Duns Castle
Encyclopedia
Duns
Duns is the county town of the historic county of Berwickshire, within the Scottish Borders.-Early history:Duns law, the original site of the town of Duns, has the remains of an Iron Age hillfort at its summit...
, Berwickshire
Berwickshire
Berwickshire or the County of Berwick is a registration county, a committee area of the Scottish Borders Council, and a lieutenancy area of Scotland, on the border with England. The town after which it is named—Berwick-upon-Tweed—was lost by Scotland to England in 1482...
is a historic house
Historic house
A historic house can be a stately home, the birthplace of a famous person, or a house with an interesting history or architecture.- Background :...
in Scotland, the oldest part of which, the massive Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
Keep or Pele Tower
Tower house
A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation.-History:Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountain or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strategic points with reduced forces...
, dates from 1320. The earlier house was transformed into a Gothic
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
castle, 1818–22, by architect James Gillespie Graham
James Gillespie Graham
James Gillespie Graham was a Scottish architect, born in Dunblane. He is most notable for his work in the Scottish baronial style, as at Ayton Castle, and he worked in the Gothic Revival style, in which he was heavily influenced by the work of Augustus Pugin...
. It is owned by the current Laird, Alexander Hay of Duns and Drumelzier
Drumelzier
Drumelzier , is a village on the B712 in the Tweed Valley in the Scottish Borders.The area of the village is extensive and includes the settlements of Wrae, Stanhope, Mossfennan and Kingledoors. To the north is Broughton and to the south the road passes Crook Inn to Tweedsmuir.The Drumelzier or...
, a retired accountant. He and his wife live at the castle.
Alexander Hay (killed at the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
) reputedly haunts the castle.
There is a publicly accessible park and two man made lakes, the Hen Poo and the smaller Mill Dam.
The castle is often used for weddings and other functions.
See also
- BuxleyBuxleyBuxley is a hamlet in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is adjacent to Manderston House, east of Duns. Buxley is the home farm and estate offices of Manderston, and comprises cottages, offices, a dairy and other farm buildings, as well as an engine house and a fire station...
- Duns Castle nature reserveDuns Castle nature reserveDuns Castle nature reserve is a nature reserve near Duns, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the former Berwickshire.The reserve is one of eight reserves in the Scottish Borders, maintained by the Scottish Wildlife Trust...
- List of places in the Scottish Borders
- List of places in Scotland