Monimail Tower

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Monimail Tower

Monimail Tower is a tower house near the Scottish town of Letham in the Council Area Fife . It was part of the Palace of Monimail or Monimail Palace mansion . In 1984 the building was included as an individual monument in the Scottish monument lists in the highest monument category A.

history

In the early 14th century, the Monimail property was owned by the Diocese of St Andrews . As Bishop of St Andrews , William de Lamberton had a fortified complex, the Palace of Monimail, built there. After the Reformation, James Balfour, Lord Pittendreich acquired the property. He had the buildings described as ruinous redesigned and sold Monimail in 1592 to Robert Melville, 1st Lord Melville .

John Melville, 3rd Lord Melville joined the Raith estate (see Raith House ) to Monimail and in 1644 obtained the establishment of a barony . After his son George, 4th Lord Melville , was accused of being a member of the Rye House conspiracy in 1683 , he first fled to Hamburg . First expropriated, it would take until 1689 for Melville to get the property back. The following year he was made the first Earl of Melville . Melville had Melville House built between 1697 and 1701 to express the political influence he had gained through his offices as Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland and Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland in the early 1690s however still on Monimail Tower.

The construction of the Monimail Tower is often attributed to Cardinal David Beaton , who was murdered in 1546 . Possibly he had a previous structure built. Today's tower, however, bears the James Balfour coat of arms and an inscription indicates that it was built in 1578. It is possible that the Monimail Tower was created using fragments of an older tower. In 1800 only the remains of the walls of the former palace were left, so that the Tower House is the last remaining fragment of the complex.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  2. ↑ a b Garden and Designed Landscape - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .

Web links

Coordinates: 56 ° 18 ′ 50.5 ″  N , 3 ° 8 ′ 8.7 ″  W.