Ravensneuk Castle

Heritage listing

Date Added 17/02/1993 Type Secular: castle; tower Local Authority Midlothian Parish Penicuik NGR NT 22292 59008 Coordinates 322292, 659008 — The monument consists of the remains of a small 16th-century fortified laird's house known as Ravensneuk Castle. In 1527 James V granted "Estir and Westir Ravinnisnuke to William Sinclare de Rosling". All that survives of the building is part of the lower storey which rises no more than 1.7m high over walls 0.9m thick. The coarse freestone rubble walls measure 18.3m ENE-WSW by 6m NNW-SSE. The S wall has been removed. The springing of vaulting over a kitchen or cellar can be seen extending about 6m from the E gable. The remainder of the ground floor probably had a beam ceiling. The building was robbed in the 18th century by the first Sir John Clerk (1650-1722) to build a new park wall. His son, the antiquary, also named John, lamented the destruction of the tower and recalled it as being 40 or 50 feet high (12-15m). He secured the tenure of Ravensneuk in 1730, although his family had owned it for a number of years. The area to be scheduled is irregular, measuring a maximum of 40m E-W by 50m N-S, to include the upstanding remains and an area which is likely to contain further buried features, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

From Historic Environment Scotland under OGL v3.