Lochend House, also known as Restalrig Castle Coventry, Martin (2001) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Goblinshead. p.300 and Lochend Castle, is an occupied house, incorporating the remains of a 16th-century

L-plan An L-plan castle is a castle or tower house in the shape of an L, typically built from the 13th to the 17th century. This design is found quite frequently in Scotland, but is also seen in England, Ireland, Romania, Sardinia, and other locations ...

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, to command and defend strategic points ...

, in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It is located in the Lochend area, about east of

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on the rock since the reign of Malcol ...

. The house is protected as a category B

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

The original castle was built on lands originally belonging to the Lestalric family, but which had passed to the Logan family of

Restalrig Restalrig ( ) is a small residential suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland (historically, an estate and independent parish). It is located east of the city centre, west of Craigentinny and to the east of Lochend, Edinburgh, Lochend, both of which it ...

early in the 14th century. That family retained possession until

forfeit Forfeit or forfeiture may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Forfeit'', a 2007 thriller film starring Billy Burke * "Forfeit", a song by Chevelle from '' Wonder What's Next'' * '' Forfeit/Fortune'', a 2008 album by Crooked Fingers ...

ed for their part in the

Gowrie conspiracy The Gowrie conspiracy was a series of events unfolding in Scotland on 5 August 1600. Although the facts of the actual attack and deaths of the Ruthvens are known, the circumstances by which that sequence of events came about remain a mystery. Ruthv ...

against

King James VI James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

. The castle was burned by William Gilmour of the Inch at that time. Sir Robert Logan was the last member of the family to own the property. Thereafter the property was in the hands of

Arthur Elphinstone, 6th Lord Balmerino Arthur Elphinstone, 6th Lord Balmerino and 5th Lord Cupar (1688 – 18 August 1746) was a Scottish nobleman and Jacobite, or supporter of the claim of the exiled House of Stuart to the British throne. As a military officer, he served in both t ...

, from 1704. He was executed in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

for his part in the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...

, having been captured after the

battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby endi ...

. The gable end of the tower is incorporated into the present house, which was built around 1820. The building was owned by the City of Edinburgh Council and it was used as a children's centre until 2016 when a fire burned out the roof. Following the rebuilding of the roof, the property was put on the market for sale by Edinburgh Council in 2017 listed as a "Residential development opportunity". It was sold in 2018 and is now in private ownership.

Structure

The house is located on a crag in Lochend Park, with steep slopes down to a small loch on its west side. The original part of the building comprises a three-storey L-plan block, which has a steeply pitched roof. The interior has been completely altered, but there are still some aumbries in the thick walls, and there are remnants of a fireplace large enough for an ox to be roasted in it. Nearby within the park is a 16th-century

doocot A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pig ...

, which was used in the 19th century as a boat house, and is now also Category B listed.

Lochend Loch

Lochend House sits atop a 10-metre rock escarpment. At the bottom of this lies Lochend Loch. This loch forms a natural hollow in the local topography, and with no outlet, is effectively a large puddle, whose depth varies according to rainfall. For at least part of its history, the loch served as a water supply to

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

to the north-west. However, even by olden standards the quality of the water was poor, being largely stagnant, and Leith people preferred to use local wells instead.

James IV of Scotland James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James I ...

came to the Lochend to hunt wildfowl in September 1507, and four men were paid to row a boat on the "loch of Restalrig" to start the birds.

James Balfour Paul Sir James Balfour Paul (16 November 1846 – 15 September 1931) was the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the officer responsible for heraldry in Scotland, from 1890 until the end of 1926. Life James Balfour Paul was educated at Royal High School, Edinbur ...

''Accounts of the Treasurer: 1507-1513'', vol. 4 (Edinburgh, 1902), p. 72
/ref>

References

External links

{{Defence infrastructure in Edinburgh Castles in Edinburgh Houses in Edinburgh Category B listed buildings in Edinburgh Listed houses in Scotland Buildings and structures in Leith