Hallyards Castle ( "the yards at the hall"), located to the north-west of the village of

Auchtertool Auchtertool (; ) is a small village in Fife, Scotland. It is 4 miles west of Kirkcaldy. The name is from the Gaelic ''uachdar'', meaning ''upland'' or ''heights'' above the Tiel burn (from Gaelic ''tuil'' meaning ''torrent'').Taylor, Simon (2007 ...

, is reputed to have been a hunting seat of

Malcolm Canmore Malcolm III (; ; –13 November 1093) was King of Alba from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" (, , understood as "great chief"). Malcolm's long reign of 35 years preceded the beginning of the Scoto-Norman age. Henry I of England ...

. With the establishment of the Roman Church, Halyards became the local residence of the

Bishops of Dunkeld The Bishop of Dunkeld is the ecclesiastical head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dunkeld, Diocese of Dunkeld, one of the largest and more important of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded Bishops in the Catholic Church, bisho ...

; it remained so until the first lay proprietor took possession in 1539. The influence that Halyards had on the district cannot be overstated. When Sir James Kirkcaldy was proprietor the castle witnessed dramatic events; according to

John Knox John Knox ( – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgate, a street in Haddington, East Lot ...

it was visited by

James V James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV a ...

just before his death, and the murder of

Cardinal Beaton David Beaton (also Beton or Bethune; 29 May 1546) was Archbishop of St Andrews and the last Scottish cardinal prior to the Reformation. Life David Beaton was said to be the fifth son of fourteen children born to John Beaton (Bethune) of Balfo ...

was possibly discussed within its walls. During the Reformation Crisis there was fighting between French troops and the Scottish

Lords of the Congregation The Lords of the Congregation (), originally styling themselves the Faithful, were a group of Protestant Scottish nobles who in the mid-16th century favoured a reformation of the Catholic church according to Protestant principles and a Scottish ...

at Halyards. William Kirkcaldy fought for the reformers. According to Knox, after French troops blew up the house, Mary of Guise declared, "Where is now John Knox's God? My God is now stronger than his, yea, even in

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

". In February 1560 it was reported the castle was 'clean overthrown'. Kirkcaldy took his revenge on a Savoyard captain called Sebastian and his 50 French troops. After the baptism of Prince James at

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most historically and architecturally important castles in Scotland. The castle sits atop an Intrusive rock, intrusive Crag and tail, crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill ge ...

in December 1566,

James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray (c. 1531 – 23 January 1570) was a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland. At times a supporter of his half-sister Mary, Queen of Scots, he was the regent of Scotl ...

took the English ambassador the

Earl of Bedford Earl of Bedford is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England and is currently a subsidiary title of the Dukes of Bedford. The first creation came in 1138 in favour of Hugh de Beaumont. He appears to have been degraded ...

on a tour of

. They visited Hallyards. In later years Halyards passed to John Boswell of Balmuto, William Forbes of Craigievar, members of the Skene family then the

Earls of Moray The title Earl of Moray, or Mormaer of Moray (pronounced "Murry"), was originally held by the rulers of the Province of Moray, which existed from the 10th century with varying degrees of independence from the Kingdom of Alba to the south. Until ...

. The castle’s name was changed to ''Camilla'', popularly held to be in honour of a countess who bore that name, though no so-named Countess of Moray is recorded. Camilla is the name more commonly known in Auchtertool today. With the Earls of Moray living at a distance, Halyards eventually fell into disuse. In 1819 the castle was revisited by a member of the Skene family, who found it in a dilapidated state. The great house was largely demolished in 1847. The remains can be found on farmland to the north-west of the village. Another Hallyards Castle, near

Kirkliston Kirkliston is a village and parish to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland, historically within the county of West Lothian but now within the City of Edinburgh council area limits. It lies on high ground immediately north of a northward loop of the ...

West Lothian West Lothian (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, bordering (in a clockwise direction) the City of Edinburgh council area, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire and Falkirk (council area), Falkirk. The modern counci ...

, was the focus of a feud which resulted in the shooting of

John Graham, Lord Hallyards John Graham, Lord Hallyards (c.1530–1593) was a Scottish lawyer and Senator of the College of Justice who sat in judgement in two famous trials in Scottish history. He was murdered in a feud. Career Little is known of Graham's early life. He ...

in February 1593.Thomas Thomson, ''The Historie and life of King James the Sext'' (Edinburgh, 1825), p. 265.

References

External links

National Monuments Record of Scotland
{{coord, 56, 06, 31, N, 3, 16, 09, W, region:GB, display=title Ruined castles in Fife Country houses in Fife Hunting lodges in Scotland Buildings and structures demolished in 1847 Demolished buildings and structures in Scotland