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Whiteside Tower


Whiteside Tower is a possible 15th century tower house of which only the vaulted basement survives.

The early history of Whiteside is not clear, however late in the 12th century Audoen of Whiteside was a witness to a gift of land at Innerwick to the monks of Kelso, so this could be the same Whiteside.

The ownership of Whiteside seems to have been tied to the lands of Mellerstain since at least the mid-15th century and possibly earlier, standing around 800m to the south-west on a slight ridge. In 1451 Patrick Haliburton, son of John Haliburton, 2nd Lord Haliburton of Dirleton, was granted Whiteside by James II along with the lands of Mellerstain, but by the end of the 15th century Whiteside and Mellerstain were in the hands of the Haitlie family.

It is likely that the Haitlies built the tower at Whiteside, in its current form at least, either in the 15th or 16th centuries as it shares similarities with other Border peels from this period. The tower was rectangular in plan, aligned approximately west-south-west to east-north-east, and measures around 16.0m long by around 7.5m wide with walls some 1.1m thick. The basement was vaulted, the eastern half of which is still extant but the western half of which has fallen.

Whiteside Tower

Whiteside Tower

The Haitlies owned the Mellerstain and Fans estates until the 1620s when debts resulted in the them passing to Sir John Edmonstone of Edmonstone and Ednam who received a charter of them by Charles I in 1627. It’s thought that the ownership of Whiteside transferred at the same time (a full history of the ownership of the Mellerstain estates can be viewed on its own page).

Whiteside is marked on Blaeu’s map of 1654 as Whyitsyde but isn’t marked on Gordon’s slightly earlier map.

Whiteside Tower

The Merce or Shirrefdome of Berwick
Joan Blaeu, Amsterdam, 1654map image courtesy of NLS

Following Sir John’s death in 1633 he was succeeded by his heir Andrew Edmonstone of Ednam who in 1643 sold Whiteside along with Mellerstain and Fans to George Baillie of Jerviswood. Upon George’s death in 1647 his estates passed to his eldest son, John, who died without issue some time before 1653 and the estates passed to George’s second son, Robert.

Robert was a committed Covenanter and in 1676 he was imprisoned for rescuing his brother-in-law from what he thought was an illegal arrest. His neighbour, Sir Patrick Hume of Polwarth, communicated with him during his incarceration by sending his 10 year old daughter, Grisell Hume, as a messenger. Robert was later involved in the Rye House Plot against Charles II in 1683, sentenced to death for treason and executed at the Grassmarket in Edinburgh in 1684. His estates were forfeited and in 1685 were granted by James VII to George Gordon, 1st Duke of Gordon.

Robert’s young son, George, and Sir Patrick fled to Holland and were later joined by the rest of Sir Patrick’s family including Grisell. George became an officer in the Prince of Orange’s Horse Guards, and returned to Britain in 1688 along with the future William II (in Scotland, William III in England). In 1690 George’s estates were restored and in 1691 he married Grisell Hume whom he had got to know during their time in Holland. In 1725 George commissioned William Adam to design a new house at Mellerstain, but the fate or condition of Whiteside at this time is not known.

Whiteside Tower

Whiteside isn’t marked at all on Roy’s mid-18th century map and it was certainly a ruin in the 19th century when it was apparently known by some as the “Bogle House” and deemed to be haunted, while it is said to have been thatched with bennels (bog reeds) or rushes within living memory. Today the ruins stand in a field of the same name.

Whiteside Tower

Whiteside Tower

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Alternative names for Whiteside Tower

Whiteside House; Whiteside Peel; Whitesyde; Whyitsyde; Whytesyde

Clans associated with Whiteside Tower

Edmonstone

Gordon

Haliburton

Surnames associated with Whiteside Tower

Baillie

Edmonstone

Gordon

Haliburton

Halliburton

Hallyburton

Hamilton

Where is Whiteside Tower?

Whiteside Tower is in the parish of Earlston and the county of Berwickshire.

