Myres Castle

Myres Castle
Garden of Myres Castle

Myres Castle is a Scottish castle situated in Fife near the village of Auchtermuchty (grid reference NO241109). Its history is interleaved with that of nearby Falkland Palace with present day castle construction dating to 1530. The castle and magnificent Scottish garden are now operated as a private conference centre with lodging.

Contents

Name derivation and early history

Its history is intertwined with the nearby Falkland Palace, since Myres was the heritary home of the Macers and Sergeants of Arms of Falkland. The word "myres" is associated with a boggy place; in fact, Myres Castle is located within fields and policies with marginal drainage. Further drainage improvements to the fields were made as late as the 1970s. There exists an attractive pond in front of the Castle, which also serves to collect runoff. The lands of the present Myres estate originally part of the extensive properties of the Earl of Fife, the Myres portion being converyed by marriage to Robert, Duke of Albany. In the year 1425, Murdoch, the son of Robert, forfeited the holding to the crown. From that time until the 16th century, the tenant farmers rents are recording in the rolls of the Royal Exchequer, indicating continuing ownership of the king. The first recorded tenant of the south quarter of Auchtermuchty, known as "the myres", was Robert Coxwell who resided at the Scottish Royal Court.

Architectural history from 1530

The castle itself originated circa 1530 as a Z-plan fortress, perhaps designed by its owner John Scrimgeour, and has an ochre harled exterior with some exposed grey ashlar stonework on its square tower added in 1616. The tower is adorned with garland stonework, heraldic relief with carved initials and a parapet. The basement course appears to be an older, possibly 14th century piece, due to its barrel vaulted construction, and clear architecture of a medieval kitchen. Further modifications took place in the 17th and 18th centuries. At the property entrance there is a detached Victorian stone gatehouse, which was inhabited as a residence up to at least 1997. The prize of Myres is a spectacular walled garden featuring gigantic topiary yew trees, elaborate herbacious borders and a small fishpond. The garden walls exceed three metres in height and are probably of 17th century origin.

20th century events

Myres is embedded among 44 acres (180,000 m2) of gardens, farmlands and policies. The Fairlie family has been associated with Myres for some time. There are Fairlie memorabilia at Myres including shooting diaries as far back as 1903. A recording is noted in the year 1915 that James Olgilvy Reginald Fairlie, Chamberlain to His Majesty, resident of Myres was killed in action in World War I. His son was the distinguished Scot architect Reginald Fairlie. The castle was the home of the Fairlie family up until 1997; moreover, the policies, or wooded perimeter, were augmented with the prudent planting by Captain Reginald Rairlie in the early 1980s. At present Myres serves as a conference centre with nine deluxe bedrooms.

Bibliography

Coordinates: 56°17′04″N 3°13′39″W / 56.28446°N 3.22759°W / 56.28446; -3.22759


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Undercroft — An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room [ [http://www.castles of britain.com/castle38.htm Castle Glossary] (from castles of britain.com website. Accessed 2008 01 11.)] , often brick lined and vaulted, and used for storage in… …   Wikipedia

  • Historic houses in Scotland — is a link page for any mansion, palace, country house, stately home or other historic house in Scotland.See also: List of castles in Scotland NOTOC Aberdeenshire*Balmoral Castle *Cairness House *Duff House *Elsick House *Fasque House *Fetteresso… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Romanesque architecture — urviving Romanesque buildingsListed below are examples of surviving buildings in Romanesque style in Europe.FranceRomanesque architecture expands in France through monasteries. Burgundy was the center of monastic life in France one of the most… …   Wikipedia

  • List of places in Fife — This List of places in Fife is a list of links for any town, village, hamlet, castle, golf course, historic house, hillfort, lighthouse, nature reserve, reservoir, river, and other place of interest in Fife, Scotland.compactTOC NOTOC… …   Wikipedia

  • Barrel vault — Nave of Lisbon Cathedral with a barrel vaulted soffit. Note the absence of clerestory windows, all of the light being provided by the Rose window at one end of the vault …   Wikipedia

  • Stairway — Stairs redirects here. For other uses, see Stairs (disambiguation). Staircase redirects here. For other uses, see Staircase (disambiguation). This article is about the construction. For the song by Led Zeppelin, see Stairway to Heaven. Stairways… …   Wikipedia

  • Falkland Palace — in Fife, Scotland is a former royal palace of the Scottish Kings. Today it is in the care of the National Trust for Scotland, and serves as a tourist attraction. [ [http://www.nts.org.uk/Property/93/ National Trust Scotland Falkland Palace ] ]… …   Wikipedia

  • Groin vault — Gothic cross vault, St Mary s, Greifswald …   Wikipedia

  • Walled garden — A walled garden is a garden enclosed by high walls.These walls may serve a decorative or security purpose, but their original function in the north temperate zone was to shelter the garden from wind and frost. This shelter can raise the ambient… …   Wikipedia

  • Auchtermuchty —    AUCHTERMUCHTY, a royal burgh, and a parish, in the district of Cupar, county of Fife, 9 miles (W. by S.) from Cupar; containing, with the village of Dunshelt, 3356 inhabitants, of whom 1340 are in the burgh. This place, of which the name, in… …   A Topographical dictionary of Scotland

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”