Kilspindie Castle
Encyclopedia
Kilspindie Castle is located to the north of the village of Aberlady
, in East Lothian
, Scotland. The remains of the castle are sited behind the Victorian St Mary's Kirk. An early castle was destroyed in the 16th century, and the rebuilt tower was pulled down by the 1700s. Little more than a few scattered stones of the base of a doorway with a length of wall punctuated by oval gun loops remain. The area is protected as a scheduled monument.
finds yet recorded in Scotland
.
acquired Kilspindie around the start of the 16th century when, in a feud with Spens of Kilspindie, Archibald "Bell-the-cat", 5th Earl of Angus
, tore off Spens' leg with one stroke of his great sword. The Douglas family came into ownership of the lands of Aberlady through rights bestowed by the Crown and Gavin Douglas
, Bishop of Dunkeld
, perhaps indicating a transfer of the name Kilspindie from the village of the same name
in Perthshire
. Later use by Sir Archibald Douglas of Kilspindie
of the title "Greysteil
" may refer to the sword stroke used to obtain the lands of Kilspindie. The earl's fourth son by a second marriage, was made Lord Treasurer of Scotland
from 1520 to 1528.
Kilspindie survived the sackings of the wars of the Rough Wooing during the 1540s, when castles, abbeys and villages throughout the Lothians and Borders were stormed, sacked and burnt. The English invaders had avoided assaulting Tantallon
, home of the earl of Angus, and Hugh Douglas's Longniddry Tower because Hugh was an "assured Scot", perhaps showing English diplomacy to protect Douglas interests in the Lothians.
However, in 1547, the English returned to the Lothians, defeating the Scots army at the battle of Pinkie, near Musselburgh
. The following year they established a fort at Haddington
and sacked nearby castles. Luffness
was destroyed to enable English supplies to be landed unchallenged in Haddington. It is likely that Kilspindie was also destroyed because of its position on Aberlady Bay
.
wall with gatehouse protecting stables, brewhouse, barns, etc. The barmkin in turn would have been surrounded by a deep ditch, filled by the tide and trapped there by wooden dams when the tide withdrew. Also the land around must have been a tidal salt marsh
which would have added to the defensive position.
By 1612, Kilspindie was granted to Alexander Hay through his marriage, on 16 January 1582, to Patrick's widow. Kilspindie is not mentioned during Oliver Cromwell
's sacking of Lothian castles in the 1650s but by the 1700s the castle had already been demolished for building material elsewhere in Aberlady
. A number of large stones which belonged to the house have been built into the boundary walls of the fields and road leading to the golf course. A heavy studded door from the structure is now located within Luffness House.
Aberlady
Aberlady is a coastal village in the Scottish council area of East Lothian. On Aberlady Bay, it is five miles northwest of Haddington and approximately 18 miles east of Edinburgh, to which it is linked by the A198 Dunbar - Edinburgh road.Aberlady Parish Church dates back to the 15th century. It...
, 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. The remains of the castle are sited behind the Victorian St Mary's Kirk. An early castle was destroyed in the 16th century, and the rebuilt tower was pulled down by the 1700s. Little more than a few scattered stones of the base of a doorway with a length of wall punctuated by oval gun loops remain. The area is protected as a scheduled monument.
Early history
Metal finds from the site indicate its continuous occupation since earliest times. It has yielded the single largest concentration of Anglo-SaxonAnglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
finds yet recorded in 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...
.
Clan Douglas
An early fortalice was held by the Spens, or Spence, family, possibly vassals of their over lord, the Gospatric Earls of Dunbar. The Douglas familyClan Douglas
Clan Douglas is an ancient Scottish kindred from the Scottish Lowlands taking its name from Douglas, South Lanarkshire, and thence spreading through the Scottish Borderland, Angus, Lothian and beyond. The clan does not currently have a chief, therefore it is considered an armigerous clan.The...
acquired Kilspindie around the start of the 16th century when, in a feud with Spens of Kilspindie, Archibald "Bell-the-cat", 5th Earl of Angus
Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus
Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus , was a late medieval Scottish magnate. He became known as "Bell the Cat"...
, tore off Spens' leg with one stroke of his great sword. The Douglas family came into ownership of the lands of Aberlady through rights bestowed by the Crown and Gavin Douglas
Gavin Douglas
Gavin Douglas was a Scottish bishop, makar and translator. Although he had an important political career, it is for his poetry that he is now chiefly remembered. His principal pioneering achievement was the Eneados, a full and faithful vernacular translation of the Aeneid of Virgil and the first...
, Bishop of Dunkeld
Bishop of Dunkeld
The Bishop of Dunkeld is the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunkeld, one of the largest and more important of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th century cleric named Cormac...
