Scotland · 14th century
Crichton Castle is a ruined castle near the village of Crichton in Midlothian, Scotland. It is situated at the head of the River Tyne, 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the village of Pathhead, and the same distance east of Gorebridge.
Constructed as a tower house in the late 14th century, it was expanded as the power of the Crichton family grew. However, the Crichtons fell from favour in the later 15th century, and the castle passed to the Earls of Bothwell. Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell, constructed the Italianate north range in the 1580s, featuring an elaborate diamond-patterned facade. After Bothwell was accused of witchcraft the castle fell into neglect. The ruins are now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland, and are open to the public. A mile to the south-west is Borthwick Castle, a 15th-century tower house that is still in use.
Text adapted from “Crichton Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Crichton Castle ranks #3,723 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #128 of the 226 mapped in Scotland. Founded c. 1375, it is older than 53% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 755 atlas entries founded in the 14th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,412 times in the last 60 days, more than 60% of the atlas. 14 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Edinburgh, 18 km away. See how Scotland compares in the castle statistics.
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