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Elibank Castle


Elibank Castle is a ruined late 16th century tower house which sits within contemporary terraced gardens.

Elibank was originally known as Eliburn and in 1511 James IV granted a charter of the lands and forests of Aleburne to Catherine Douglas, the widow of John Liddale, and their son, also John. The charter obliged them “to build upon their property an adequate house of stone and lime, with a hall, chamber, barn, cattle-shed, stable, dovecot, garden, orchards and beehives”. This would suggest that the Liddells built the first castle here.

The castle stands on the lower slope of the north-east side of Elibank Law with commanding views to the north-west and south-east along the Tweed valley.

It sits on a roughly square artificial plateau excavated into the hillside to the south-west with the ground on the other three sides having been built up. This platform may post-date the Liddells’ castle, the original form of which is not known. It may have been a free-standing rectangular tower at the north-west corner of the plot.

It was one of a series of towers along the Tweed valley, each of which was visible from the next. Elibank would signal to Holylee, Holylee to Scrogbank, Scrogbank to Caberston, Caberston to Bold, Bold to Purvishill and then on to a continuing chain from Innerleithen to the north-west.

The signal would then pass along to Traquair, Grieston, Ormiston, Cardrona, Nether Horsburgh, Horsbrugh, Haystoun, Peebles and on to Neidpath. From Neidpath it would continue to Caverhill, Barns, Lyne, Easter Happrew, Easter Dawyck, Hillhouse, West Dawyck, Dreva and on to Tinnis.

In 1594 or 1595 Sir Gideon Murray of Glenpoit, the son of Sir Andrew Murray of Blackbarony, acquired Eliburn from John Liddell, renamed it Elibank and extensively remodelled the castle.

The main block of the castle is aligned approximately north-west to south-east and measures around 21m north-west to south-east by around 6.9m south-west to north-east. A small square wing measuring around 7.6m by 7.6m projects to the east from the south end of the main block to form an L-plan building.

The basement of the main block is vaulted and divided into two chambers accessed via a low doorway in the middle of the north-east wall.

A separate vault beyond the southernmost vault was accessed via the now collapsed vaulted basement of the smaller projecting wing. The vaulted chambers in the main block are lit by arrow-slit windows on both the north-east and south-west long walls of the castle. The northernmost vault has one window in each wall while the southernmost has two in each wall.

At the north end of the main block a tower is largely intact to second floor level, and this may represent the oldest part of the castle built by the Liddells. The first floor level is vaulted and was entered via a doorway in the south-east wall which probably connected it to a main hall in the rest of the block, now fallen. A spiral staircase leads up from the To the south-west of the doorway are the remains of a fireplace.

The tower has a tall, narrow window on each of its external sides at first floor level, that is the north-west, north-east and south-west walls, and a small fireplace on the north-west wall. The second floor level features the same window arrangement but the fireplace is on the south-east wall.

The only other part of the castle to stand above ground floor level is the south-east gable of the square projecting wing, which has a window at second floor level. Rubble from the upper storeys of the main block has now fallen into the re-entrant angle.

Relatively modern low rubble-built walls now extend from the north-east corner of the main block and the south-east corner of the projecting wing, but these are thought to correspond with the layout of original walls enclosing a courtyard. At the north-east corner these walls form a square offshoot which is believed to mark the position of an original gateway into the courtyard.

To the north and east of the castle the slopes of the hill were terraced and landscaped to create elaborate gardens befitting the status of Sir Gideon, and a walled lane leading to the castle. Sir Gideon’s son, Patrick, was created a Baronet, of Elibank, in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia in 1628 and in 1643 was created Lord Elibank. Elibank remained in the Murray family but by 1772 it was in ruins.

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Alternative names for Elibank Castle

Aleburne; Aliburn; Elibank Tower; Eliburn; Elybanck

Clans associated with Elibank Castle

Murray

Surnames associated with Elibank Castle

Liddell

Murray

Where is Elibank Castle?

Elibank Castle is in the parish of Caddonfoot and the county of Selkirkshire.

