View from south east

Description View from south east

Date 1889

Collection Papers of Erskine Beveridge, antiquarian, Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland

Catalogue Number SC 747702

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of F 1997

Scope and Content Earlshall, Leuchars, Fife, from the south-east (now restored) Earlshall, a 16th-century tower-house built for Sir William Bruce in 1546 and completed for his great-grandson and namesake in 1617, stands in a rural setting about 1km to the east of the village of Leuchars. The house, which by the late 19th century had fallen into a semi-ruinous state, was photographed in 1889 by Erskine Beveridge before being 'carefully and judiciously restored' in 1891-8 by the architect, Sir Robert Lorimer. This rubble-built house is arranged in an L-shaped block, with the longer wing of the 'L' (partially obscured by the tree) facing south across an enclosed courtyard. This main four-storeyed block housed the principal apartments, and was orientated in an east-west direction with a massive, oval-shaped tower projecting from its north-east corner (right). On the south side of the courtyard is a small 16th-century tower (left), linked to a 17th-century, two-storeyed, crowstepped building, now roofless, which originally provided additional kitchen accommodation on the lower storey. At the east end, under the tree, is a smaller building, obviously a later addition. 16th- and early 17th-century tower-houses were built of rubble masonry, and were three, four or five storeys high. They were austerely plain and windowless at ground-floor level, mainly as a security measure, and had a large principal room or hall occupying most of the first floor which was lit by large windows. The ground floor contained the kitchen, cellars and wine cellar, the latter often constructed with a private stair to the hall above. The rest of the house was divided up into bedrooms with various arrangements of staircases to give separate access to each apartment. The house and its courtyard were enclosed by a wall (barmkin) which helped to provide security and privacy for the occupants. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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