Innerwick Castle
Encyclopedia
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
in East Lothian
East Lothian
East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, near the village of Innerwick
Innerwick
Innerwick is a coastal civil parish and small village, which lies in the east of East Lothian, from Dunbar and approximately from Edinburgh....
, 5 miles (8 km) from Dunbar
Dunbar
Dunbar is a town in East Lothian on the southeast coast of Scotland, approximately 28 miles east of Edinburgh and 28 miles from the English Border at Berwick-upon-Tweed....
, on the Thornton Burn, and overlooking Thornton Glen.
The castle, built in the 14th century on "the edge of a precipitous glen", was a stronghold of the Stewarts and of the Hamilton family
Clan Hamilton
The House of Hamilton, occasionally and erroneously referred to as Clan Hamilton, is a Scottish family who historically held broad territories throughout central and southern Scotland, particularly Ayrshire, Lanarkshire and the Lothians...
. It was extended several times, but was captured and destroyed by Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
in 1548. Both Innerwick and Thornton castles had been of strategic importance for guarding routes from the south.
Innerwick Castle stands within the Barony of Innerwick. The most recent Baron of Innerwick was Colonel Victor Charles Vereker Cowley of Crowhill (1918–2008). Currently, Thornton Glen is part of the Crowhill Estate and is managed by the Scottish Wildlife Trust
Scottish Wildlife Trust
The Scottish Wildlife Trust is a registered charity dedicated to conserving the wildlife and natural environment of Scotland.-Description:The Scottish Wildlife Trust has over 32,800 members...
. The glen is considered important for the presence of ferns that are rare in Scotland. The remains of the castle are on top of a crag
Cliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
which is popular with climbers.