Dirleton Castle

Dirleton Castle Details

Dirleton Castle, a ruined C13 courtyard castle of the Vauxs and Haliburtons altered C16 by the Ruthvens; abandoned C17.

  • Closest To: North Berwick, Haddington, Dunbar
  • Access: Chargeable Public Access
  • Grid Reference: NT516839

Dirleton Castle is a much altered courtyard castle built upon a rocky outcrop in the centre of the village. Today the 13th century core of the castle can still be seen alongside the later residential ranges and gardens, and it is justifiably one of the most popular castles in Scotland. It is managed by Historic Environment Scotland and open for a fee.

Dirleton is usually said to have been granted to the de Vaux family by King David I in the 12th century. It is certainly true that Randolph de Vaux, a son of Hubert de Vaux of Gilsland, held land in southern Scotland within a decade of David’s reign, and his son William was lord of Dirleton in the 1220s. However it is by no means certain that the lands of Dirleton that he held contained a castle, and in fact the old castle on the island of Elbottle (held by William) may have served as the seat of the de Vaux family in these earlier years. The castle of Dirleton was in existence by 1225, and it is likely that the original courtyard castle with a rock-cut ditch was augmented with the additions of multiple round towers later in the century. The 13th century work that survives today is of a multangular courtyard with three round drum towers facing east across the ditch, a fourth tower at the south-west corner, and between this and the southern tower a smaller square tower projected. The southern end formed an inner courtyard, and the main courtyard was accessed across the ditch by a flying bridge. The castle was captured by the English in 1298 and garrisoned until at least 1311. The de Vaux male line died out at the end of the 14th century leaving two heiress sisters, the eldest of whom had married John Haliburton.

The Haliburtons radically remodelled the castle with a massive service and residential block over the east wall, removing two of the towers that may have been ruined following the wars of Independence, and carried out other repairs. Their principal political support came from the Douglas family, who dramatically fell from grace in the mid 15th century. The male line of the Haliburtons ended with three heiresses, the eldest of whom married William, Lord Ruthven. The Ruthvens converted the inner court into a luxurious house, but fell into disrepute as a result of their attempt to kill or capture James VI in the conspiracy that bears their name. The castle changed hands, but had declined in importance and was used as a garrison by Cromwell in 1650. In 1663 the estate was purchased by John Nisbet, who elected to build a more modern house instead of occupying the castle, which fell into ruin and became the central feature of extensive parkland.

Official Historic Scotland page

HES Canmore database entry

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