Ochiltree Castle

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Ochiltree Castle

Ochiltree Castle is a tower house near the Scottish town of Bridgend in West Lothian . In 1971 the building was included in the Scottish List of Monuments in the highest category A.

history

The builder and the year of construction of Ochiltree Castle are unknown. By the mid-16th century, the Hamilton clan owned much of the surrounding lands. A plausible possibility appears that the piece of land fell to James Stewart of Ochiltree from Ayrshire , who then built Ochiltree Castle. This would also explain the origin of the name of the building conclusively. What is certain is that the Stirling of Keir Ochiltree Castle owned clan in the late 17th century. Some renovations were carried out at this time, but an earlier phase of construction around 1610 is also documented, which according to some sources could also be the construction phase of Ochiltree Castle. In various sources, however, its origin is dated to the 16th century.

Originally, the building formed the eastern end of an enclosed courtyard. A two-story wing was added to the north in the 17th century, but was later torn down in favor of a flat wing. In the course of the new building, fragments of the old structure were reused. The entrance area, which was originally on the east side, was also moved to the west side around this time. In 1981 Ochiltree Castle was restored.

description

Ochiltree Castle is isolated around one kilometer southwest of the town of Bridgend. The quarry stone structure made of cream-colored sandstone has a traditional L-shaped floor plan and consists of two three-story building parts of different heights on the east side, to which a one-story wing adjoins in the north. The building openings are set off with ashlar stones. The entrance area is located on the asymmetrically constructed west-facing side of the building. A grooved soffit frames the wooden entrance door to the left of the center. Two ornamental gables crown the portal. They show the coats of arms of Archibald Stirling of Keir and his wife Dame Grizel as well as the monograms DGR and SAS and are decorated with finials . A gable-independent chimney with a stepped gable completes the slate-covered gable roof on the south side. A windowless tourelle protrudes to the left. A semicircular stair tower emerges on the east side. The door on the left is designed with an ornamented gable. The one-story wing along the north side is four axes wide and has lattice windows. It closes on the west side with a stepped gable.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  2. ↑ a b Entry on Ochiltree Castle  in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)

Web links

Commons : Ochiltree Castle  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 55 ° 57 '21.8 "  N , 3 ° 33' 3.2"  W.