Burleigh Castle

The remains of Burleigh Castle are located just outside the village of Milnathort, 1.5 miles north of Kinross, in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The castle dates from the 15th and 16th centuries, and now sits beside the A911 road, opposite a 19th-century steading, recently adapted into housing.

The lands of Burleigh were held by the Balfours from 1456, when they were granted by James II to John Balfour of Balgarvie, and a tower house was erected in the late 15th or early 16th century. Sir James Balfour of Pittendreich extended the castle in the late 16th century, adding a curtain wall with a corner tower, and other outbuildings.

The castle was a convenient stopping place, Mary of Guise came to dinner at Burleigh on 9 January 1540 and went on to Falkland Palace. James VI of Scotland was a frequent visitor in the time of his son, Sir Michael Balfour. James VI visited Lady Burleigh for a few days in April 1587, and came to Burleigh in January 1589 after spending Christmas at Kinneil House. In July 1596 he stayed at Burleigh then rode to Stirling Castle for the christening of a son of the Countess of Mar.

Colonel William Stewart was imprisoned at Burleigh Castle in June 1592. He was suspected of planning to help the Earl of Bothwell capture James VI at Falkland Palace.

An Act of Parliament in 1600 made Michael Balfour wealthy, directing landowners and people of standing to buy armour from him, for defence musters. Several men complained that Balfour tried to make them buy more armour than their rank and income demanded. In 1607 Michael Balfour was raised to the peerage as Lord Balfour of Burleigh.

Legend tells how Robert Balfour, before his accession as 5th Lord, narrowly escaped death when, in 1707, he was sentenced to beheading for the murder of the schoolmaster of Inverkeithing, who had the misfortune to have married Balfour's childhood sweetheart. Escaping from Edinburgh tolbooth, Balfour joined the Jacobite cause, proclaiming the 'Old Pretender' James Stuart king at Lochmaben, and fighting in the 1715 rising. Following the defeat of the Jacobites, Balfour was attainted, dying in France in 1757.

The castle was forfeit to the Irwins, then passed to the Grahams of Kinross. It is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument in the care of Historic Environment Scotland (no entrance charge; key available from nearby house at all reasonable times).

Text adapted from “Burleigh Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Burleigh Castle ranks #6,030 of 8,764 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #193 of the 207 mapped in Scotland. Founded c. 1450, it is older than 49% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 490 atlas entries founded in the 15th century. 12 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Edinburgh, 33 km away. It is one of the 69 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of the Scottish Highlands. See how Scotland compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