Midhope Castle

Midhope Castle is a late 16th-century tower house in Scotland. It is situated in the hamlet of Abercorn on the Hopetoun estate, About 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the west of South Queensferry, on the outskirts of Edinburgh. It is a Category A listed building.

The derelict chateau that can be seen today represents the much-altered 5-storey, oblong tower house.

In the 14th century the lands of Midhope were owned by Henry Graham of Mannerstoun. When he died without leaving a male heir Midhope passed to his two daughters. One of the daughters married Robert Livingstone of Drumry and Mannerstoun. The other daughter, Christian, married John Martin of Midhope, with Martin holding Midhope from the Livingstones of Drumry.

In the 15th century Midhope belonged to the Martin family. In 1438, John Martin of Midhope was the laird, and he is thought to have built the original tower house. John Martin's widow, Lady Christian Martin, retained the right to occupy Midhope according to contract she signed with James Livingston of Mannerston.

In 1537 Sir James Hamilton of Finnart received a grant of half the lands of Midhope, half the lands of Mannerstoun and half of the mill of Abercorne from Elizabeth Martin, Lady of Falscastell, who held the lands from John Lindsay, 5th Lord Lindsay of the Byres.

During the latter 16th century, the castle belonged to Alexander Drummond of Midhope, brother to Robert Drummond of Carnock, Master of Work to the Crown of Scotland. A stone inscribed "AD 1582 MB" commemorates Alexander and his wife Marjory Bruce, daughter of Robert Bruce of Airth.

Alexander Drummond was a servant of the Earl of Huntly, who regarded him as a cousin. On 7 August 1573, on behalf of the Earl of Huntly, Drummond returned jewels belonging to Mary, Queen of Scots to Regent Morton at Holyrood Palace. Drummond was buried at Airth Old Kirk.

A painted ceiling from the tower survives in the care of Historic Scotland at Edinburgh. It includes cinquefoil motifs and probably commemorates the marriage of Sir Robert Drummond, who became laird in 1619, to a Hamilton heiress. The family motto was "ad astra per ardua" and fragments from another painted ceiling had gold stars on a blue blackground, represented in the crest of the coat of arms.

In 1678, Midhope was given a facelift when an entrance tower was removed and the extension to the east was heightened and extended.

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

Midhope Castle ranks #1,878 of 8,134 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #66 of the 168 mapped in Scotland. Founded c. 1575, it is older than 36% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 755 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 6,373 times in the last 60 days, more than 88% of the atlas. 15 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Edinburgh, 19 km away. See how Scotland compares in the castle statistics.

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