Broughty Castle
Encyclopedia
Broughty Castle is a historic castle
in Broughty Ferry
, Dundee
, Scotland
. It was completed around 1495, although the site was earlier fortified in 1454 when George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus
received permission to build on the site. His son Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus
was coerced into ceding the castle to the crown. The main tower house forming the centre of the castle with four floors was built by Andrew, 2nd Lord Gray
who was granted the castle in 1490.
following the Battle of Pinkie. A messenger from the castle who spoke to Somerset
before the castle was rendered, Rinyon (Ninian) Cockburn, was given £4. William Patten
noted its strategic importance; "it standeth in such sort at the mouth of the river Tay, that being gotten, both Dundee and St. John's Town (Perth), and many other towns else shall become subject to this hold or be compelled to forego their use of the river." The Scottish keeper, Henry Durham, was rewarded with an English pension, income from the fishing, and an import/export licence. Durham later lent the English commander £138.
Soon after their occupation, the English garrison at the castle further fortified it by building a ditch across the landward side of the castle's promontory. Edward Clinton began the refortification, with the advice of an Italian engineer, Master John Rossetti, and left 100 men guarded by three ships. The garrison was first led by Sir Andrew Dudley
, the Duke of Northumberland's
brother, who hoped to distribute Tyndale's Bible
in Dundee. Andrew Dudley wrote in October 1547 that; "never had a man had so weak a company of soldiers given to drinking, eating and slothfulness," though, "the house stands well." The town of Dundee agreed to support the garrison and resist Regent Arran on 27 October 1547. The constable, John Scrimgeour
, and the baillies and council signed the agreement, although under the duress of Dudley's two gunships. The Earl of Argyll
tried to capture the castle on 22 November 1547 and again in January 1548 with 150 men under Duncan Dundas, without success. Thomas Wyndham
brought two more ships in December 1547 and burnt Balmerino Abbey
on Christmas Day. On 12 January 1548, one hundred handguns
were delivered from Berwick, with powder-flasks, matches, touch-boxes, and bullet moulds.
Andrew Dudley was succeeded by John Luttrell
who had been the commander at Inchcolm
. On 11 May 1548, the English commander at Haddington, Grey of Wilton
wrote to Luttrell that he could not expect more supplies because of the expected French fleet. Grey of Wilton, warned him against Scottish assassins in June, and Somerset
required him to dismiss the German mercenaries in his command. There was some relief for Luttrell, as Lord Methven
took away the guns of the Scottish counter-battery for redeployment at the Siege of Haddington on 6 June. In November 1548, Luttrell wrote to Somerset describing the progress of his fortification works. The ramparts made from turf were unstable and could not be strengthened. Luttrell said his enemies would not need guns; "for theye shall fynde hytt fallen downe redy to ther handys." It was 12 February 1550 before the French and Scots managed to recapture Broughty. Mary of Guise
watched the successful assault on Wednedsday 6 February 1550 from a vantage point across the Tay. Paul de Thermes
led the French troops, 240 were injured and 50 killed. James Dog of Dunrobin claimed Luttrell as his prisoner, his papers were captured, and his ransom of £1000 Scots was raised 16 May 1550.
and his Parliamentary army during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
. On this occasion the Royalist
defenders fled without a fight. After 1666, when the Gray family sold the castle, it gradually became more ruinous.
Company in order to build an adjacent harbour for their railway ferry. In 1855 the castle was acquired by the War Office
with the intention of using it to defend the harbour from the Russians. In 1860 renewed fears of a French invasion led the War Office to rebuild and fortify the site. The site was rebuilt according to the designs of Robert Rowand Anderson
. The walls of the main courtyard were rebuilt and new wing and courtyard were added to the tower. A caponier
was added along the south-east side of the courtyard. Emplacements for nine large guns were also constructed. A small enclosure on the west side of the courtyard was also built.
From 1886 to 1887 a range was built to house submarine miners to the east of the castle. In an emergency these would lay mines
in the Tay Estuary to damage enemy shipping. In 1889–1891 a magazine was built within the western enclosure which also led to a major remodeling of the gun emplacements. The castle remained in military use until 1932, and again between 1939 and 1949. The last defence-related alteration was made in the Second World War when a defence post was built within the top of the main tower.
In 1969 the castle opened as a museum operated by Dundee city council.
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
in Broughty Ferry
Broughty Ferry
Broughty Ferry is a suburb on the eastern side of the City of Dundee, on the shore of the Firth of Tay in eastern Scotland...
, Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It was completed around 1495, although the site was earlier fortified in 1454 when George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus
George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus
George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus, Lord Douglas, Abernethy and Jedburgh Forest was a Scottish Nobleman. He was the son of William Douglas, 2nd Earl of Angus and Margaret Hay of Yester. Known as the Great Earl of Angus, he succeeded to the Earldom following the death of his childless brother James...
received permission to build on the site. His son Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus
Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus
Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus , was a late medieval Scottish magnate. He became known as "Bell the Cat"...
was coerced into ceding the castle to the crown. The main tower house forming the centre of the castle with four floors was built by Andrew, 2nd Lord Gray
Lord Gray
Lord Gray is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1445 for the Scottish diplomat and politician Sir Andrew Gray. His great-great-great-great-great-grandson, the seventh Lord, was granted a new patent with remainder to William Gray, husband of his only daughter Anne, and his heirs...
who was granted the castle in 1490.
The Rough Wooing
The castle saw military action during the 16th-century War of the Rough Wooing. It was surrendered by purchase to the English in September 1547 by Lord GrayPatrick Gray, 4th Lord Gray
Patrick Gray, 4th Lord Gray was a Scottish landowner and Sheriff of Angus active during the war of the Rough Wooing as a supporter of the Scottish Reformation.-Family:...
following the Battle of Pinkie. A messenger from the castle who spoke to Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
before the castle was rendered, Rinyon (Ninian) Cockburn, was given £4. William Patten
William Patten (historian)
William Patten was an author, scholar and government official during the reigns of King Edward VI and Queen Elizabeth I.-Early career:...
noted its strategic importance; "it standeth in such sort at the mouth of the river Tay, that being gotten, both Dundee and St. John's Town (Perth), and many other towns else shall become subject to this hold or be compelled to forego their use of the river." The Scottish keeper, Henry Durham, was rewarded with an English pension, income from the fishing, and an import/export licence. Durham later lent the English commander £138.
Soon after their occupation, the English garrison at the castle further fortified it by building a ditch across the landward side of the castle's promontory. Edward Clinton began the refortification, with the advice of an Italian engineer, Master John Rossetti, and left 100 men guarded by three ships. The garrison was first led by Sir Andrew Dudley
Andrew Dudley
Sir Andrew Dudley, KG was an English soldier, courtier, and diplomat. A younger brother of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, he served in Henry VIII's navy and obtained court offices under Edward VI...
, the Duke of Northumberland's
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, KG was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane Grey on the English throne after the King's death...
brother, who hoped to distribute Tyndale's Bible
Tyndale Bible
The Tyndale Bible generally refers to the body of biblical translations by William Tyndale. Tyndale’s Bible is credited with being the first English translation to work directly from Hebrew and Greek texts. Furthermore it was the first English biblical translation that was mass produced as a result...
in Dundee. Andrew Dudley wrote in October 1547 that; "never had a man had so weak a company of soldiers given to drinking, eating and slothfulness," though, "the house stands well." The town of Dundee agreed to support the garrison and resist Regent Arran on 27 October 1547. The constable, John Scrimgeour
Clan Scrymgeour
-Origins of the Clan:The name Scrymgeour is believed to derive from the Old English word 'skrymsher' which means 'swordsman'. The clan appears to have been well established in Fife long before their connection with the city of Dundee where the chiefs of the clan would later become the Earls of...
, and the baillies and council signed the agreement, although under the duress of Dudley's two gunships. The Earl of Argyll
Archibald Campbell, 4th Earl of Argyll
Gillespie Roy Archibald Campbell, 4th Earl of Argyll was a Scottish nobleman and politician.-Biography:He was the eldest son of Colin Campbell, 3rd Earl of Argyll and Jean Gordon, daughter of Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of Huntly...
tried to capture the castle on 22 November 1547 and again in January 1548 with 150 men under Duncan Dundas, without success. Thomas Wyndham
Thomas Wyndham (navigator)
Thomas Wyndham was an English naval officer and navigator.The son of Sir Thomas Wyndham of Felbrigg and Elizabeth Wentworth, he was educated at Louvain University and possibly in Italy....
brought two more ships in December 1547 and burnt Balmerino Abbey
Balmerino Abbey
Balmerino Abbey, or St Edward's Abbey, in Balmerino, Fife, Scotland, was a Cistercian monastic community founded in 1227 to 1229 by monks from Melrose Abbey with the patronage of Ermengarde de Beaumont and King Alexander II of Scotland. It remained a daughter house of Melrose. It had approximately...
on Christmas Day. On 12 January 1548, one hundred handguns
Matchlock
The matchlock was the first mechanism, or "lock" invented to facilitate the firing of a hand-held firearm. This design removed the need to lower by hand a lit match into the weapon's flash pan and made it possible to have both hands free to keep a firm grip on the weapon at the moment of firing,...
were delivered from Berwick, with powder-flasks, matches, touch-boxes, and bullet moulds.
