Hawthornden Castle

Hawthornden was a property of the Abernethy family from the 13th century, and passed to the Douglases in the 14th century. The earliest parts of the castle date from the 15th century, and include a large three-storey tower, and the south curtain wall of a triangular courtyard. The castle was sacked twice by the Earl of Hertford in 1544 and 1547 during The Rough Wooing. In 1540 John Douglas sold trees from Hawthornden wood to James V as timber for his ships. The castle was later sold to Sir John Drummond, one of King James VI's ushers. His son, the poet Sir William Drummond of Hawthornden, was born here, and he later extended the castle. The L-shaped north range is his work, dated 1638, and…

The castle comprises a roughly triangular courtyard, approximately 24m long and 12m at its widest point, projecting north-west along a rocky promontory on the south bank of the River Esk. The 15th-century tower is situated at the south-east corner. Around 8m square, the tower is ruined, although the recent renovation included the installation of a library in the tower basement. There is also a rib-vaulted pit prison beneath the tower. Windows on the south curtain wall show that a range of buildings once stood here, although these are now all gone. A well in the west end of the courtyard supplied the castle's water. The 16th century range is to the north, and is linked to the tower by a…