Fordell Castle

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Fordell Castle is located 1¼ miles north-west of Dalgety Bay and 2 miles east of Dunfermline, in Fife, Scotland.

The lands of Fordell were given to the Henderson family by King James IV in 1511. Mary, Queen of Scots, stayed here when Marion Scott, one of her ladies-in-waiting, married George Henderson, the laird. The castle was destroyed by fire, but rebuilt c.1580. The castle was damaged again by Oliver Cromwell's army in 1651 and lay in ruin.

The family had built a new mansion nearby in the 19th century, but they kept the castle in good repair. In 1866, the estate passed by marriage to Hew Duncan, second son of the Earl of Camperdown.

The ruins were purchased by the flamboyant politician Sir Nicholas Fairbairn for one hundred pounds sterling. The castle was restored to its full glory and used as a private residence by Sir Nicholas and his wife Lady Sam Fairbairn, before he died in 1995. Lady Sam continued to live there until 1997 when it was sold on to a local veterinary surgeon, before being sold on again to multi-millionare businessman Andrew Berry.

Fordell Castle was sold for £3,850,000 in November of 2007 to an undisclosed buyer, making Fordell the fifth-highest-priced home ever sold in Scotland.^{[citation needed]}

Within the grounds is a chapel dedicated to St. Therotus, or Theriot.