OS1/34/24/7

Continued entries/extra info

[Page] 7
Parish of Dalmeny

[Dundas Castle continued from page 6]

"Among the antiquities of this parish the ancient Castle of Dundas is entitled to a prominent place
It stands in conjunction with the modern mansion on the brow of a craggy hill of that name which
signifies "the hill of fallow deer" and from which numerous bones of deer and others of large dimensions
have been dug up. Its precise age cannot now be ascertained though it is supposed to have stood
since the beginning of the eleventh century. Several additions were made to it about 1416 when it
was turned into a fortalice by a warrant from Robert Duke of Albany and by a subsequent one from
James I in 1424. Its walls which are very massive were at that time raised to the height of 75 feet. Its
apartments are all arched and a circular stair leads to the top which is flat and surrounded by a battlement
from which the view is magnificient. Immediately under the north front of the present Castle there still
stands a stone fountain of most curious workmanship which originally occupied the centre of a parterre
enclosed with wall of of hewn Stone 12 feet high and of vast thickness with flights of stairs in the middle
and a banquetting house at each corner. This fountain which was supplied by water brought in
pipes from a distance is ornamented with numerous figures cut in the stone and bears on its sides
a long inscription in rather doggerel Latin, divided into stanzas setting forth that the purpose for
which it was erected by Sir Walter Dundas in the year of man's redemption 1623 and 61st of his age
was to perpetuate his own memory to be an ornament to his country and family - a gratification to his
friends and a terror to Spoilers and depredators, and that the parched garden might be moistened
with the water of the fountain. Tradition relates that the cause of this expensive work was his
disappointment at the loss of the barony of Barnbougle for the purchase of which he collected a [Continued on page 8]