Newark Castle (St Monans)
| Newark Castle | ||
|---|---|---|
 Ruins of Newark Castle on the Fife coast |
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| Alternative name (s): | Inverie Castle, St Monance Castle | |
| Creation time : | 13th Century | |
| Castle type : | Höhenburg, spur location | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Standing position : | Scottish nobility | |
| Construction: | Quarry stone | |
| Place: | St. Monans | |
| Geographical location | 56 ° 12 '3.3 " N , 2 ° 46' 40.8" W | |
| Height: | 6 m ASLTemplate: height / unknown reference | |
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Newark Castle , also Inverie Castle or St Monance Castle , is the ruin of a spur castle on a headland about 1 km west of the village of St Monans on the coast of the Scottish county of Fife .
history
The castle probably dates from the 13th century, as the future king Alexander III. spent some time here as a child. From this first construction phase, parts of the vaulted cellar in the far south of the site still exist, but they do not offer any clues for a dating.
In the 16th century, the block was expanded to the north with a round tower on the northeast corner. In the third construction phase, at the end of the 16th century, a house was built on the ground floor from the second construction phase, which had a stair tower to the courtyard. The basement rooms have also been modified. This work was carried out on behalf of the then owner, the Sandilands family , who had acquired the castle in the 15th century by marriage.
In a fourth construction phase at the end of the 17th century, the house and tower were raised by one floor and the courtyard was divided by a wall. Presumably this construction phase was commissioned by the owner at the time, David Leslie . David Leslie made a name for himself in the English Civil War and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and was subsequently promoted to Earl of Newark .
At the end of the 19th century, the well-known shipowner and art collector Sir William Burrell from Glasgow showed an interest in the castle ruins. He commissioned Sir Robert Lorimer with a plan for the restoration, but the then owner of the property, a Mr. Baird from Elie , refused to sell.
Parts of the castle were still inhabited until the 19th century. The tower was cut on the side of the house in order to gain more living space. This led to the collapse of the tower's north wall at the beginning of the 20th century. Coastal erosion has caused further destruction over the past few decades.
description
The round tower had five floors and a basement. It was 7.5 meters in diameter and its walls were up to 2.2 meters thick, but their thickness decreased towards the top. In the east and west walls of the basement there were round openings that led into a trench, which was later filled. The openings in the walls of the tower were changed several times during the numerous renovations.
A kitchen with a large, open fireplace was later installed in the northern part of the eastern ground floor. Solid rock formed the floor of the kitchen.
The knight's hall was on the first floor . It was located directly above the kitchen and had an area of 6.2 meters (in north-south direction) × 5 meters (in east-west direction). The room had two open fireplaces, one directly above that of the kitchen, the other, much smaller, on the south wall.
In the south and west of the main building there was a courtyard formed by a curtain wall .
The ruins of Newark Castle are considered a Scheduled Monument .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Entry on Newark Castle in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)
- ↑ Scheduled Monument - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
