Hatton Castle stands on the lower part of Hatton Hill, to the south of Newtyle. The lands were given to Sir William Olifard (8th chief) in 1317 by Robert the Bruce. The castle was built in 1575, commissioned by Laurence, fourth Lord Oliphant (1527–1593). Hatton Castle is unusual in that it contains a scale and platt staircase incorporated into its original construction. Such a feature was normally only included in larger constructions.
A variety of people lived in Hatton Castle after the Oliphants, including at least one bishop. Hatton Castle was de-roofed in about 1720, after the 1715 Jacobite rising, when it was replaced by the Italian-style Belmont Castle in Meigle, which is now a Church of Scotland residential home. Hatton Castle gradually became encrusted by ivy and a home to pigeons and jackdaws, until it was sold by the Kinpurnie Estate for reconstruction. This has been done faithfully, initially by Roderick Oliphant of Oliphant, yr and his elder brother Richard Oliphant of that Ilk (34th chief), so its charm remains much as it was in 1575, including glass hand-made in Edinburgh, in the leaded windows.
Hatton Castle is now a family home, and the present owners have continued the restoration.
References:Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.