Redhouse Castle

Have you ever found a place where you can buy plants, enjoy a cream tea and look out on an old ruined castle? Now you have! This unicorn of a place is Redhouse Castle.

It's located within the grounds of Redhouse Nurseries just over the wall from their little tea shop, so you can buy a Hydrangea, have a tipple and get your fix for medieval ruins all in one go.

There's always some canny history about places like this, so strap yourself in.

Way back in the 1200s or 1300s, the land belonged to the Douglas family. who seemed to own half of medieval Scotland. In 1421, Archibald Douglas (the 4th Earl, no less) handed the land over to his mistress, a lass called Christian de Ramsay. likely as a mix of favour, loyalty and maybe a bit of hush-hush reward. Nobles back then often gave land, titles or income to mistresses as a way to keep them looked after without causing too much scandal.

Now don't go picturing battlements and drawbridges just yet, as at that point it probably wasn't a castle. More likely some sort of humble building, maybe even a wee hospice for pilgrims heading to the abbeys. Think stone walls, wood beams, and damp smells, rather than grandeur.

The actual castle didn't show up until the late 1500s when John Laing rolled in. He had the title of Keeper of the Signet, which basically meant he was a top government lad with a fancy job and deep pockets. He and his wife Rebecca Dennistoun thought this would be a canny place to build a proper residence, so they went full tilt and built the red sandstone beast we see today.

Their initials are still carved above the door, along with a Latin motto that sounds all deep and meaningful. It roughly translates to 'Without the Lord, all is in vain,' which is fair enough when your roof's now missing.

Later on, the castle passed to the Hamiltons after the Laings' daughter married into the family. They tarted it up even more, added some turrets, an L-shaped layout, inner courtyard, all the bits a stylish noble needed back then to impressive his pals.

But of course it all went sideways eventually. Come the Jacobite rising of 1745, George, the last Hamilton of Redhouse, backed the wrong horse, then got himself caught and hanged. The crown swooped in, seized the estate, and the place started its long slow crumble into ruin.

From there Redhouse Castle changed hands a couple of times until it was eventually bought by the Earl of Wemyss in 1755.

The Wemyss family were already big players in Scotland, and they had their eye on building something fancier than a ruined tower house. So they bought up Redhouse and folded it into their wider Gosford Estate.

Since then it's changed hands a few times, but no one's ever properly lived in it again. No renovations, no roof, no chance. It just sits there, looking moody and slightly cursed. It does have a lovely little doocot (dovecot) as part of it too!

Now you don't have to head in to the garden centre or cafe to have a gander at Redhouse Castle. If you swoop around the back there is an arched entrance where you can just wander in and have a look around. You can't get right into the castle, but you can have a good mooch around the outside.