Grid reference:NT 39694 36308

Lat / long:55.616607,-2.9590328

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OS Map for Elibank Castle

OS map 337
Peebles & Innerleithen (Eddleston, Ettrickbridge, Traquair & Yarrow)
OS Explorer map 337


Directions to Elibank Castle

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Weather at Elibank Castle

3°C
max 4°C / min 3°C
5km/h
1036mb
98%
49%
08:16 16:32

Scattered clouds
Weather observed at Clovenfords at 21:28

References (books)

The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland Volume 4
David MacGibbon
Edinburgh, 1892
The Castles of Scotland
Martin Coventry
Prestongrange, 2015
The Works of Alexander Pennecuik
Alexander Pennecuik
Leith, 1815

References (websites)

Scheduled Monument record
Canmore

Castles near Elibank Castle

Holylee (site of)

1.5km away

Thornielee (site of)

1.6km away

Scrogbank (site of)

1.8km away

Laidlawstiel (possible) (site of)

2.6km away

Caberston Tower (site of)

3.1km away

Bold (site of)

3.2km away

Ashiestiel House

3.5km away

Plora Tower

3.6km away

Peel (site of)

3.9km away
more castles....

Ancient sites near Elibank Castle

Torwoodlee broch and fort

7.1km away

Bow Castle broch

8.4km away

Castle Knowe fort

9.5km away

Warrior's Rest standing stone and rock art

9.5km away

Glebe Stone standing stone

9.8km away

Cardrona Mains standing stone

10.0km away

Peat Rig standing stone

13.4km away

Eildon Hill North fort

16.1km away

Newstead (site of) souterrains

17.0km away
more ancient sites....
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Pictish stones near Elibank Castle

Borthwick Mains Class I symbol stone

22.5km away

Abernethy No. 2 Class III symbol stone

39.5km away

Abernethy No. 4 Class III cross shaft

39.5km away

Princes Street Gardens Class I symbol stone

40.1km away

Court Cave Class I rock carving

60.8km away

Doo Cave Class I rock carving

60.9km away

Jonathan's Cave Class I rock carving

61.1km away

Sliding Cave Class I rock carving

61.1km away

Scoonie Class II cross slab

65.3km away
more Pictish stones....

Pictish sites near Elibank Castle

Whitlaw silver chain

15.4km away

Borland silver chain

34.9km away

Todholes (possible) silver chain

37.0km away

Haddington silver chain

39.0km away

Traprain Law silver chain

42.8km away

Hoardweel silver chain

45.7km away

Whitecleugh silver chain

60.5km away

Norrie's Law hoard

71.0km away

Dunnicaer fort

156.2km away
more Pictish sites....
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Accommodation near Elibank Castle

The Clovenfords Country Hotel
hotelGalashiels
5.3km away
Caddon View
hotelInnerleithen
6.3km away
Broadmeadows SYHA Hostel
hostelSelkirk
6.5km away
Traquair House
bed and breakfastInnerleithen
6.7km away
Best Western Philipburn Country House Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barSelkirk
9.6km away
Cardrona Breaks
hotelCardrona Mains
9.8km away
Aikwood Tower
self-cateringSelkirk
10.5km away
Macdonald Cardrona Hotel, Golf & Spa
hotel, bar, restaurantCardrona
10.5km away
Manor Water Cottage
self-catering cottagePeebles
13.8km away
The Gordon Arms Hotel
hotelSelkirk
14.5km away

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Cafés, restaurants & bars near Elibank Castle

Saffron
restaurantInnerleithen
6.6km away
No1 Peebles Road
caféInnerleithen
6.7km away
Best Western Philipburn Country House Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barSelkirk
9.6km away
Baxters Selkirk
caféSelkirk
10.2km away
Macdonald Cardrona Hotel, Golf & Spa
hotel, bar, restaurantCardrona
10.5km away
Selkirk Deli
caféSelkirk
10.7km away
Kailzie Gardens Restaurant
café, restaurantKailzie
11.8km away
County Inn
pubPeebles
15.0km away
George & Abbotsford Hotel
hotel, barMelrose
15.1km away
Castle Venlaw Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barPeebles
15.2km away
more food.... / more drink....

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Dunbar harbour and castle
Published on the 20th of November 2011 at 11:34 am. Updated on the 23rd of April 2020 at 4:11 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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