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Castle Tarbet


Castle Tarbet may have been a castle on the island of Fidra built by the de Vaux family in the 12th century however it may possibly have been confused with Eldbotle on the mainland.

Fidra was once known as the island of Eldbotle and was part of the barony of Dirleton which was granted to the Anglo-Norman knight John de Vaux by David I, possibly around 1150. The island having the same name as the lands on the mainland has led to some possible confusion.

De Vaux is though to have built a castle on a motte at Eldbotle, immediately to the south of Fidra, some time before his death in 1187, although there are also suggestions that it was a royal castle. David I issued two charters at Eldbotle, probably in the 1140s, and Eldbotle continued to be visited by Scottish kings until at least the 1160s with two more charters issued from there between 1153 and 1162 during the reign of Malcolm IV. Another early document from Eldbotle probably dates from late in the reign of William I (1165-1214).

It has been suggested that de Vaux also built a castle named Castle Tarbet on Fidra although the documentary evidence for this is lacking. The castle is said to have stood on a rocky eminence at the eastern end of South Dog, a narrow strip of land separated from the main island by a sandy isthmus which is submerged at high tide (hence the castle’s name, “tairbeart” being the Gaelic for “isthmus”).

Castle Tarbet

The summit of the flat-topped eminence measures around 40m long and varies in width from 8m across in the centre to 16m across at the east end. A rough track makes its way around the rock face before curving up onto the summit at its east side. The only built remains are a 6m long stretch of mortared wall lining the track as it climbs to the summit.

Castle Tarbet

In 1170 John’s son, William de Vaux, granted the patronage of the church in Gullane to the Canons of Dryburgh Abbey in order for them to fund the construction of the church of St. Nicholas on the “insula de Elboitel”. Monks from Dryburgh were apparently already serving on Fidra when William granted them twenty and a half acres of land in the territory of Eldbotle around 1180. This grant was confirmed during the reign of Alexander II by William’s son, John, as well as the earlier grant of the island itself.

In 1220, Fidra was given to the monks of Dryburgh Abbey by John’s son William de Vaux, and it was William’s son – also named John de Vaux – who began building a replacement for Tarbet and Eldbotle at Dirleton further inland.

Castle Tarbet

Around 1255 Alexander de Vaux, styled lord of Dirleton, allowed the monks of Dryburgh to provide one monk to serve at Stodfald and one to serve within Dryburgh Abbey itself instead of the two they were at one time required to provide for service at the church of St. Nicholas on the island of Eldbotle. This perhaps could be indicative of a decline in Fidra’s importance.

An Ivo of Eldbotle and a Hugh, son of Geoffrey of Eldbotle, are both recorded swearing fealty to Edward I of England in 1296. It may be that one of these refers to Eldbotle and the other to Castle Tarbet on what may have then been known as the island of Eldbotle.

Around 1350 Dirleton and Fidra passed into the hands of the Haliburton family when John Haliburton married the daughter of another William de Vaux who died with no sons. In 1420 Walter Haliburton of Dirleton kidnapped the custumars of Linlithgow and imprisoned them on Futhrai or Fidra in order to steal the payments they had collected. This has been interpreted as imprisonment in the castle on Fidra although the original Latin states “apud Futhrai et ibidem incarceravit” or “there imprisoned in Futhrai” with no specific mention of a castle.

In 1448 James Douglas, Master of Douglas and later 9th Earl of Douglas, planned to build a castle on Fidra in order to command the Firth of Forth however nothing came of his plans when the island was besieged. It’s possible that work was started but not completed and that the section of wall that still stands is a remnant of this work.

In 1509 Henry Congalton of Congalton was granted the castle in a royal charter by James IV (“Insula met terras de Fetheray unacum monte Castri earundem vocat Tarbet”) along with Craigleith which were erected into the free barony of Tarbet. This may suggest that Castle Tarbet was still a place of some note although it’s possible that the “monte Castri” or “castle mount” refers to the site of Douglas’s aborted castle rather than the site of an earlier castle.

However there is then little mention of the castle until 1621 when it is said to have been referred to as the old castle of Eldbotle, although I haven’t been able to find the original reference and there’s a chance it may actually be referring to the old castle of Eldbotle on the mainland.

Fidra is visible from the upper floors of Dirleton Castle and would have been visible from Eldbotle, all three being arranged in an almost straight line.

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Alternative names for Castle Tarbet

Fetheray; Fidra; Futherai; Futheray; Futhrai; Old Castle Of Eldbotle; Old Castle of Eldbottle; Tarbet Elboitel

Clans associated with Castle Tarbet

Haliburton

Surnames associated with Castle Tarbet

Haliburton

Where is Castle Tarbet?

Castle Tarbet is in the parish of Dirleton and the county of East Lothian.

