Cousland Castle

Heritage listing

Date Added 06/08/1953 Last Date Amended 25/06/2011 Type Secular: house; tower Local Authority Midlothian Parish Cranston NGR NT 37749 68379 Coordinates 337749, 668379 — The monument comprises the remains of a tower house, a later building that adjoined it to the south, and part of a garden wall. The tower house survives above ground as an unroofed ruin with upstanding walls to the north, west and south. The style of the architecture indicates that it may date to the later 15th century. The later building is represented above ground only by its west wall, but excavation suggests that evidence for the other walls survives below ground. The remains suggest this was a domestic house, erected probably in the 16th century. A walled garden was created after this house was built, probably in the years following 1690. Remains of the garden wall adjoin the west side of the tower house and the south side of the later building. The monument lies close to the centre of Cousland village, on the south side of Hadfast Road, opposite Northfield steading. It stands at around 150m above sea level on ground that rises gently to the south and offers extensive views to the north. The monument was scheduled in 1953, but the documentation does not meet modern standards: the present rescheduling rectifies this and amends the extent of the scheduled area on the basis of more recent evidence. The upstanding remains of the tower house measure about 10m ENE-WSW by 8.5m transversely; the original width of the tower was 8.5m. The original length of the structure is unknown, but it probably stood up to four storeys high. Corbels and joist holes survive on the internal wall faces and show that the surviving remains represent the ground floor and first floor rooms. The chamber at first floor level has a

From Historic Environment Scotland under OGL v3.