Melville Castle is a three-storey Gothic

castellated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

situated less than a mile (2 km) west-south-west of

Dalkeith Dalkeith ( ; gd, Dail Cheith, IPA: �t̪alˈçe is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1540. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-centu ...

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh, ...

, near the North Esk.

History

An earlier

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

on the site was demolished when the present structure, designed in 1786–1791 by James Playfair for

Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, PC, FRSE (28 April 1742 – 28 May 1811), styled as Lord Melville from 1802, was the trusted lieutenant of British Prime Minister William Pitt and the most powerful politician in Scotland in the late 18t ...

, was built. The original tower house was owned by the Melville family, before passing to Sir John Ross in the 14th century. It subsequently changed hands with the attached lands several times and was sold to David Rannie in 1705. It then passed to Henry Dundas through his marriage to the daughter of David Rannie, Elizabeth Rannie. The Castle was owned by the Dundas family until after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, when the ninth Lord Melville moved to a smaller house on the estate and the castle was leased as an army rehabilitation centre and then later as a hotel. By the early 1980s, the hotel fell into disrepair and was unoccupied. In the late 1980s, the estate and the adjoining farms were sold, but remained closed. In 1993, the castle was bought by the Hay Trust, which extensively restored the property over 8 years. The castle was reopened as a hotel in June 2003, leased by Aurora Hotels. Their lease expired in January 2012. Today it still operates as a hotel and venue for weddings and continues in the ownership of the Hay Trust. In 2020, during the Coronavirus pandemic the hotel temporary closed and was later opened back up in 2021 having been leased out to the original collection.

References

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External links

Melville Castle website
Country houses in Midlothian Castles in Midlothian Category A listed buildings in Midlothian Listed castles in Scotland Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes Dalkeith Bonnyrigg and Lasswade Melville family {{Scotland-struct-stub

History

See also

References

External links