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Haddington Castle

There is some debate as to whether or not there was a castle in Haddington, and indeed as to its location, however there was certainly a royal palace in the 12th century which must have been fortified.

Haddington was one of the first towns in Scotland to be granted royal burgh status by David I, some time before 1138. David founded fourteen royal burghs in total, all of which had royal castles apart from Haddington where a castle is not explicitly mentioned. Haddington was a sheriffdom since at least 1124, when Durward was Sheriff of Haddington, and a constabulary since at least 1321 when Robert the Bruce granted to Alexander de Seton part of the barony of Tranent described as “in constabularie de Hadington”. These two latter designations usually indicate that there was a castle, however there is no direct mention of Haddington Castle in old records.

Traditionally the palace is said to have been located to the south of what is now Court Street. At first glance the site isn’t a particularly good one defensively however it is situated in the middle of an area that is protected to the east and south by a bend in the River Tyne. It has also been suggested that the site of the palace may actually have been on land that was known as the Kingis Yaird, King’s Yaird, King’s Yard or Friars’ Croft. A 1497 reference to croft land owned by the friars describes it as being known as “le Kingis palace” “in the vulgar tongue.” Part of that land is now occupied by the 17th century Haddington House.

The Palace of Haddington seems to have been a royal residence in David’s time since in 1135 he wrote a charter there granting the lands of Swinton to Hernulf. In 1139 Haddington and its lands, along with the burgh of Crail and its castle, were given to Ada de Warenne, daughter of William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey, by David I as a part of her dower upon her marriage to his son, Henry. In 1152 Henry predeceased his father who died the following year and Malcolm IV, Henry’s son and David’s grandson, ascended to the throne at the age of 12. Malcolm is only recorded to have issued one charter from Haddington, in 1159.

Malcolm died in 1165 and was succeeded by his brother, William the Lion, who seems to have spent a lot of time at Haddington, issuing various charters from there throughout his reign. His mother, Ada, died in the palace at Haddington in 1178 and is said to have been buried there. In 1186 William married Ermengarde de Beaumont and in 1198 their son, Alexander II, was born in the palace in his grandmother’s bed.

Haddington Castle

In 1215 Alexander supported the English barons who revolted against King John of England and as a result the English King invaded Scotland in 1216 and attacked Haddington. The town was destroyed and the royal family vacated the palace. It isn’t clear if the palace suffered the same fate as the town however if it did then it must have been rebuilt as royal courts were held there during Alexander’s reign.

Following a tournament in Haddington in 1242 Padraig, 6th Earl of Atholl, was murdered in a palace at the west end of the High Street by Walter Byset, Lord of Aboyne, and his nephew, John Byset, Lord of the Aird. Whether or not this was the royal palace is unclear but it seems that it was probably not.

In March 1244 Haddington, Stirling, Roxburgh, Lanark, Perth, Forfar, Montrose and Aberdeen were all burnt on the same night by fires which had started accidentally.

Situated on a main route from England into Scotland, Haddington suffered over the centuries whenever there was conflict between the two nations. In 1296 during the Wars of Independence Edward I invaded Scotland and took Haddington. It was later recaptured as in October 1297 William Wallace wrote a document to the mayors of Lübeck and Hamburg from Haddington.

In 1355 the Scots captured Berwick-upon-Tweed and in January 1356 Edward III of England led an army north to recapture it in a raid that became known as Burnt Candlemas. The English army pressed on to Edinburgh, burning Haddington as they went.

William Lyndsay of the Byres was appointed constable of Haddington early in the 15th century by Robert III and in 1429 there is a mention of the King’s Wall surrounding the town. Late in the 15th century Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell, was appointed constable of Haddington by James IV, an office which was also conferred on his son, Adam Hepburn, 2nd Earl of Bothwell, in 1511.

Haddington was attacked several times during the Rough Wooing in what have become known as the Sieges of Haddington. In 1547 an English fleet under the command of Edward Clinton, Lord Clinton (and later 1st Earl of Lincoln), was sent to lay siege to Haddington. As part of the same campaign Clinton’s forces burnt or captured ten Scottish ships moored off Blackness Castle and attacked Luffness Castle.

In September 1547, following defeat at the Battle of Pinkie, the Regent of Scotland, James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran, took Haddington with 5000 troops comprising of Scots, French mercenaries and regular French soldiers. The following February it was captured and garrisoned by an English force of some 5000 troops under the command of William Grey, 13th Baron Grey de Wilton, who set about fortifying the town with the help of Italian military engineers.

A contemporary French report on the fortifications describes a spacious quadrangular fortress with four corner bastions named Bowes, Wyndham, Taylor and Tiberio after the English commanders, a large, flat-bottomed ditch and earth ramparts. Behind the ramparts was a deep ditch and an inner rampart with four turrets surrounding what was described as a donjon. The term donjon usually refers to the central keep or tower of a castle and it’s possible that this was the original defensive building of the palace. The donjon was said to be only exposed to artillery fire on one side, that side being protected by the River Tyne, and that covering the donjon was a cavalier, or gun platform, on one of the ramparts.

Some sources state that this cavalier was actually the town’s tolbooth which was filled with earth so that guns could be placed on top of it. Haddington’s old tolbooth was located on Market Street close to the entrance to Newtown Port, around 300m east of the supposed site of the palace. If there was a donjon at the palace then the tolbooth would be approximately midway between it and the river to the east.

In June 1548 André de Montalembert, Seigneur d’Essé, landed at Leith with a French force of 6000 veteran troops, including German and Italian mercenaries. The Treaty of Haddington was signed on the 7th of July promising French support in return for the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots, to the Dauphin and future Francis II of France. The French force joined 8000 Scots soldiers in the siege of Haddington later that month. In August Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector of England during the minority of Edward VI, sent a force of almost 14,000 men to relieve the siege but they later returned to England and the Scots lay siege again.

