Macduff's Castle
| Macduff's Castle | ||
|---|---|---|
 Macduff's Castle and the Wemyss Caves |
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| Creation time : | 14th Century | |
| Castle type : | Niederungsburg | |
| Conservation status: | Ruin, partially demolished | |
| Standing position : | Scottish nobility | |
| Construction: | Quarry stone | |
| Place: | East Wemyss | |
| Geographical location | 56 ° 9 '44.7 " N , 3 ° 3' 28.7" W | |
| Height: | 21 m ASLTemplate: height / unknown reference | |
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Macduff's Castle is a ruined castle near the village of East Wemyss in the Scottish county of Fife . The property is affiliated with Clan MacDuff , the Earls of Fife and the most powerful family in medieval Fife. However, nothing has survived from this period. The ruins visible today are the remains of the family home of the Wemyss' , who lived there since the 14th century, and their successors from the 16th century.
history
It is believed that the MacDuff- Mormaers or Earls of Fife had their first castle built on this site in the 11th century, during the reign of King Macbeth († 1057). The Wemyss family, descendants of the MacDuffs, owned the property from the 14th century and had the oldest part of today's castle built. Edward I of England visited Sir Michael Wemyss here in 1304 . But Wemyss later teamed up with Robert the Bruce and King Edward ordered the castle's demolition.
After the Wemyss family moved to nearby Wemyss Castle , the property fell to the Livingstones and was taken over by the Colvilles in 1530 , who built a second tower in the southwest and had the castle courtyard enclosed with a gatehouse . In 1637 Sir John Wemyss of West Wemyss bought the castle from Lord Colville of Culross and in 1651 the estates of East Wemyss and West Wemyss were combined into a single baronate .
The castle ruins are still owned by the Wemyss estate today .
description
The ruins formerly consisted of the remains of a four-story tower from the 14th century and a five-story tower from the 16th century. The two were connected by a gatehouse suite from the 16th century, as well as by walls from the 17th century with loopholes .
But the east tower was demolished in 1967 by Fife county government after a child who fell from that tower was injured.
The castle ruin is a Scheduled Monument and Historic Scotland has listed it as a Category B Historic Building.
A historic pigeon house used to stand on the seashore south of the castle, but was destroyed by coastal erosion in the 1970s .
Ghosts
The castle ruins are said to be haunted by a gray lady . This is believed to be the ghost of Mary Sibbald , who was convicted of theft and died in the castle.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
- ↑ Entry on Macduff's Castle in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)
- ↑ Scheduled Monument - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
- ↑ Entry on the pigeon house of Macduff's Castle in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)
- ↑ Scottish Castles Photo Library: MacDuff's Castle, Fife . In: Rampant Scotland . Retrieved November 14, 2017.
