Saturday, 25 January 2020

Cousland Castle

Cousland Castle

Cousland Castle sits in a field in the middle of Cousland village. You can see the remains of the original castle and also some remains of the modern 16th & 18th c additions to the site

"Cousland Castle is thought to have been begun in the late 12th or early 13th century as a strong square keep. In 1215 it came into the possession of the St Clair (Sinclair) family of Roslin.
In 1494 Cousland Castle passed to William Ruthven, the 1st Lord Ruthven through via the marriage of a daughter of Sir Thomas Cranstoun of that Ilk and Sir Patrick Ruthven of Ruthven.
Ruthven may have made improvements to the castle as some of the features were identified in an archaeological excavation in 2008 as being typical of the 15th century." (from stravaiging.com)

"Sir George Hay was an influential and powerful man and also an early industrialist with patents for iron and glass manufacture, he was also the Lord Chancellor of Scotland (1622). When Cousland was under his ownership they have a witch-hunt in the year 1630.
We know the ‘witches’ were held in the tolbooth in Cousland, which could have been the castle, given that it is the only secure building in the settlement." (from couslandvillage.co.uk)



























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