Monday 11 July 2016

Time Travellers - Part 2





Crichton Castle stands on a grassy hillside overlooking the River Tyne
The original castle dates from the late 1300s,when John de Crichton built his tower house.





Down in the valley a line of trees conceals the river.




The building went through many changes during its 200 years as a family residence,
only to be abandoned in the late 1600s, a short time after the final remodelling was completed.





Information board image - above.


In mid 1400s the castle was further enlarged by John's son William,a powerful figure of the time.
He was Master of the King's Household,Sheriff of Edinburgh and Keeper of Edinburgh Castle.
A great hall and guest accommodation were built around a central courtyard.
The tall building on right is the original tower house.

At 12 miles from Edinburgh city centre it would have been an easy commute on horseback. 






Remains of the tower house
Solar panels on the roof provide electricity for minimal modern day requirements.






William de Crichton's great hall around 1450 (information board illustration).





In 1562 the young Mary Queen of Scots attended the wedding here, of her half brother
Lord John Stewart and Janet Hepburn and it was their son Francis who would make the
final changes in the castle's design.
 




Remains of the medieval stone fireplace in the great hall.






Francis Stewart was a highly educated and well travelled young man.
He had studied at the universities of St Andrews,Paris and Rouen
and travelled extensively on the Continent.

He added the most striking architectural features of the castle,
almost certainly influenced by Renaissance palaces he had seen in Italy.
When work began he was still only in his early 20s.




The castle courtyard around 1590 (information board illustration).
The north part of the building (right) was completely rebuilt creating a new lord's hall
and luxurious living rooms on three floors.







The diamond faceted stonework, unique in Scotland,is what makes this castle special.

In 1586 Mary's son the young King James VI visited, possibly to see the work in progress.





James VI in 1586 aged 20.

Francis was involved in a number of nefarious deeds including murder.
He was said to be a student of "the dark arts", and in 1591
was accused of trying to kill the king by witchcraft.

He was temporarily pardoned but four years later a verdict of treason was passed and
 aged 33, he was forced into exile in Italy. He died in Naples in poverty,
again accused of sorcery.

His abandoned castle fell into decline and eventually became a source of
building materials for the area. 




Looking through the lord's hall to the medieval church founded
by William de Crichton in 1449.







On the south side, the remains of William de Crichton's medieval castle.
The great hall is on the first floor.





The 1580s purpose built stable block with rooms above on two levels.



Stable interior




Today a warm wind blows -  and wild nature adorns the hillside.







Wild roses and bracken.




Brambles






Crowfoot Trefoil and Germander Speedwell





Crichton Castle is now cared for by Historic Scotland

Thank you for visiting



Photos  7 and 12 - image source Wikipedia

Shared with :      Image-in-ing      Our World Tuesday     Tuesday's Treasures     Trees and Bushes

29 comments:

Andrea said...

What a lovely journey, and thank you for that. I was enthralled. I wonder if the walls of the castle still harbours the bad energies done there by Francis! I have an interesting interest going to Scotland since young, however till now i still haven't been given the opportunity of any visit. Every post about it by blogger friends i read, and i seem to relate to each, maybe i have a pastlife there.

The Furry Gnome said...

Very interesting old castle! Reminds me a bit of Tantallon.

Rajesh said...

Fantastic shots of remains of castle.

elizabeth said...

So lovely! We visited Edinburgh last summer!

Murthy K v v s said...

Really, it transported me to those days.

Tom said...

You have it all...beautiful countryside, history, wonderful architecture, flowers, it's a treasure. Thanks so much for joining Tuesday's Treasures! I hope that yoy will return again soon.

eileeninmd said...

Hello, I love the castle and the beautiful countryside. Lovely collection of images, thanks for sharing your visit.
Happy Tuesday, enjoy your day!

Tanya Breese said...

wow, i really enjoyed this post! loved the photos! is this just sitting there abandoned or does someone own it?

Andrea @ From The Sol said...

So beautiful and thank you for the history. How I wish it could have survived ... it seems so sturdy and well built. It makes me wonder what happened to cause it to crumble. The scenery is breath taking as well. Beautiful post ...

Andrea @ From The Sol

Lady Fi said...

Fabulous shots!

biebkriebels said...

What a wonderful post, thsnks fot sharing this history.

carol l mckenna said...

Fascinating post and gorgeous photos of Scotland ~ lovely!


Happy Week to you ~ ^_^

Anne (cornucopia) said...

WOW!! Fantastic photos of this historic place.

stardust said...

Dear Ruby - What beautiful castle remains on the green hilltop! I love to visit castle ruins to feel back in time imagining how it was in the past. The illustrations show us the castle in its prosperous time. Your photos make me feel I am there in the smell of green grass and warm breeze.

Yoko

doodles n daydreams said...

Great photos and history, a treasure indeed.

Diana

Tomoko said...

Crichton Castle on the green field looks alone, but I see the building has withstood there for many yeas, and been a special castle. It is interesting to see the stone fireplace from the medieval age. Thank you for those beautiful photos!
Have a good day,Ruby.

NatureFootstep said...

this place looks familiar in some way. Have to check if we visited this one or another similar to this. You captured it nicely. :)

Ida said...

Super cool old castle. Love the Diamond Brick work. - Lovely countryside as well. Enjoyed all your photos.

Minoru Saito said...

Hi! Nice story about the castle. I like old buildings very much. The design of the diamond faceted stonework is very modern and very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Fascinating post Ruby! On so many levels -- the beautiful castle, the architecture -- some history I knew nothing about (and what an interesting person that Francis was (obviously bright but deeply disturbed -- I guess there have always been people like that).... and then the lovely flowers on the grounds. What a great place to visit -- thanks for taking us on the tour.

Pet said...

Quite impressive! And such a beautiful countryside!

Tammie Lee said...

It is amazing to consider these stone walls filled with people and their lives. Such interesting designs. I so enjoyed your photos and information. Thank you Ruby.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful captures! Oh, evil Francis - I wonder if (in general) they still ban people to another country...Anyways, I'm glad I caught up with you again, because I saw your blog theme.
You are missed at SEASONS, my dear forest dream weaver and I moved my blog meanwhile! artworksfromJeshStG (dot) wordpress (dot) com and my post this week is SEASONS - July Favorites. Hope to see you back there:)I've always loved your posts! (photo link is open July 20-23)

betty-NZ said...

What a lovely tour (both parts) of an ancient place. There's enough left to imagine what life was like back then. Your photos are awesome.

Karen @ Beatrice Euphemie said...

Beautiful....so much history. Lovely to see the countryside, stonework and wildflowers....as far as the eye can see! x Karen

dritanje said...

Gorgeous pictures as ever. I'm curious about Francis, I don't know anything about him apart from what you have told us, but I do wonder, (also thinking of Michael Scott) if these well-travelled and well-educated people aroused suspicion in the minds of others, about their practice of the 'dark arts'. YOu know how prejudiced people can be, yes even these days! If someone mentions 'occult', alchemy or astrology or other kinds of knowledge deemed secret, people who don't know anything about them can be very suspicious. And then, sovereigns and leaders can be quite paranoid, as, again, we see even today. However, having said that (I didn't mean to turn this into a long comment) I don't know anything about Francis and maybe he was plotting things. This post makes me curious about him!
M xx

rainfield61 said...

Such a great place for so many beautiful photos.

handmade by amalia said...

So interesting to hear about the history of the place.
Amalia
xo

DeniseinVA said...

Hard to imagine living in these rather amazing places. Beautiful photos! Thank you so much for sharing them. I am back from my blog break and catching up ever so slowly. Could be a little longer before I am completely back in the swing of things :)

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