Newark Castle, St Monans, United Kingdom

Newark Castle is a ruin located just west of St Monans, on the east coast of Fife. The building stands in a dramatic location, overlooking the North Sea. The upper storeys are ruinous, but vaulted cellars survive, hidden from view.

Building on the site probably dates back to the 13th century, at which time the Scottish king Alexander III (1241–1286) spent some of his childhood there.

The current building was begun in the 15th century by the Kinloch family. It then passed, through marriage, to the Sandilands of Cruivie, who sold it in 1649 David Leslie. Leslie was a prominent figure in the English and Scottish Civil Wars, becoming Lord Newark after the wars. Following Leslie's death in 1682, the castle passed to the Anstruther family, and finally to the Bairds of Elie.

The castle attracted the attention of Sir William Burrell, the Glasgow shipping magnate and collector of art and antiques, in the late 19th century when Sir Robert Lorimer produced a plan for its restoration. The scheme never went ahead as the owner of the site, a Mr Baird of Elie, refused to sell.

References:

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User Reviews

H C (3 years ago)
Not sure why this place has mediocre reviews, it’s a sweet little castle with metal gating round it to prevent you from clambering over the ruins and causing further erosion (generally not a good plan on any ruin!). Nice feature to walk past and admire from afar

MATDAR MATDAR (3 years ago)
You should be very careful. Ruins are very unstable. Still looks nice at sunny days.

Lewis Payne (3 years ago)
This castle is In a lovely place and is one of my favourite castles I have visited so far ! For proper access to the site you should park in the town of St Monans, where there are other lovely sites to see You should come from St Monans and walk down the coastal path towards the castle Unfortunately the castle site is too dangerous to access but the view its self is lovely

John Stevenson (4 years ago)
On the Fife Coastal Path approximately half a mile west of St Monans, castle in dangerous condition. Lovely coastal views, be careful parts of path effected by high tides, Nice for photos if weather ok. Car park at historic church near the sea.

Shona Norman (5 years ago)
There are only ruins, which are fenced off, but you can see that this would have been a substantial castle with amazing views over the Firth of Forth. Off to the left of the castle is what I think might be a round Doocot. I love castles no matter what state they are in, so Newark Castle was lovely to see.

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