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Garleton Castle


Garleton Castle is an interesting example of a courtyard castle, and originally consisted of three accommodation blocks within a curtain wall.

It is one of a chain of castles stretching from Luffness Castle on the coast at Aberlady through Ballencrieff Castle, Byres Castle, Garleton Castle itself, Kilduff Tower (now gone), Barnes Castle, Athelstaneford Castle (also gone) and Markle Castle.

Built in the 16th century, the present castle almost certainly replaced (or incorporated parts of) an earlier tower built by the Lindsay family, which was possibly the place of birth of the poet Sir David Lindsay of the Mount in 1486. The Lindsays also owned Byres Castle nearby.

After the Lindsays the property was briefly owned by the Towers of Inverleith, but they sold it to the Seton family. Sir John Seton of Barnes, a diplomat at Philip II of Spain’s court and later James VI’s Treasurer of the Household and a Lord of Session who died in 1594, was probably responsible for building the castle which survives today. It may have used stone from Byres Castle, which was probably destroyed in 1548.

Garleton Castle

A new description of the shyres Lothian and Linlitquo
Hendrik Hondius, Amsterdam, 1630map image courtesy of NLS

The Seton estates were briefly forfeited following the involvement of George Seton, the the 5th Earl of Winton, in the Jacobite Rising of 1715, and in 1724 Garleton Castle was sold to James Wemyss, the 5th Earl of Wemyss, by George Seton, the 3rd Baronet of Garleton.

The site consists of a rectangular courtyard measuring approximately 40m north-south by 30m east-west and enclosing about a third of an acre. It would have been defended by a curtain wall which in turn would have been surrounded by a ditch.

At the north-east corner of the site was an L-plan tower house with the main block arranged east to west and measuring around 18m in length, and a wing projecting around 13m to the south.

The basement consists of three vaulted chambers, now below ground level, above which are thought to have been a further three storeys. At ground level are a number of gun loops. Built onto the wing is a large, circular tower measuring around 7m in diameter.

The tower house is now a substantial but precarious-looking ruin, rising to a height of around 10m, and peppered with window openings.

At the south-west corner of the site was a hall house, the basement of which was vaulted and consisted of two rooms. One was a kitchen with a wide-arched fireplace, while the other room features a canopied fireplace.

Access to the main hall above was via a round stair tower in the middle of the south wall. Gun loops provided defence for the hall house. Wemyss used stone from the site to remodel this building, although the vaulted basement, stair tower and gun loops remain. It was latterly used as a farm steading.

At the north-west corner was another building thought to be largely similar in size and design to that at the south-west corner. This corner is also the likely location of a gatehouse into the walled enclosure, with a bridge crossing the ditch.

In the 19th century this block was replaced with new cottages also built from the castle’s stone, incorporating gun loops from the previous building as a decorative feature.

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Alternative names for Garleton Castle

Garleton House; Garlton; Garmylton; Garneton; North Garneton

Where is Garleton Castle?

Garleton Castle is in the parish of Athelstaneford and the county of East Lothian.

Grid reference:NT 50943 76697

Lat / long:55.981024,-2.787403

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Bing Maps | Google Maps | Historic maps (NLS) | OpenStreetMap | Ordnance Survey | PastMap | Streetmap | Wikimapia

OS Map for Garleton Castle

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


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Directions to Garleton Castle

Enter a starting point

Weather at Garleton Castle

8°C
max 10°C / min 7°C
43km/h SW
986mb
65%
8%
06:09 18:27

Clear sky
Weather observed at Haddington at 09:38

References (websites)

Listed Building record
Canmore
Wikipedia

Castles near Garleton Castle

Kilduff Tower

0.9km away

Byres Castle

1.4km away

Barnes Castle

1.9km away

Athelstaneford Castle (site of)

2.5km away

Ballencrieff Castle

2.7km away

Bothwell Castle (possible) (site of)

2.7km away

Kinloch House (possible)

2.8km away

Blair's Castle (possible) (site of)

2.9km away

Haddington Castle (site of)

2.9km away
more castles....
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Ancient sites near Garleton Castle

Kae Heughs fort

1.0km away

The Chesters fort

1.5km away

Hanging Craig fort

2.1km away

Seaton Law fort

2.3km away

Pencraig Hill standing stone

7.2km away

Traprain Law fort

7.4km away

The Chesters fort

8.0km away

Drylawhill cursus

8.1km away

North Berwick Law fort

8.8km away
more ancient sites....
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Pictish stones near Garleton Castle

Abernethy No. 2 Class III symbol stone

25.3km away

Abernethy No. 4 Class III cross shaft

25.3km away

Princes Street Gardens Class I symbol stone

26.1km away

Court Cave Class I rock carving

26.2km away

Doo Cave Class I rock carving

26.2km away

Jonathan's Cave Class I rock carving

26.2km away

Sliding Cave Class I rock carving

26.2km away

Abercrombie 1 Class III cross slab

26.7km away

Abercrombie 2 Class III cross slab

26.7km away
more Pictish stones....
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Pictish sites near Garleton Castle

Haddington silver chain

3.3km away

Traprain Law silver chain

7.6km away

Whitlaw silver chain

28.9km away

Norrie's Law hoard

32.2km away

Hoardweel silver chain

32.4km away

Borland silver chain

54.0km away

Todholes (possible) silver chain

56.2km away

Whitecleugh silver chain

89.5km away

Dunnicaer fort

114.2km away
more Pictish sites....
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Accommodation near Garleton Castle

Maitlandfield House Hotel
hotelHaddington
3.1km away
Letham House
hotelLennoxlove
3.7km away
Ducks at Kilspindie House
hotel, restaurant, barAberlady
5.6km away
Colstoun House Hotel
hotelHaddington
5.8km away
Fenton Tower
hotelNorth Berwick
6.3km away
Bell's Bothy Bunkhouse
hostelHaddington
6.6km away
Seton Sands Holiday Park
holiday parkPort Seton
8.9km away
Nether Abbey
hotelNorth Berwick
9.1km away
Macdonald Marine Hotel & Spa
hotel, restaurant, barNorth Berwick
9.2km away
No12 Quality Street
bed and breakfastNorth Berwick
9.7km away

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more accommodation....

Cafés, restaurants & bars near Garleton Castle

Ducks at Kilspindie House
hotel, restaurant, barAberlady
5.6km away
Gosford Bothy Farm Shop
caféAberlady
5.7km away
Smeaton Nursery Gardens & Tearoom
caféEast Linton
8.7km away
Macdonald Marine Hotel & Spa
hotel, restaurant, barNorth Berwick
9.2km away
Carberry Tower
hotel, bar, restaurantMusselburgh
16.2km away
Premier Inn Edinburgh A1 (Musselburgh)
hotel, restaurantEdinburgh
16.6km away
The Birdcage
restaurant, barMusselburgh
17.6km away
Best Western Kings Manor Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barEdinburgh
19.6km away
Premier Inn Edinburgh A1 (Newcraighall)
hotel, restaurantEdinburgh
19.8km away
The County Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barDalkeith
19.9km 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 1:59 pm. Updated on the 21st of April 2020 at 3:38 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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