Publication Account
Date 1987
Event ID 1016873
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1016873
Burleigh Castle presents a series of interesting elements which in themselves are unusual and which, when considered as a group, are not satisfactorily explained. The oldest part of the castle is the tower at the northern end of the site. This dates from the early 16th century. It has a simple rectangular plan rising to four storeys and an attic. In 1582, a second range was built, in alignment with the west wall of the original tower, running southwards to form the western boundary of a courtyard layout This range terminates in a small tower at the south-west angle of the courtyard. This small tower is complete but the rest of the extension including a south range has all but disappeared leaving only the west wall of the west range. These demolished buildings hold the key to the domestic arrangements of the entire building. The remaining evidence is slight and can only give an indication of the size of these buildings. The raggle in the south wall of the original tower suggests that the west range was of three storeys and the surviving two storey west wall, with no evidence of tusking for the third storey, suggests that the upper storey was constructed of timber. The south range is also known to have been three storeys, but was reduced in height prior to its final demolition. The south-west tower appears to have been entered from within the angle of the south and west ranges.
Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: Fife and Tayside’, (1987).
