Ballinbreich Castle

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Ballinbreich Castle

Ballinbreich Castle is the ruin of a residential tower on the south bank of the Tay in the Scottish county of Fife .

Surname

The name "Ballinbreich" is derived from an old Celtic name. It is the corruption of “Balan-breac” (German: “City of trout ”).

history

Around 1160, the land on which the tower block was built later belonged to Orm , the son of Hugh of Abernethy . Around 1312 it fell to the Leslie family through marriage . Soon afterwards, the Leslies had a residential tower built with an L-shaped floor plan, which had a staircase in the interior corner and was surrounded by a rectangular curtain wall.

At the beginning of the 16th century the tower was significantly redesigned and expanded. Maria Stuart was a guest in 1565 . Another redesign took place around 1572, which can be recognized by a stone above the entrance. This is how the tower got its current shape.

As early as 1457 the Leslies had been elevated to Earls of Rothes , in 1580 the elevation to Dukes of Rothes took place . Her coat of arms shows the red lion of Abernethys with a black ribbon through it, which points to her roots in the marriage in the 14th century. The battle cry of Clan Leslie is "Ballinbreich!"

In the 19th century estate were and castle to the Dundases from Kerse sold to the reconstruction of Leslie House finance. The Dundase family became Earls of Zetland in 1838 and Marquesses of Zetland in 1873 . But they mainly took care of their lands on the Shetland Islands and let Ballinbreich Castle fall into disrepair.

today

Today Ballinbreich Castle consists only of its enclosing walls and is considered to be in danger of collapsing. The inside is covered with trees and bushes. Historic Scotland has listed it as a Scheduled Monument .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Ballinbreich Castle, Fife . Rampant Scotland. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  2. ↑ a b c Ballinbreich Castle in Canmore . RCAHMS. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  3. ↑ Scheduled Monument - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .

Web links

Commons : Ballinbreich Castle  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 56 ° 22 ′ 15.8 "  N , 3 ° 10 ′ 49.4"  W.