, perhaps indicating a transfer of the name Kilspindie from the village of the same name
Kilspindie
Kilspindie is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is situated on the Kilspindie burn, approximately 5 km Northwest of Errol, 10 km west of Dundee and 10 km east of Perth...
in Perthshire
Perthshire
Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
. Later use by Sir Archibald Douglas of Kilspindie
Archibald Douglas of Kilspindie
Sir Archibald Douglas of Kilspindie , also known as Greysteil, was a Scottish nobleman and courtier, who served as Treasurer of Scotland, and Provost of Edinburgh.-Rise:...
of the title "Greysteil
Greysteil
Greysteil was a medieval poem popular in 16th century Scotland, set to music and performed for James IV of Scotland and James V of Scotland. The poem was also called Syr Egeir and Syr Gryme, Eger and Grime, the names of the two knights who fight Greysteil and whose contrasted virtues are the poem's...
" may refer to the sword stroke used to obtain the lands of Kilspindie. The earl's fourth son by a second marriage, was made Lord Treasurer of Scotland
Treasurer of Scotland
The Treasurer was a senior post in the pre-Union government of Scotland, the Privy Council of Scotland.The full title of the post was Lord High Treasurer, Comptroller, Collector-General and Treasurer of the New Augmentation, formed as it was from the amalgamation of four earlier offices...
from 1520 to 1528.
Kilspindie survived the sackings of the wars of the Rough Wooing during the 1540s, when castles, abbeys and villages throughout the Lothians and Borders were stormed, sacked and burnt. The English invaders had avoided assaulting Tantallon
Tantallon Castle
Tantallon Castle is a mid-14th-century fortress, located east of North Berwick, in East Lothian, Scotland. It sits atop a promontory opposite the Bass Rock, looking out onto the Firth of Forth...
, home of the earl of Angus, and Hugh Douglas's Longniddry Tower because Hugh was an "assured Scot", perhaps showing English diplomacy to protect Douglas interests in the Lothians.
However, in 1547, the English returned to the Lothians, defeating the Scots army at the battle of Pinkie, near Musselburgh
Musselburgh
Musselburgh is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, six miles east of Edinburgh city centre.-History:...
. The following year they established a fort at Haddington
Haddington, East Lothian
The Royal Burgh of Haddington is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the main administrative, cultural and geographical centre for East Lothian, which was known officially as Haddingtonshire before 1921. It lies about east of Edinburgh. The name Haddington is Anglo-Saxon, dating from the 6th...
and sacked nearby castles. Luffness
Luffness Castle
Luffness Castle, sometimes known as Luffness House or Aberlady Castle, is a castle of 13th century origin in Luffness, not far from Aberlady, in East Lothian, Scotland...
was destroyed to enable English supplies to be landed unchallenged in Haddington. It is likely that Kilspindie was also destroyed because of its position on Aberlady Bay
Aberlady Bay
Aberlady Bay is a bay in East Lothian, Scotland between Aberlady and Gullane.In 1952, Aberlady Bay became the UK's first Local Nature Reserve and is served by the East Lothian Council Rangers....
.
A new castle
Patrick Douglas of Kilspindie built a new "castell toure and fortalice" before 1600, perhaps as early as 1558. This was thought to have been oblong in plan. It seems probable that the castle would have been surrounded by an enclosing barmkinBarmkin
Barmkin, also spelled barmekin or barnekin, is a Scots word which refers to a form of medieval and later defensive enclosure, typically found around smaller castles, tower houses, pele towers, and bastle houses in Scotland, and the north of England. It has been suggested that etymologically the...
wall with gatehouse protecting stables, brewhouse, barns, etc. The barmkin in turn would have been surrounded by a deep ditch, filled by the tide and trapped there by wooden dams when the tide withdrew. Also the land around must have been a tidal salt marsh
Salt marsh
A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
which would have added to the defensive position.
By 1612, Kilspindie was granted to Alexander Hay through his marriage, on 16 January 1582, to Patrick's widow. Kilspindie is not mentioned during Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
's sacking of Lothian castles in the 1650s but by the 1700s the castle had already been demolished for building material elsewhere in Aberlady
Aberlady
Aberlady is a coastal village in the Scottish council area of East Lothian. On Aberlady Bay, it is five miles northwest of Haddington and approximately 18 miles east of Edinburgh, to which it is linked by the A198 Dunbar - Edinburgh road.Aberlady Parish Church dates back to the 15th century. It...
. A number of large stones which belonged to the house have been built into the boundary walls of the fields and road leading to the golf course. A heavy studded door from the structure is now located within Luffness House.