Hailes Castle is a mainly 14th century castle about a mile and a half south-west of East Linton, East Lothian, Scotland. This castle, which has a fine riverside setting, belonged to the Hepburn family during the most important centuries of its existence.
The castle was founded as a fortified tower house by Hugo de Gourlay before 1300, making it one of the oldest constructions of its kind in Scotland. In 1400 it successfully withstood an attack from Harry Hotspur Percy, in league with the Earl of March. The attackers were defeated afterwards in a counter-attack led by Archibald, Master of Douglas. A successful attack by Archibald Dunbar in 1443 was followed by a massacre of the castle’s inhabitants.
The castle stands on a promontory on the Scottish River Tyne, blocking its strategic route, and preying on the route to Edinburgh. Within the 13th century curtain wall is the 14th century keep, to which ranges were added in the next two centuries. The major remaining works is the West Tower, a square donjon, which dwarfs the remains of the central tower that the Gourlays built, probably a rebuilding on the 16th century. Fifteenth century work includes a roofless chamber in which the remains of what appear to be an ambry and a piscina suggest it was a chapel rather than a hall. There is also a vaulted basement bakehouse and brewhouse from this period. The original tower was used as a dovecot after it ceased to be occupied. Of the East Tower, only a finger of stonework remains.
Since 1926, it has been the subject of a state-sponsored guardianship agreement, which is now under the auspices of Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument.
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.