Dudhope Castle facts for kids
Dudhope Castle is an old and interesting building in Dundee, Scotland. It's a type of castle called a tower house. You can find it on the south side of Dundee Law, a famous hill in Dundee. This castle has a long history, going back many centuries!
History of Dudhope Castle
Building and Early Owners
Dudhope Castle was first built in the late 1200s. It was started by a family called the Scrymgeours. The first castle was a smaller tower house. Around 1460, a new, bigger castle was built in its place.
In April 1540, King James V visited the castle. The castle was made even bigger in 1580. This was for James Scrimgeour and Magdalen Livingstone. It became an L-shaped building with round towers. These round towers were later taken down in the 1700s.
In 1668, John Scrimgeour, who was the 13th Constable of Dundee and the first Earl of Dundee, passed away. A Constable was like a chief officer for the town. King Charles II then gave Dudhope Castle to Charles Maitland.
Later, Charles Maitland had money problems. So, in 1684, he sold Dudhope Castle. The new owner was John Graham of Claverhouse. Many people knew him as "Bonnie Dundee." He was a famous Scottish soldier. It was from Dudhope Castle that he left for the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689. He won the battle, but he also died there.
In 1694, the King gave Dudhope Castle to Archibald Douglas. The Douglas family lived in the castle until about 1790. The Scrymgeour family had owned the castle for about 370 years!
Different Uses of the Castle
In 1792, someone tried to rent the castle. They wanted to turn it into a factory for wool. But this plan never happened.
In 1795, the castle grounds were rented to the Board of Ordnance. This group used Dudhope as a barracks for soldiers. A barracks is a place where soldiers live. They used it for 95 years, from 1796 to 1879. They built more buildings, like a hospital and stables. The castle itself housed about 400 soldiers. The Board of Ordnance left the castle in 1881.
In 1854, the town council of Dundee rented the castle grounds. They wanted to use them as a park for people to enjoy. This lease lasted for over 35 years.
The Earl of Home wanted to build houses on the grounds. But the town council bought the grounds instead for £31,700. The people of Dundee helped raise the money. The grounds were opened as a public park on September 28, 1895.
The castle building was later used by the Ministry of Works. It was used as military barracks again during both World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945).
There used to be a special gun at the castle. It would fire every day at 1 PM to tell the time. But it stopped being used in 1916. This was so it wouldn't disturb patients at the nearby Dundee Royal Infirmary. Many patients were suffering from "shell-shock" from the war.
