Cakemuir Castle

Cakemuir Castle is a mid-16th century tower house with later additions.

The castle was built for Adam Wauchope, fifth son of Gilbert Wauchope of Niddrie and an advocate. Some sources state that the castle was built in 1564 however it may be older than this. It is thought to have been built as a replacement for the earlier Black Castle nearby. An Eadwulf of Cakemuir is on record in the 13th century witnessing a grant by Duncan of Swanston to Soutra Hospital.

The tower is rectangular in plan and aligned approximately north-east to south-west. It measures around 9.2m long by around 7.5m across with thick walls that originally included several gunloops. Originally it is thought to have risen to a height of three storeys plus garret however it now consists of four storeys due to later remodelling.

Projecting from the south end of the north-west wall of the tower is a circular stair tower. The original entrance was at the base of the tower giving access to a ground floor level which unusually is not vaulted. Whether this is an original feature or a consequence of later remodelling is not clear. At second floor level the stair tower narrows before widening again further up where a square caphouse at parapet level is corbelled out, below which is a gunloop.

The wide spiral staircase climbs to the Great Hall on the first floor, with bedrooms above in its original layout. The caphouse gives access to the parapet walk. Either side of the west gable’s chimney is a roofed watch-house containing a seat, affording views over the moors to the south and east.

On the 11th of June 1567 Mary Queen of Scots arrived at Cakemuir Castle and spent the night, having fled Borthwick Castle disguised as a page. The Great Hall is now known as Queen Mary’s Room to commemorate her visit.

In 1761 Henry Wauchope was responsible for adding a large wing projecting from the south-west side of the original tower.

Installed above a new entrance porch on the north-west of this wing is a heraldic panel bearing the Wauchope arms, a chevron between two mullets in chief and a garb in base, which was removed from above the original entrance in the stair tower.

The last Wauchope laird of Cakemuir, Andrew Wauchope, died in 1794. His wife died around a year later and Cakemuir fell to the Crown. Captain Andrew Wauchope “the old laird of Niddrie obtained a grant of the property, which was afterwards sold.”

Further additions were made in the 19th century by George Wright from Edinburgh who used the castle as a summer residence. It may be at this time that the Georgian wing was given the Scots baronial treatment.

At some point the castle fell into ruin however by 1915 it had been restored and re-occupied with new timber floors laid, the parapet repaired and a new roof installed at a shallower pitch than the original. In 1926 the castle underwent further restoration at the hands of Rowand Anderson Paul and Partners while the interior of the castle was modernised by the architect Arthur Forman Balfour Paul. Further work was carried out between c.1949 and 1952 by the architects Neil and Hurd.

The castle is still occupied as a private home.