Borthwick Castle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Borthwick Castle is a medieval, Scottish fortification. It is located twelve miles to the southeast of Edinburgh city, to the east of the village of Borthwick in Scotland. This castle was constructed in 1430 by Sir William Borthwick, at the site of an earlier structure, and it remains the Borthwick family ancestral seat.
It was originally a stone enclosure fortress with massive walls up to 14 feet in thickness and 110 feet in height. The design is a U-shaped keep with a 12 foot gap between the towers. There was an interior courtyard and round towers at the corners.
It was visited twice by Mary Queen of Scots, in 1563 and later in 1567 when she was besieged inside while under the protection of the 6th Lord Borthwick. She managed to escape the siege by using a disguise. In 1650 the castle was attacked by Oliver Cromwell's forces, and was surrendered after only a few shots of a cannon. The damage to the walls from this attack is still visible.
After a period of abandonment, the castle was restored by 1914. During World War II this castle was used as a secret hiding place to store national treasures. In 1973 it was leased from the Borthwick family and converted into a hotel catering mainly for castle weddings [1].
