1663. Nisbet, who became a judge, built a new house nearby at Archerfield. The Nisbet family kept looking after the gardens around the castle. They even added a bowling green. In the 1800s, new garden walls were added by Mary Nisbet, Lady Elgin, to make Dirleton village more beautiful.
In the mid-1800s, two new flower gardens were designed. While they don't exist today, the west garden was restored in 1993 using old plans. The north garden was changed in the 1920s to an Arts and Crafts style garden with long flower beds. Also in the 1920s, the castle was given to the state. Now, Historic Environment Scotland, a Scottish Government agency, looks after it.
The castle and its grounds are protected as an important historical site. The gardens are also listed on the national register of historic gardens. The castle, doocot, and walls are all highly protected as important historic buildings in Scotland.
What Dirleton Castle Looks Like
Ground floor: A Kitchen. B Well. C Postern. D Inner courtyard. E Guard rooms. F Entrance passage. G Cellars. H Ovens. I Former postern. J Prison, with pit below. K Courtyard. L Demolished ranges. M Bases of demolished 13th-century towers.
First floor: N Lord's hall. O Lord's bedchamber. P Dining room. Q Chapel. R Priest's chamber.
Second floor: S Gun emplacement on roof. T Murder hole. U Kitchen. V Kitchen fireplaces. W Buffet. X Great hall. Y Lord's chamber, base of tower house.
The castle is built on a natural rocky hill, looking over the farmland of East Lothian. It has a courtyard shaped like a kite, about 130 feet (40 meters) by 89 feet (27 meters). Buildings stand on the south and east sides. The most complete parts are the Ruthven Lodging, the gatehouse, and the de Vaux keep to the south. Only the basement of the east side remains. Parts of the north and west outer walls show where the courtyard used to be. The castle was first entered from the south, over a bridge and a 11-foot (3.4-meter) drawbridge, across a 49-foot (15-meter) wide ditch.
The Keep: The Oldest Part
The keep, or main tower, is mostly still standing from the 1200s. It's in the south-west part of the castle. It's made of a large round tower to the south, a smaller round tower to the west, and a square tower joining them. The walls are made of smooth, cut stone blocks. Inside, it's hard to know exactly what every room was used for. The round towers might have been private rooms for the Lord and Lady.
The large tower has a six-sided room on the ground floor, perhaps a kitchen. Above it is a seven-sided main room. This room has a pointed ceiling, window seats, and a carved fireplace. To the east is a small side door, and beyond it, a well. Next to the well is a floor opening. This allowed food to be sent straight from the kitchen to a serving area above. A room in the square tower, possibly the lord's bedroom, had holes in the ceiling for smoke from fires to escape. The more ruined west tower probably had another hall. In the 1600s, the top of the main round tower was made lower and changed into a platform for cannons.
Only small parts of the rest of the 1200s castle remain. Dirleton is the earliest castle in Scotland with round towers that stick out beyond the main wall. This new design was later used in other Scottish castles like Bothwell and Kildrummy.
The East Side and Gatehouse
The gatehouse, kitchens, and east side were built by the Haliburtons in the 1300s and 1400s. The gatehouse, built in the 1300s, is similar to the one at nearby Tantallon Castle. It has a tall, pointed arch at the front. The gate was protected by a drawbridge, a heavy metal gate called a portcullis, and three sets of doors. Guard rooms are off the entrance passage. A round hole in the roof, called a "murder hole," let defenders drop things on any attackers who got past the first gate.
The large kitchens are in the south-east corner of the castle. The main kitchen is 30 feet (9 meters) high. It has two 13-foot (4-meter) wide fireplaces for cooking. A round opening in the ceiling let smoke out. Openings in the floor lead to a well (38 feet or 11.5 meters deep) and storage rooms below. A passage next to the kitchen connected it to the hall on the east side.
The east side of the castle runs along its entire eastern length. It originally had a large hall and a square tower house at the north-east corner. Only the basement remains today. But this part was once one of the best noble homes in Scotland. It would have been similar to buildings at Doune Castle. The basement is a single arched space, with low walls dividing it into storage areas. Two large ovens and a well are at the south end. At the east is the 1200s side door, which was blocked up and used as a fireplace.
At the north end of the basement is a vaulted prison for free people. Below this is a 10-foot (3-meter) square pit carved into the rock for peasant prisoners. Above the prison, but still in the basement, is a vaulted chapel. It has special areas for church ceremonies. A private room for the priest is next door. The hall above was 72 feet (22 meters) by 25 feet (7.5 meters). It once had a tall wooden roof and a minstrel's gallery at the south end. A beautifully carved stone cupboard was on this wall, part of the serving area next to the kitchen. At the north-east corner, a tower house provided rooms for the Lord's family and guests. Only the lowest floor remains, above the chapel. This was probably a private room for the Lord, connected to the hall.
The Ruthven Lodging: A Later Home
The Ruthven Lodging was built by the Ruthvens after they got the castle around 1515. It was the last part of Dirleton to be built. In the late 1500s, it was the main home of Lady Dorothea, wife of the first Earl of Gowrie, and their 15 children. This three-story building is made of rough stone, but it has decorative horizontal lines along the walls. The large windows had iron grilles and small gun holes for protection.
The rectangular Lodging is just north of the de Vaux building. A narrow, uneven courtyard separates them. You can enter this courtyard through a passage on the ground floor of the Lodging. The rest of the ground floor had cellars. Family rooms and bedrooms were on the upper floors. The dining room on the first floor had patterned floor tiles. It might have even had a painted wooden ceiling.
The Castle Gardens
The castle is surrounded by large gardens, enclosed by a wall from the 1800s. The gardens were first designed in the 1500s, but they have changed a lot over time. There's a bowling green to the west of the castle, surrounded by yew trees. These trees might have once formed a hedge around a formal garden. West of the bowling green is a flower garden. It was designed in 1993 based on 1700s plans. It has yew, cedar, monkey puzzle, and Lawson's cypress trees.
To the north is the 1920s Arts and Crafts garden. It has a 705-foot (215-meter) long herbaceous border (a long bed of flowers and plants). This border is recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the longest in the world! A castle-like summer house from the 1800s overlooks it. The rest of the gardens are lawns with many old, large trees. These include redwood, beech, and sycamore trees.
There's a well-preserved 1500s beehive-shaped doocot, or pigeon house, in the castle grounds. The doocot is 25 feet (7.6 meters) high. It has about 1000 nesting boxes for pigeons. Pigeons were an important source of food for the people living in the castle. To the north-east, outside the castle gardens, is a 1500s gateway. It used to serve the castle but now leads to the nearby farm.
Images for kids
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Arms of the de Vaux family, who built Dirleton Castle.
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