Grid reference:NT 64362 38375

Lat / long:55.637616,-2.567679

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

OS Map for Whiteside Tower

OS map 339
Kelso, Coldstream & Lower Tweed Valley
OS Explorer map 339


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Directions to Whiteside Tower

Enter a starting point

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Weather at Whiteside Tower

5°C
max 5°C / min 4°C
8km/h SW
1028mb
82%
64%
07:48 17:00

Broken clouds
Weather observed at Earlston at 10:02

References (books)

History of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club (Volume 15)
Various
Alnwick, 1897
The Castles of Scotland
Martin Coventry
Prestongrange, 2015

References (websites)

Canmore

Castles near Whiteside Tower

Mellerstain House

0.8km away

Smailholm House

1.9km away

Nenthorn

3.7km away

Smailholm Tower

3.7km away

Brotherstone (site of)

4.1km away

Thrid (site of)

4.4km away

Whitrig (site of)

4.4km away

Greenknowe Tower

4.5km away

Morriston (site of)

5.1km away
more castles....

Ancient sites near Whiteside Tower

Brothers' Stones standing stone

3.4km away

Earlston standing stone

4.9km away

Littledean fort

7.2km away

Newstead (site of) souterrains

8.9km away

Eildon Hill North fort

10.4km away

Cambridge standing stone

11.5km away

Bruntaburn Mill standing stone

12.3km away

Dabshead fort and standing stone

16.1km away

Torwoodlee broch and fort

17.8km away
more ancient sites....
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Pictish stones near Whiteside Tower

Borthwick Mains Class I symbol stone

31.8km away

Abernethy No. 2 Class III symbol stone

52.0km away

Abernethy No. 4 Class III cross shaft

52.0km away

Princes Street Gardens Class I symbol stone

52.8km away

Court Cave Class I rock carving

65.9km away

Doo Cave Class I rock carving

65.9km away

Jonathan's Cave Class I rock carving

66.0km away

Sliding Cave Class I rock carving

66.0km away

Abercrombie 1 Class III cross slab

66.1km away
more Pictish stones....
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Pictish sites near Whiteside Tower

Whitlaw silver chain

17.3km away

Hoardweel silver chain

26.0km away

Traprain Law silver chain

36.9km away

Haddington silver chain

37.4km away

Borland silver chain

58.6km away

Todholes (possible) silver chain

60.8km away

Norrie's Law hoard

72.8km away

Whitecleugh silver chain

84.8km away

Dunnicaer fort

148.1km away
more Pictish sites....
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Accommodation near Whiteside Tower

Huntlywood Granary
bed and breakfastEarlston
5.3km away
The Buccleuch Arms Hotel
hotelSt Boswells
9.2km away
Melrose SYHA Hostel
hostelMelrose
10.3km away
George & Abbotsford Hotel
hotel, barMelrose
10.6km away
The Roxburghe Hotel & Golf Course
hotelRoxburgh
11.2km away
Black Bull Hotel, Lauder
hotelLauder
14.5km away
Lauderdale Apartment
self-catering apartmentLauder
14.5km away
The Spread Eagle Hotel
hotelJedburgh
17.7km away
Larkhall Burn luxury cottages
self-catering cottagesJedburgh
17.8km away
The Clovenfords Country Hotel
hotelGalashiels
19.3km away

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bed and breakfasts
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more accommodation....

Cafés, restaurants & bars near Whiteside Tower

The Terrace Café, Floors Castle
caféKelso
7.3km away
The Courtyard Restaurant, Floors Castle
café, restaurantKelso
7.7km away
George & Abbotsford Hotel
hotel, barMelrose
10.6km away
Hirsel Cottage Tea Room
caféColdstream
18.4km away
Baxters Selkirk
caféSelkirk
19.0km away
Castle Hotel
hotel, bar, restaurantColdstream
19.7km away
Selkirk Deli
caféSelkirk
19.9km away
Best Western Philipburn Country House Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barSelkirk
20.8km away
Johnstons of Elgin Eastmill Café
caféHawick
26.7km away
Allanton Inn
hotel, bar, restaurantDuns
27.3km away
more food.... / more drink....

Related pages

Dirleton Castle in East Lothian
Dirleton Castle in East Lothian
Garden of Cosmic Speculation plus castles
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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 12th of June 2011 at 11:07 pm. Updated on the 5th of May 2019 at 7:13 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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