Castle Cary Castle

Castle Cary Castle (sometimes called Castlecary Castle) [1] is a fifteenth-century tower house, about 6 miles (10 km) from Falkirk, in the former county of Stirlingshire, Scotland.[2] It is located near to the site of one of the principal forts of the Roman Antonine Wall.

History

The tower, about 12 metres (40 ft) high,[3] is thought have been built by Henry Livingstone of Myddillbynning in the period before 1485.[2] Mary Queen of Scots is reported to have visited the castle and planted a yew tree there. For the 16th and the early part of the 17th centuries it belonged to the Livingstones of Dunipace, and was then acquired by the Baillies.[2] In 1730, the castle passed to Thomas Dunbar of Fingask, through his marriage to Bethia Baillie.[2]

The castle was burned by a party of Jacobites during the 1715 rebellion.[3] The antiquary Alexander Baillie was probably born in Castle Cary Castle, and it was from this castle that his sister, Lizzie, eloped with Donald Graham, a Highland farmer, by leaping into his plaid (Belted plaid).[2] The castle later became the property of the Marquess of Zetland.[2]

Description

The castle originated as a rectangular tower with a lower wing, forming an L-shape, and was built from rubble in the late 15th century, incorporating stone from a nearby Roman fort.[2] The original wing was destroyed, then during the 17th century, a wing was added to the east of the tower; it bears the date 1679.[3] This was two storeys high, and had an attic, as well as a turnpike stair. Both the main tower and the extension have a pitched roof and crow-stepped gables, and the original tower has a restored parapet which is crenellated.[2] There is a machicolated projection at the east end of the north wall, at parapet level, although its defensive value would have been limited, as it was not placed above the entrance.[2] It is, however, more likely that this feature is a Garderobe.

A turnpike stair leads from the north entrance to the parapet, where there is a cap-house from which the attic may be entered. There is a barrel-vaulted cellar on the ground floor. Traces of 18th century wall painting may be seen in the Hall, which also has the bases and moulded jambs of the fireplace. An iron grille, part of the original defences of the door, is preserved within.[2]

Beneath the 17th-century extension, there is a 7.5-metre-wide (25 ft) ditch which was filled in for the construction of the wing. It may have been contemporary with the 1485 structure.[1]

The Song of Lizzie Baillie

There is a tradition that Lizzie of Castlecary jumped out the Castle window to abscond with her lover Donald Graham.[4] There are a couple versions of a song recorded about this one by Rev. Hugh Baird who states that the story is sometimes confused with that of Mary of Castlecary.[5] Baird's whole book is about Castlecary.

References

  1. 1 2 RCAHMS. "Castlecary Castle (45827)". Canmore. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Lindsay, Maurice (1986). The castles of Scotland. Constable. p. 123.
  3. 1 2 3 "Castlecary". Gazetteer of Scotland. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  4. ↑ Child, Francis James (1882). Song 227 Bonnie Lizie Baillie. The English and Scottish Popular Ballads. Houghton, Mifflin and Company.
  5. ↑ Baird, Hugh (1864). Song–Lizzie Baillie. Castlecary and the Great Roman Wall. Charles Jeffery. p. 76.

Coordinates: 55°58′31″N 3°56′45″W / 55.97528°N 3.94583°W / 55.97528; -3.94583

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