Craigcrook Castle
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Craigcrook Castle is a well-preserved castle in the Blackhall district of the Scottish capital Edinburgh . The building, which dates mainly from the 17th century (with later additions), covers an area of 622.5 m² approximately 4.8 km west of the city center. In the 19th century there lived '' Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey '', who became known for his literature collection. Historic Scotland has listed the castle as a Category B Historic Building.
history
Craigcrook was owned by Clan Graham in the 14th century . In 1362 it was donated to the chaplains of St Giles' Cathedral . It passed through many more hands before William Adamson , a merchant and citizen of Edinburgh, took possession of it. Adamson owned large estates in what is now the northwestern part of Edinburgh, e.g. B. Craigleith , Groathill and Clermiston . On September 10, 1547, he was killed in the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh . The Adamson family had Craigcrook Castle rebuilt and kept it in possession until 1659; then it was sold to John Mein , another Edinburgh merchant. Ten years later, Sir John Hall of Dunglass , who was Lord Provost of Edinburgh in 1689, lived there . Hall sold the property to Walter Pringle , a lawyer, in 1682 , who in turn resold it to John Strachan , Writer to the Majesty's Signet , in 1689 . After Strachan's death in 1719, he bequeathed his estates, including Craigcrook Castle, to charity. The non-profit Craigcrook Mortification , which was founded after Strachan's death, kept the castle and estate.
It is not known when the castle was built exactly. According to the architectural style, the main part of the construction phase has been dated to the beginning of the 17th century. But the type of vault inside indicates the core of an older fortress that was extensively built over and expanded at the time.
The publisher Archibald Constable lived in Craigcrook Castle until 1815, when it became the home of lawyer and literary critic Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey (1753-1850). Soon after Jeffrey had leased the castle, he added a grand piano to the north and in 1818 commissioned David Roberts to decorate the library. In 1835 he commissioned William Playfair to redesign the main building and the new construction of the east wing. During the leases to Constable and Jeffrey, Sir Walter Scott visited the castle frequently. The spirit of Lord Jeffrey is said to haunt the building.
Another tenant in the 19th century was the writer and politician William Stirling-Maxwell , who in 1855 offered the use of the property to the English poet Gerald Massey , who was then living in Edinburgh as editor of the Edinburgh News . Massey later wrote the poem Craigcrook Castle , which is considered to be one of the most complete poems in blank verse .
The tenant tenant after Jeffrey's death was John Hunter Watt . Craigcrook Castle was known for its literary soirées in the 19th century; among the guests were Charles Dickens , Hans Christian Andersen , George Eliot and Lord Tennyson .
Robert Croall added a billiard room in the east around 1891, the architect was Thomas Leadbetter . Another addition came in 1968 when the property became a base for an architectural practice. On July 14, 1966, the building was listed as a Category B historic building. Craigcrook Castle was the Scottish headquarters of Marine Harvest Ltd , an international fish farming company , from 1986 to 2004 . Benjamin Tindall Architects restored the interior of the castle in 1989. It then served as a commercial building until 2014 when it was offered for sale for residential use.
description
The castle is near Costorphine Hill and was a lovely town house. The history of the parish of Cramond tells: “In the southwest of Drylaw , in a depression at the foot of Costorphine Hill , which here makes a bend (English: Crook) to the east, from which the name is derived, is Craigcrook, obviously the oldest Buildings in the community ”.
It began its history as a residential tower with a Z-shaped floor plan, but over the years many additions were made, resulting in a wild mix of architectural styles both outside and inside. There is a round tower on the southwest corner and a square tower in the northeast.
The main block covers a footprint of approximately 18.3 meters by 6.1 meters and is three stories high. The ground floor used to have a vaulted ceiling , just like the upper floors and the round tower today. The round tower has a diameter of 6.1 meters, the square tower a base area of 5.2 meters × 5.2 meters; the stairs of the latter are in the south-east corner. There is an entrance tower that Playfair built. The castle has stepped gables and dormer windows with decorative gables. Some of the 19th century works inside the castle are of interest, e.g. B. Mural by David Roberts .
A wall from the 17th century still encloses the garden; it has a gate with rolled decorations, the gable of which indicates the year of construction 1626.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c d John Philip Wood: Antient and modern state of the parish of Cramond . J. Paterson. Pp. 31-39. 1794. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
- ^ Stuart Penney: Inside Scotland's most expensive property . In: Daily Telegraph . Retrieved May 11, 2017.
- ↑ Entry on Craigcrook Castle in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)
- ^ Valley of the Water of Leith (concluded) . In: Old and New Edinburgh . Retrieved May 11, 2017.
- ^ Martin Coventry: The Castles of Scotland . Goblinshead, 2001. ISBN 1-899874-26-7 . P. 153.
- ↑ David Shaw: Chapter 3: Poetry and Prose . In: Gerald Massey: Chartist, Poet, Radical and Freethinker . lulu.com. 2009. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
- ↑ Gerald Massey . In: Minor Victorian Poets and Authors . Retrieved May 12, 2017.
- ^ The ultimate writers' retreat: Scottish castle where literary soirees for Tennyson, Dickens and Hans Christian Andersen were held goes on the market for £ 5million . Daily Mail. May 15, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
Web links
Coordinates: 55 ° 57 '17 " N , 3 ° 15' 55" W.