Ayton Castle
Ayton Castle is a red sandstone built castle in the Scottish Lowlands . It is near the village of Ayton , about five kilometers southwest of Eyemouth and eleven kilometers north of Berwick-upon-Tweed in the county of Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders administrative district .
history
At the site of today's castle originally stood a medieval defense tower typical of the Scottish Lowlands (a so-called Peel Tower or Pele Tower). This burned down completely in 1834. The Home family, who originally owned the defense tower and the surrounding area, then sold the entire property to the Mitchell-Innes family. This commissioned the Scottish architect James Gillespie Graham to build a representative family seat in the same place. The building according to Graham's plans was completed in 1851 in the "Scottish Gothic style", the Scottish variant of the Gothic Revival. It was Graham's last major building and died in 1855.
In the years 1860 to 1867 the property was expanded according to plans by architects David Bryce and James Maitland. Mark Twain visited the castle in 1873 and was so impressed by the architecture that he insisted on bringing a fireplace as a souvenir. This fireplace is on display today at the Mark Twain Museum in Connecticut . In 1895 the Mitchell-Innes family sold the castle to Henry Liddell-Grainger of Middleton Hall. During the Second World War , Ayton Castle was used temporarily as replacement quarters for Esdaile School , which had been evacuated from Edinburgh .
Ayton Castle today
Ayton Castle was the residence of the Liddell-Grainger family of Middleton Hall and the Barone De La Rue from 1980. It was open to the public and could be rented for weddings. The castle was up for sale on November 4th 2011 for £ 2.2 million. Ayton Castle has been privately owned again since July 2014 and is again available for rent for weddings and other events.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ayton Castle ( Memento of the original from May 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on Stately-Homes.com
- ↑ Scandal castle hit by tragedy . Daily Mail, November 4, 2011
- ^ Ayton Castle , Castle website; accessed on November 3, 2019
Web links
- Short description of the castle (English)
- More detailed description of the castle (English)
Coordinates: 55 ° 50 ′ 43 " N , 2 ° 6 ′ 54" W.