Melville Castle is a three-storey Gothic

Gothic Revival architecture

The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...

 castellated mansion

Mansion

A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...

 situated less than a mile (2 km) west-south-west of Dalkeith

Dalkeith

Dalkeith is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the River North Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1540...

, Midlothian

Midlothian

Midlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....

, near the North Esk

River Esk, Lothian

The River Esk is a river which flows through Midlothian and East Lothian, Scotland.It initially runs as two separate rivers, the North Esk and the South Esk....

.

An earlier tower house

Tower house

A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation.-History:Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountain or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strategic points with reduced forces...

 on the site was demolished when the present structure, designed in 1786-91 by James Playfair

James Playfair

James Playfair was a Scottish architect who worked largely in the Neoclassical tradition. He was born in Benvie near Dundee, where his father was the parish minister. He was the brother of William Playfair the engineer, and the mathematician John Playfair...

 for Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville

Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville

Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville PC and Baron Dunira was a Scottish lawyer and politician. He was the first Secretary of State for War and the last person to be impeached in the United Kingdom....

, was built.

The original tower house was owned by the Melville family

Melville family

Melville is the name of a notable and nobility Scots family originally from Fife in eastern Scotland.*Alan Melville, English playwright, composer, lyricist, scriptwriter and performer*Alan Melville, South African cricketer...

, before passing to Sir John Ross in the 14th century. It subsequently changed hands with the attached lands several times and was sold to David Rennie in 1705. It then passed via the marriage of his daughter to Henry Dundas.

The building was empty by the 1980s, but has recently been restored, and is now a hotel. It contains very splendid interiors.

It currently functions as a private hotel, open for weddings, operated by the Aurora Hotel Group.