Andrew Dudley was succeeded by John Luttrell
John Luttrell (soldier)
Sir John Luttrell was an English soldier, diplomat, and courtier under Henry VIII and Edward VI. He served under Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford in Scotland and France...
who had been the commander at Inchcolm
Inchcolm
Inchcolm is an island in the Firth of Forth in Scotland. Repeatedly attacked by English raiders during the Wars of Scottish Independence, it was fortified during both World Wars to defend nearby Edinburgh...
. On 11 May 1548, the English commander at Haddington, Grey of Wilton
William Grey, 13th Baron Grey de Wilton
William Grey, 13th Baron Grey de Wilton KG, was an English baron and military commander serving in France in the 1540s and 1550s, and in the Scottish wars of the 1540s.He was the thirteenth Baron Grey de Wilton....
wrote to Luttrell that he could not expect more supplies because of the expected French fleet. Grey of Wilton, warned him against Scottish assassins in June, and Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
required him to dismiss the German mercenaries in his command. There was some relief for Luttrell, as Lord Methven
Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven
Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven was Master of the Scottish Artillery and third husband of Margaret Tudor, eldest daughter of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York.-Ancient lineage:...
took away the guns of the Scottish counter-battery for redeployment at the Siege of Haddington on 6 June. In November 1548, Luttrell wrote to Somerset describing the progress of his fortification works. The ramparts made from turf were unstable and could not be strengthened. Luttrell said his enemies would not need guns; "for theye shall fynde hytt fallen downe redy to ther handys." It was 12 February 1550 before the French and Scots managed to recapture Broughty. Mary of Guise
Mary of Guise
Mary of Guise was a queen consort of Scotland as the second spouse of King James V. She was the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, and served as regent of Scotland in her daughter's name from 1554 to 1560...
watched the successful assault on Wednedsday 6 February 1550 from a vantage point across the Tay. Paul de Thermes
Paul de Thermes
Paul de La Barthe de Thermes , also Paul de Terme or Maréchal de Thermes, was a French Army Marshal who led the French effort in the Invasion of Corsica in 1553. The Ottoman fleet supported the French by ferrying the French troops under Marshal de Thermes from Siennese Maremma to Corsica...
led the French troops, 240 were injured and 50 killed. James Dog of Dunrobin claimed Luttrell as his prisoner, his papers were captured, and his ransom of £1000 Scots was raised 16 May 1550.
War of the Three Kingdoms
The castle was attacked again, in 1651, by General MonckGeorge Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle
George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, KG was an English soldier and politician and a key figure in the restoration of Charles II.-Early life and career:...
and his Parliamentary army during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms formed an intertwined series of conflicts that took place in England, Ireland, and Scotland between 1639 and 1651 after these three countries had come under the "Personal Rule" of the same monarch...
. On this occasion the Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
defenders fled without a fight. After 1666, when the Gray family sold the castle, it gradually became more ruinous.
Military use
In 1846 the castle was bought by the Edinburgh and Northern RailwayEdinburgh and Northern Railway
The Edinburgh and Northern Railway was a Scottish railway company. It was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1845. It operated services between Burntisland, on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth, Perth and Tayport, with a junction at Ladybank...
Company in order to build an adjacent harbour for their railway ferry. In 1855 the castle was acquired by the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
with the intention of using it to defend the harbour from the Russians. In 1860 renewed fears of a French invasion led the War Office to rebuild and fortify the site. The site was rebuilt according to the designs of Robert Rowand Anderson
Robert Rowand Anderson
Sir Robert Rowand Anderson RSA was a Scottish Victorian architect. Anderson trained in the office of George Gilbert Scott in London before setting up his own practice in Edinburgh in 1860. During the 1860s his main work was small churches in the 'First Pointed' style that is characteristic of...
. The walls of the main courtyard were rebuilt and new wing and courtyard were added to the tower. A caponier
Caponier
A caponier is a type of fortification structure. The word originates from the French word "caponnière" - which strictly means capon-cote i.e. chickenhouse.The fire coming from the feature A caponier is a type of fortification structure. The word originates from the French word "caponnière" -...
was added along the south-east side of the courtyard. Emplacements for nine large guns were also constructed. A small enclosure on the west side of the courtyard was also built.
From 1886 to 1887 a range was built to house submarine miners to the east of the castle. In an emergency these would lay mines
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
in the Tay Estuary to damage enemy shipping. In 1889–1891 a magazine was built within the western enclosure which also led to a major remodeling of the gun emplacements. The castle remained in military use until 1932, and again between 1939 and 1949. The last defence-related alteration was made in the Second World War when a defence post was built within the top of the main tower.
In 1969 the castle opened as a museum operated by Dundee city council.