Old Woodhouselee Castle

NT26SE 10 2572 6157.

(NT 2572 6157) Old Woodhouselee Castle (NR) (Remains of)

OS 6" map (1957)

Situated on a high rock overlooking a bend of the River North Esk, the remains of this castle consist of three vaults, 63'6" long by 20'9" wide over the walls, and 8'9" high inside. The ground on the N side is level with the top of the vaults, and on this high ground at the E end there are the foundations of a building, making a complete L-plan.

The castle is said to have been built by Oliver Sinclair in the first half of the 16th c. The RCAHMS, however, only date it to the 16th or early 17th c.

D MacGibbon and T Ross 1892; RCAHMS 1929, visited 1915

The remains consist mainly of the vaults, the barrel roofing of which has fallen in in places. The foundations of a building, 5.0m x 6.0m externally, are visible at the NE end.

Revised at 25".

Visited by OS (DT) 6 December 1962

Excavations were carried out here by the George Watson's College Archaeological Society, to determine the purpose of a small building at the centre of the ruin. Its walls were 3' thick and there were two doorways. Two insets 2' wide in the W wall were thought to be ovens and the building a small kitchen, as it connected with the main apartments. No floor level was found.

I G Brown 1966

The remains are as described in the previous field report.

Visited by OS (SFS) 28 October 1975