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Field Visit

Date 27 August 1913

Event ID 1089156

Category Recording

Type Field Visit

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1089156

202. Auldhame.

Auldhame stands on one of the sea cliffs from which the estate of Seacliff is named about a mile south-west of Tantallon Castle. The site is very beautiful, overlooking a little crescentic bay bordering the estuary of the Forth between the Gegan and Car Rocks. The ruin, which is that of a large 16th century mansion, consists of a main block measuring 59 ¾ feet from north-north-west to south-south-east by 27 feet 4 inches from east-north-east to west-south-west; from the eastern wall two rectangular towers project eastwardly and circled turrets are corbelled out in the northern re-entering angles. At the northern angles of the main block there appear to have been circled turrets, and against the western wall were outbuildings. The building has been at least three storeys in height; the basement, or a portion of it, has been vaulted. On the first floor there is a fragment of a17th century plaster frieze. The structure is in very bad condition.

HISTORICAL NOTE.

Auldhame belonged to the family of Otterburn; Sir Adam Otterburn of Reidhall and Auldhame, son of a merchant burgess of Edinburgh, was King's Advocate in the reign of James V (1). In 1594 there was a charter of novodamus by James VI to Thomas Otterburn of Reidhall and Mariota Lauder his wife of the lands of Auldhame, etc. in the barony of Tynningham, the regality of St. Andrews, etc (2).

RCAHMS 1924, visited 27 August 1913.

(1) Omond's Lord Advocates i., p. II; (2) Reg.Mag. Sig. s.a., No. 86.

OS Map ref: iii. S.W. (‘St. Baldred's House’)

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