Southside Castle


Parish: Newbattle

County: Midlothian

Grid reference: NT 36930 63850

Lat / long: 55.863681, -3.009276

Alternative names: Southsyde Castle; Southsyde House

The historic map is an Ordnance Survey map from 1919 to 1947, and is provided by the National Library of Scotland

Southside Castle is an L-plan tower house which is said to have been built by a Patrick Ellis between 1640 and 1644. However it is likely that Ellis extended and remodelled an earlier castle, as its appearance is older than the 17th century.


By 1850 it was semi-ruinous, but it has no been restored although with many alterations. It has been reduced from its original height of four storeys to three, the vaulted ceilings have been removed from the wing (that in the basement of the main block is still intact), and a two-storey extension built in the re-entrant angle of the two sides.

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created Friday, May 14th, 2010 at 2:00 pm, last updated Monday, April 25th, 2011 at 5:21 pm