Scheduled Monument

Ballinbreich CastleSM844

Status: Designated

Documents

Where documents include maps, the use of this data is subject to terms and conditions (https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/termsandconditions).

The legal document available for download below constitutes the formal designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The additional details provided on this page are provided for information purposes only and do not form part of the designation. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within this additional information.

Summary

Date Added
23/07/1935
Last Date Amended
08/09/2003
Type
Secular: castle
Local Authority
Fife
Parish
Flisk
NGR
NO 27181 20488
Coordinates
327181, 720488

Description

The monument comprises a major courtyard castle built for, and occupied by, the Leslie family. The estates were in their possession from before 1390, when it was confirmed to Norman Leslie. The family was ennobled by the earldom of Rothes in 1457, and the dukedom of Rothes and marquessate of Ballinbreich in 1680.

The castle stands on sloping ground on the south shore of the Tay. In its first identifiable form the main body of the castle appears to have been contained within a high curtain wall of basically quadrangular form, with the principal entrance through the south wall. There may have been ranges of buildings around the perimeter of much of the courtyard from the start, as there certainly were in its final state. The outstanding quality of the first phase of work is particularly clearly indicated by the detailing of the first-floor chapel, adjacent to the gatehouse, which had fine three-seat sedilia and a traceried east window.

There was much rebuilding of the ranges in the course of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the date for one phase of this may be indicated by a tradition that there used to be a metal plate in the castle with the date 1572 and the initials of the fourth earl. This phase of work involved the adaptation of the chapel to serve as a chamber (with the insertion of a barrel vault which incidentally obscured the piscina) and the addition of a fine stair tower of ashlar construction in the re-entrant angle between the south range and rebuilt west range. As part of this same operation a half-round tower with shot-holes in its lower walls was added on the south front, and there are indications that an outer courtyard to the east of the castle was either added or remodelled.

The castle was first scheduled in 1935, but this was confined to the footprint of the castle itself. The scheduling is now to be extended to embrace the area likely to have been occupied by the outer courtyard on the east, and to take in what may have been earthworks associated with the castle on the sides towards the Tay. The area to be scheduled is irregular, measuring 92.5m from south-south-west to north-north-east and 67m from south-south-east to north-north-west.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance as an outstanding example of a large-scale fortified residence built for a family of major landholders who occupied it and remodelled it over an extended period from the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries. Complementing the significance of the impressive upstanding structures of the castle is the archaeological potential of the earthworks that indicate the existence of outer enclosures associated with the castle, especially on its west, north and east sides.

References

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NO22SE 8.0.

References:

REGISTER OF THE GREAT SEAL Vol. 1, 308-9; Vol. 3, 31-2.

MacGibbon D and Ross T 1887, THE CASTELLEATED AND DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND, Vol. 2, Edinburgh, 410-417.

RCAHMS 1933, ELEVENTH REPORT WITH INVENTORY OF MONUMENTS AND CONSTRUCTIONS IN THE COUNTIES OF FIFE, KINROSS, AND CLACKMANNAN, Edinburgh: HMSO, 146-9.

Gifford J 1988, THE BUILDINGS OF SCOTLAND, FIFE, London, 91-3.

About Scheduled Monuments

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Scheduling is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for monuments and archaeological sites of national importance as set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.

We schedule sites and monuments that are found to be of national importance using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Scheduled monument records provide an indication of the national importance of the scheduled monument which has been identified by the description and map. The description and map (see ‘legal documents’ above) showing the scheduled area is the designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The statement of national importance and additional information provided are supplementary and provided for general information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within the statement of national importance or additional information. These records are not definitive historical or archaeological accounts or a complete description of the monument(s).

The format of scheduled monument records has changed over time. Earlier records will usually be brief. Some information will not have been recorded and the map will not be to current standards. Even if what is described and what is mapped has changed, the monument is still scheduled.

Scheduled monument consent is required to carry out certain work, including repairs, to scheduled monuments. Applications for scheduled monument consent are made to us. We are happy to discuss your proposals with you before you apply and we do not charge for advice or consent. More information about consent and how to apply for it can be found on our website at www.historicenvironment.scot.

Find out more about scheduling and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

Images

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Printed: 28/03/2024 20:42