Elibank Castle
Ruined fortified house in the Scottish Borders
Elibank Castle is a ruined fortified house dating from the late 16th century. It stands south of the River Tweed and the A72, around 3km east of Walkerburn in the Scottish Borders. The ruins are a scheduled monument.
01History
In 1511 King James IV granted a charter to Catherine Douglas, widow of John Liddale, and her son John Liddale, of farmland and forests at Aleburn or Eliburn, on provision that the family built a stone house, barn, doocot and cattlesheds on the land to secure it. In 1594 the house passed to Gideon Murray of Glenpoit (the neighbouring estate) who built a castle there around 1595 giving it the name Elibank. From him, the house passed to a series of Lord Elibank. The building was ruinous by 1722.
02Gardens
At the Union of the Crowns in 1603, a number of courtiers and administrators improved their gardens in Scotland following European models. As such, Gideon Murray, who was depute-treasurer in Scotland, constructed an Italianate series of terraces on three sides of the Castle, amongst the grandest in Scotland.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Elibank Castle”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Elibank Castle - geograph.org.uk - 2026524.jpg by Jim Barton, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Cultivation Terraces, Elibank Castle - geograph.org.uk - 2037954.jpg by Iain Lees, CC BY-SA 2.0
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.