Wedderburn Castle

Wedderburn Castle, near Duns, Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders, is an 18th-century country house designed by the architect brothers Robert Adam and James Adam that is now used as a wedding and events venue. The house is a Category A listed building and the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.

Wedderburn Castle is the historic seat of the Home of Wedderburn family, the senior cadet branch of the Home family (today the Earls of Home). It was designed and constructed between 1771 and 1775 by the architect brothers Robert Adam and James Adam under the supervision of the architect James Nisbet of Kelso, for Patrick Home of Billie, who had already completed Paxton House (using James Adam and Nisbet from 1758, with Robert Adam doing the interiors c. 1773). Construction began in 1768–69, incorporating a 15th-century tower house. With battlemented three-storey elevations in the typical Adam Castle style, the apparent symmetry of Wedderburn Castle conceals a rectangular courtyard, originally filled by the 17th-century (or earlier) tower house, also known as Wedderburn Castle, of which only a heraldic panel remains. Surviving parts of the tower house to the north-east were demolished in the early 19th century, leaving the courtyard accessed through an archway at the rear.

The castle is approached via the north, or Lion, Gate of 1794, designed by John Plaw, and a long drive leading from the West Gate. The drive passes the 18th-century stables, arranged around a square court entered through a pedimented archway, and the stables cottages before reaching the house. The former stables building is now used as an events venue.

The West Gate is another archway, defined by screen walls and gabled lodges.

The principal entrance, beneath the Home of Wedderburn coat of arms, opens into a hall containing a double staircase with an iron balustrade leading to a balcony, behind which is a long gallery connecting the drawing room and the dining room. Across the hall and above the front door is a minstrel gallery, also connecting the drawing room and the dining room. To the right of the staircase are the drawing room and the morning room, formerly the smoking room, beyond which lies the ballroom.

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

Wedderburn Castle ranks #4,790 of 8,764 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #168 of the 207 mapped in Scotland. Founded 1771, it is older than 16% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 638 atlas entries founded in the 18th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,060 times in the last 60 days, more than 50% of the atlas. 10 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Edinburgh, 59 km away. See how Scotland compares in the castle statistics.

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