Innerwick Castle is a ruined

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

, Scotland, near the village of

Innerwick Innerwick ( gd, Inbhir Mhuice) is a coastal civil parish and small village, which lies in the east of East Lothian, from Dunbar and approximately from Edinburgh. Name The name Innerwick is of Anglo-saxon origin and means inland farm or dw ...

, from Dunbar, on the Thornton Burn, and overlooking Thornton Glen. The castle, built in the 14th century on "the edge of a precipitous glen", was a stronghold of the Stewarts and of the Hamilton family. It was besieged in 1406 by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany to expel the forces of the Earl of Northumberland. Several timber beams were bought for the assault, perhaps to make a siege engine or effect access. In November 1542 the English Somerset Herald,

Thomas Trahern Thomas Trahern (died 25 November 1542) was Somerset Herald, an English officer of arms. His murder in Scotland, which may have been related to the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion, was a setback to Anglo-Scottish relations. Somerset Herald Trahern ...

was murdered near Dunbar and his companion Henry Ray, Berwick Pursuivant found a refuge at Innerwick Castle. Sir James Hamilton of Innerwick and twenty of his servants recovered the body of the English herald and buried him at Dunbar church, and he sent a surgeon to look after the Trahern's servant or "boy". The castle was extended several times, but was captured and destroyed by Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset in September 1547 during the " Rough Wooing". English soldiers directed by

Peter Meutas Peter Meutas or Mewtas, or Mewtis, or Meautis, or Meautys (died 1562) was an English courtier and soldier.Ogier, D. M., 'Mewtas , Sir Peter (d. 1562)', in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004online ed ...

managed to access the basement and set the castle on fire. Both Innerwick and nearby Thornton castles were of strategic importance for guarding routes from the south. In May 1568

Alexander Hamilton of Innerwick Alexander Hamilton of Innerwick was a Scottish landowner and supporter of Mary, Queen of Scots. His home was Innerwick Castle in East Lothian, Scotland, near the village of Innerwick. He was a son of James Hamilton of Innerwick and Helen Home, a d ...

signed the bond made at Hamilton to support Mary, Queen of Scots, and came "in arrayed battle" to the battle of Langside, where her forces were defeated by Regent Moray. In April 1584 the laird of Innerwick was commanded to surrender the castle to the crown. The keepers of Tantallon and

Fast Castle Fast Castle is the ruined remains of a coastal fortress in Berwickshire, south-east Scotland, in the Scottish Borders. It lies north west of the village of Coldingham, and just outside the St Abb's Head National Nature Reserve, run by the Nati ...

received the same instruction. In the 1590s Alexander Hamilton, laird of Innerwick, employed the Edinburgh tailor Patrick Nimmo, who kept a record of the clothes he made for the laird, his wife Christian, (a daughter of Thomas Hamilton of Priestfield), and their sons and daughters. Elspeth Hamilton had a gown of shot or changing silk "burret" with stuffed sleeves, Jean had winter gowns of woollen fabrics. His son, Alexander Hamilton of Fenton, had a purple fustian doublet and breeches with a green cloak and a Spanish felt hat in 1599. David Calderwood mentions Margaret Whitelaw, Lady of Innerwick, who divorced Alexander Hamilton of Innerwick and remarried to Sir John Ker of Littledean, and died in 1627. She died in torment, and was said to have practised witchcraft and consulted with witches.David Calderwood, ''History of the Kirk'', vol. 6 (Edinburgh, 1845), p. 205. A later owner James Maxwell of Innerwick became Earl of Dirleton, and the land around the castle was sold to the Nisbets in 1663. In the 17th century Innerwick Castle was in good enough repair that it was used as a base, along with Dirleton and Tantallon, by the

Covenanter Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...

s to harass Oliver Cromwell’s lines of communication during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Innerwick Castle stands within the Barony of Innerwick. The most recent Baron of Innerwick was Colonel Victor Charles Vereker Cowley of Crowhill (1918–2008). Currently, Thornton Glen is part of the Crowhill Estate and is managed by the Scottish Wildlife Trust. The glen is considered important for the presence of ferns that are rare in Scotland. The remains of the castle are on top of a

crag Crag may refer to: * Crag (climbing), a cliff or group of cliffs, in any location, which is or may be suitable for climbing * Crag (dice game), a dice game played with three dice * Crag, Arizona, US * Crag, West Virginia, US * Crag and tail, a g ...

which is popular with climbers.

References

External links

Gazetteer for Scotland entry on Innerwick and the CastleVision of Britain website entry for Innerwick and its castleGoogle Books:''History of the county of Ayr'' p. 230
by James Paterson
Google Books: ''Black's Picturesque Tourist of Scotland'' by Adam and Charles Black (Firm), p.155
{{coord, 55, 57, 20.21, N, 2, 25, 33.51, W, region:GB, display=title Castles in East Lothian Castles and forts of the Rough Wooing Witchcraft in Scotland