Grid reference:NT 5143 8674

Lat / long:56.071053,-2.781687

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OS Map for Castle Tarbet

OS map 351
Dunbar & North Berwick (Musselburgh & Haddington)
OS Explorer map 351


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Directions to Castle Tarbet

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Weather at Castle Tarbet

4°C
max 6°C / min 3°C
18km/h E
1006mb
70%
100%
05:58 18:35

Light rain
Weather observed at North Berwick at 02:09

References (books)

A history of the family of Cairnes or Cairns and its connections
H.C. Lawlor
London, 1906
Fasti ecclesiæ Scoticanæ (Volume 8)
Hew Scott
Edinburgh, 1950
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (Volume 142)
Various
Edinburgh, 2012
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (Volume 4)
Various
Edinburgh, 1862
The Douglas Book (Volume 1)
William Fraser
Edinburgh, 1885
The Exchequer rolls of Scotland (Volume 4)
George Burnett
Edinburgh, 1880
The Scots Peerage (Volume 3)
James Balfour Paul
Edinburgh, 1906
The Scottish Nation, Volume 1
William Anderson
Edinburgh, 1877
Transactions of the East Lothian Antiquarian and Field Naturalists' Society (Volume 20)
Various
Haddington, 1988

References (websites)

Canmore
Wikipedia

Castles near Castle Tarbet

Eldbotle Castle (site of)

1.7km away

Dirleton Castle

2.8km away

North Berwick Castle

4.9km away

Fenton Barns (possible) (site of)

5.1km away

Fenton Tower

5.5km away

Saltcoats Castle

5.6km away

Sydserf House

5.7km away

Leuchie House

6.7km away

Balgone House

6.8km away
more castles....

Ancient sites near Castle Tarbet

North Berwick Law fort

4.8km away

The Chesters fort

8.5km away

St Baldred's Cave cave

9.3km away

Hanging Craig fort

10.2km away

Seaton Law fort

10.3km away

Kae Heughs fort

10.5km away

Drylawhill cursus

11.6km away

Pencraig Hill standing stone

12.0km away

Preston Mains cursus

12.2km away
more ancient sites....
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Pictish stones near Castle Tarbet

Abercrombie 1 Class III cross slab

16.7km away

Abercrombie 2 Class III cross slab

16.7km away

Abercrombie 3 Class III cross slab

16.7km away

Abercrombie 4 Class III cross slab

16.7km away

Largo Class II cross slab

19.0km away

Scoonie Class II cross slab

19.8km away

Sliding Cave Class I rock carving

19.8km away

Jonathan's Cave Class I rock carving

19.8km away

Doo Cave Class I rock carving

19.9km away
more Pictish stones....
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Pictish sites near Castle Tarbet

Haddington silver chain

13.2km away

Traprain Law silver chain

13.7km away

Norrie's Law hoard

23.1km away

Hoardweel silver chain

38.2km away

Whitlaw silver chain

38.9km away

Borland silver chain

60.5km away

Todholes (possible) silver chain

62.6km away

Whitecleugh silver chain

96.5km away

Dunnicaer fort

104.6km away
more Pictish sites....

Accommodation near Castle Tarbet

Macdonald Marine Hotel & Spa
hotel, restaurant, barNorth Berwick
2.9km away
Nether Abbey
hotelNorth Berwick
3.1km away
No12 Quality Street
bed and breakfastNorth Berwick
4.2km away
Fenton Tower
hotelNorth Berwick
5.5km away
Ducks at Kilspindie House
hotel, restaurant, barAberlady
8.5km away
Sawmill Cottage
self-catering cottageTyninghame
12.4km away
Maitlandfield House Hotel
hotelHaddington
13.0km away
Letham House
hotelLennoxlove
13.5km away
Elie House Apartment 11
self-catering apartmentElie
14.1km away
Seton Sands Holiday Park
holiday parkPort Seton
14.3km away

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bed and breakfasts
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Cafés, restaurants & bars near Castle Tarbet

Macdonald Marine Hotel & Spa
hotel, restaurant, barNorth Berwick
2.9km away
Ducks at Kilspindie House
hotel, restaurant, barAberlady
8.5km away
Gosford Bothy Farm Shop
caféAberlady
9.3km away
Smeaton Nursery Gardens & Tearoom
caféEast Linton
11.4km away
Station Buffet Bar
barElie
13.5km away
Kilconquhar Castle Estate
hotel, restaurant, self-catering cottagesElie
16.1km away
Symphony Craw's Nest Hotel and Restaurant
hotel, restaurant, barAnstruther
17.1km away
The Inn at Lathones
hotel, restaurantSt Andrews
22.4km away
Premier Inn Edinburgh A1 (Musselburgh)
hotel, restaurantEdinburgh
22.6km away
The Birdcage
restaurant, barMusselburgh
22.7km away
more food.... / more drink....

Related pages

Dirleton Castle in East Lothian
Dirleton Castle in East Lothian
Garden of Cosmic Speculation plus castles
Garden of Cosmic Speculation plus castles
Inveraray Castle and standing stone
Inveraray Castle and standing stone
A doocot, a castle and a beach in East Lothian
A doocot, a castle and a beach in East Lothian
A pair of castles on the River Tweed
A pair of castles on the River Tweed
Dunbar harbour and castle
Dunbar harbour and castle
Published on the 14th of May 2010 at 1:57 pm. Updated on the 8th of April 2020 at 5:26 pm.

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Andy Sweet above Fast Castle

Stravaiging around Scotland is written, photographed and researched by Andy Sweet.
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