Gilbert Balfour

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Gilbert Balfour probably played the leading role in the murder of Lord Darnley, consort of Mary I.

Balfour married Margaret Bothwell, the sister of Adam Bothwell, Bishop of Orkney who endowed him with the isle of Westray, when it was episcopal property.

At Noltland on Westray, he had built one of the most impressive castles in the Orkneys, and indeed the Northern Isles was built, Noltland Castle[1]. The Castle is situated above the Bay of Pierowall, was built in the 1560s. It is notable for an unusually large spiral staircase, "second only to Fyvie Castle, while its triple tiers of gunloops are without parallel in Scotland, if not Europe". [2]

Balfour himself was executed before he could use the castle, for conspiring against the King of Sweden.

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Heritage of Westray
  2. ^ Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland. London. HarperCollins.
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