Lauriston Castle (Edinburgh)

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Lauriston Castle from the south

Lauriston Castle is a country house in Edinburgh , Scotland . The 16th century building with 19th century additions is located on Cramond Road South between Cramond , Davidson's Mains and Silverknowes across the Firth of Forth . Historic Scotland has listed Lauriston Castle as a Category A Historic Building.

The extensive gardens, Lauriston Castle Gardens , operate as a public park and have been included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscape . The house was bequeathed to the Edinburgh Corporation (from 1973 Edinburgh City Council = City of Edinburgh). This is where the Lord Provost of Edinburgh's garden party takes place every year .

history

A Lauriston Castle already stood on this site in the Middle Ages, but this was almost completely destroyed when Edinburgh was pillaged by the Earl of Hertford in 1544 .

Sir Archibald Napier from Merchiston , father of John Napier , had a tower house built for his younger son, also Archibald , in 1590 . In 1683 the Edinburgh goldsmith and financier William Law , father of the infamous economist John Law , bought the property shortly before his death. John Law inherited the property and it remained in the Law family until it was sold to the banker and mineralogist Thomas Allan in 1823. There is no evidence that the Law family ever resided there in the 140 years that they owned Lauriston Castle. In 1827 Allan commissioned the architect William Burn (1789–1870) to expand the Tower House in the Jacobean style . Later owners of Lauriston Castle were the Right Hon. Andrew Lord Rutherford (1791-1854) and Thomas Macknight Crawfurd of Cartsburn and Lauriston Castle, 8th Baron of Cartsburn from 1871 to 1902.

For December 3, 1827, Walter Scott wrote in his diary: “Went with Tom Allan to see his building in Lauriston, where he displayed good taste; he supported the old chateau that had once belonged to the famous Mississippi Laws instead of tearing it down or destroying it. The extensions show good taste and will make the building a very comfortable house. "

Engraving of the castle by James Fittler in Scotia Depicta , published 1804

William Robert Reid , owner of Morison & Co. , a cabinet maker from Edinburgh, bought Lauriston Castle in 1902, had it fitted with modern electricity and plumbing and, together with his wife, filled the house with a collection of fine furniture and objets d'art. The Reids, who remained childless, left their home to the Scottish State on condition that it be kept unchanged. The City of Edinburgh has managed the castle since Mrs Reid's death in 1926, which now gives a glimpse of life in a Scottish country house in Edwardian times .

In 1905, as part of one of the many renovations, an astorlogical horoscope carved in stone was built into the outer wall in the southwest corner. The horoscope was allegedly made for his brother by John Napier . In some pictures you can see it on the front facade below the extreme left stair tower just above the ground.

In 2013 it was proposed to renovate the castle and use it as the official residence of the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, but the cost of doing so was deemed too high.

description

Lauriston Castle 1775, before the addition of William Burn in 1827

Lauriston Castle was originally a four-story stone tower house with an L-shaped floor plan, a round stair tower and two-story corner turrets with loopholes . The Jacobean building line was added in 1827, so that the castle became a country house. It was designed by the well-known architect '' William Burn ''.

Most of the interior furnishings date from the time of Edward VII.

On July 14, 1966, Lauriston Castle was listed as a Category A Historic Building.

Gardens

Japanese garden at Lauriston Castle, Edinburgh

Lauriston Castle's extensive gardens are open to the public for free and display a range of different horticultural styles and forms. The latest addition is a remarkable Japanese garden of one hectare in size. This garden, designed by Takashi Sawano , was dedicated to the friendship between Edinburgh and Kyoto and opened in August 2002.

From the rear of the castle there is a beautiful view of the Firth of Forth and further into County Fife , which the members of the '' Edinburgh Croquet Club '' can enjoy from the three croquet fields that were laid out on the property between 1950 and 1955 were.

In the northeast you can find some beautifully grown specimens of Chilean araucarias ('Araucaria araucana') in the gardens .

The property is also known for its " rabbit bell forest ", but its size has been significantly reduced by the creation of the Japanese garden.

Ghosts

Lauriston Castle, like many other Scottish castles, is said to be haunted by ghosts. It is said that you could hear the sound of their footsteps.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  2. ↑ Garden and Designed Landscape - entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  3. ^ Dale Miller: In Pictures: First Lord Provost garden party . Edinburgh Evening News. September 4, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  4. ^ Gifford McWilliam, Walker: Buildings of Scotland . Chapter: Edinburgh .
  5. ^ David McCann: Lord Provost wanted Lauriston Castle for parties . Edinburgh Evening News. December 23, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  6. ^ Public Japanese Gardens: UK and Ireland Survey . In: Journal of Japanese Gardening No. 35 . September / October 2003. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  7. ↑ Looking for ghosts? Try the usual haunts . The Supernatural World.

Web links

Commons : Lauriston Castle  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 55 ° 58 ′ 16.2 "  N , 3 ° 16 ′ 43.2"  W.