OS1/24/32/30
| List of names as written | Various modes of spelling | Authorities for spelling | Situation | Description remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DROCHIL CASTLE (In Ruins) | Viz. -- I.D.E.O.M. [James Douglas Earl of Morton] 1578 -- J Douglass Earl of Morton but it was removed about 30 years ago and placed in the end of one of the offices at Drochill Farm House where it at present is. It is supposed that it was commenced by the Regent Morton in the Year given above and that he was beheaded before it was roofed and th [that] it never has been roofed since, therefore it was never occupied. Presently the property of the Earl of Wemyss. |
Continued entries/extra info
[page] 30"The Douglasses have left a memorial of their power and Splendour as well as of their and
misfortune in the great ruin of Drochil standing on the brow of a hill at the meeting of the
Lyne, and Tarth. It hath been designed says Pennecuik more for a palace than a castle
of defence and is of a mighty bulk founded and more than half built but never finished
by the great and powerful regent James Douglas earl of Morton. This mighty Earl for
the pleasure of the place and the salubrity of the air designed here a noble recess & retirement
from wordly business but was prevented by his inexorable death three years after anno 1581
being executed by the merciless maiden at the Cross of Edinburgh as art and part of the
murder of our King Henry early of Darnly; On the southern front above the entrance [Continued on page 31]
Transcriber's notes
"Maiden" also known as "Scottish Maiden" - is an early form of guillotine or gibbet that was used between the 16th and 17th centuries as a means of execution in Edinburgh.Transcribers who have contributed to this page.
Moira L- Moderator, JOANMUIR
Location information for this page.
There are no linked mapsheets.