Interesting Sites Nearby
User Reviews
Niddry Castle is a sixteenth-century tower house built around 1500 by the Lord Seton. Mary, Queen of Scots stayed here 2 May 1568, after her escape from captivity in Loch Leven Castle.
George, Lord Seton garrisoned the castle in support of Queen Mary in 1572 during the civil war in Scotland. According to two chronicles, Niddry was attacked twice, in April and June. In April, Captain Scougall with forewarning repelled a night attack. He suspended heavy timber beams around the tower and released them on a party climbing scaling ladders. The garrison of Edinburgh Castle supported Niddry by attacking Merchiston Castle, which was held for James VI, as a diversion.
Margaret Seton, daughter of Lord Seton married Claud Hamilton, on 1 August 1574 at Niddry with 'great triumphs.' On 13 May 1590, Peder Munk, Great Admiral of Denmark, and the Danish commissioners appointed to take possession of lands granted to Anne of Denmark stayed at the castle, before riding to Linlithgow Palace the next morning. Patrick Gordon of Auchindoun stayed at Niddry as the guest of Lord Seton in July 1590, hoping to regain royal favour.
In around 1680, the castle passed to the Hope family and became part of the Hopetoun estate. The Hope family, now Marquises of Linlithgow, were granted the additional title Baron Niddry in 1814. In the 1990s, Niddry Castle was restored by Peter Wright as a private residence. An extensive archaeological excavation of the castle and its surrounding barmkin area was also initiated by the proprietor. Formerly a Scheduled Monument, the tower was de-scheduled in 1996 to allow restoration, at which point it was upgraded to an A Listing.
The four-storey L-plan tower has a corbelled parapet, and a turret in the angle of the 'L', which was added in the 17th century. The basement is vaulted, and the hall was above, on the first floor.
References:Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.
The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.
Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.