Publication Account

Date 1981

Event ID 1017815

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Publication Account

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1017815

The castle at Crail boasts a largely uncharted history. There was a castle at Crail in the reign of Malcolm IV (1153 x 1165) (Barrow, 1960, 282) and in 1264 occurs the record of payment in regards to the repair of the structure (ER, i, 4). By the mid-sixteenth century the castle had apparently become ruinous. In a curious charter of Mary Queen of Scots to David Spens of Wormiston, it is alleged that the Spens were for many centuries past keepers and constables of the castle, now ruinous, so that there is nothing remaining but the moat ... (Millar, 1895, i, 375). The ruinous property was thus given to Spens but it is unclear whether he or his heir rebuilt the castle. In the early eighteenth century it was said that ruined masonry occupied the site of the castle (Millar, 1895, i, 375), and in the present day the only visible remains of the castle of Crail include a rough portion of masonry (Ordnance Survey Record Cards, NO 60 NW 19).

Information from ‘Historic Crail: The Archaeological Implications of Development’ (1981).