The siege continued into 1549 when Sir James Croft was described as the (English) captain of Haddington Castle. In September that year Somerset withdrew the English garrison due to plague within the fort, lack of financial support and the need to suppress peasant rebellions in England and Haddington was abandoned to the Scots. Following the Treaty of Boulogne in 1550 the fortifications in Haddington were dismantled.

Haddington Castle

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

There doesn’t appear to be any subsequent mention of a castle or palace until 1831 when it was decided to build a new courthouse in Haddington and the site of the palace was chosen. Extensive ruins were cleared away, including a vaulted chamber and part of an arched passage leading to it. The pillars of the arches were described as “of the Saxon order” perhaps indicating a Norman design. These ruins were subsequently linked to the site of the palace by antiquarian sources.

Haddington Castle

A Short History of Haddington
W. Forbes GrayStevenage, 1995

The foundation stone of the County Buildings, which were designed by William Burn, was laid in 1833 by Sir John Gordon Sinclair of Stevenson and the buildings are now occupied by East Lothian Council.

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Alternative names for Haddington Castle

Hadington; Hadinton; Hadintoun; Hadintun; Hadintune; Hadyngton; Haidintoun; Palace of Haddington

Where is Haddington Castle?

Haddington Castle is in the parish of Haddington and the county of East Lothian.

Grid reference: NT 5133 7383

Lat / long: 55.955017, -2.781028

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

OS Map for Haddington Castle

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


Directions to Haddington Castle

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Weather at Haddington Castle

16°C
max 20°C / min 16°C
26km/h SSW
1016mb
66%
54%
03:25 20:57

Broken clouds
Weather observed at Haddington at 15:52
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References (books)

A Short History of Haddington
W. Forbes Gray
Stevenage, 1995
An Atlas of Scottish History to 1707
Hector MacQueen
Edinburgh, 1996
Caledonia (Volume 3)
George Chalmers
Paisley, 1888
Reminiscences of the Royal Burgh of Haddington
John Martine
Edinburgh, 1883
Tales and Traditions of Scottish Castles
Nigel Tranter
Castle Douglas, 2012
The Castles of Scotland
Martin Coventry
Prestongrange, 2015
The Lamp of Lothian
James Miller
Haddington, 1900
The Register of the Great Seal of Scotland A.D. 1424-1513
James Balfour Paul
Edinburgh, 1882
The Scottish Grey Friars (Volume 1)
William Moir Bryce
Edinburgh, 1909
Transactions of the East Lothian Antiquarian and Field Naturalists' Society (Volume 32)
Various
Haddington, 2019

References (websites)

Listed Building record
Canmore
Wikipedia

Castles near Haddington Castle

Blair's Castle (possible) (site of)

0.3km away

Kinloch House (possible)

0.4km away

Haddington House (possible)

0.4km away

Bothwell Castle (possible) (site of)

0.5km away

Lennoxlove House

1.8km away

Letham House

2.0km away

Colstoun House

2.9km away

Garleton Castle

2.9km away

Barnes Castle

3.1km away
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Ancient sites near Haddington Castle

Kae Heughs fort

2.5km away

Hanging Craig fort

3.4km away

Seaton Law fort

3.4km away

The Chesters fort

4.5km away

The Chesters fort

5.1km away

Traprain Law fort

6.8km away

Pencraig Hill standing stone

7.5km away

Garvald souterrain

8.0km away

Yester fort

8.2km away
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Pictish stones near Haddington Castle

Abernethy No. 2 Class III symbol stone

25.4km away

Abernethy No. 4 Class III cross shaft

25.4km away

Princes Street Gardens Class I symbol stone

26.3km away

Court Cave Class I rock carving

28.7km away

Doo Cave Class I rock carving

28.7km away

Jonathan's Cave Class I rock carving

28.8km away

Sliding Cave Class I rock carving

28.8km away

Abercrombie 1 Class III cross slab

29.6km away

Abercrombie 2 Class III cross slab

29.6km away
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Pictish sites near Haddington Castle

Haddington silver chain

0.4km away

Traprain Law silver chain

7.1km away

Whitlaw silver chain

26.0km away

Hoardweel silver chain

30.7km away

Norrie's Law hoard

35.0km away

Borland silver chain

52.7km away

Todholes (possible) silver chain

55.0km away

Whitecleugh silver chain

88.0km away

Dunnicaer fort

116.8km away
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Accommodation near Haddington Castle

Maitlandfield House Hotel
hotelHaddington
0.4km away
Letham House
hotelLennoxlove
2.0km away
Colstoun House Hotel
hotelHaddington
2.9km away
Bell's Bothy Bunkhouse
hostelHaddington
4.8km away
Ducks at Kilspindie House
hotel, restaurant, barAberlady
7.8km away
Winton Cottage
self-catering cottagePencaitland
8.2km away
Wintonhill Farmhouse
self-catering cottagePencaitland
8.4km away
Fenton Tower
hotelNorth Berwick
8.8km away
Seton Sands Holiday Park
holiday parkPort Seton
9.5km away
Sawmill Cottage
self-catering cottageTyninghame
11.0km away

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bed and breakfasts
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more accommodation....

Cafés, restaurants & bars near Haddington Castle

Gosford Bothy Farm Shop
caféAberlady
7.7km away
Ducks at Kilspindie House
hotel, restaurant, barAberlady
7.8km away
Smeaton Nursery Gardens & Tearoom
caféEast Linton
9.4km away
Macdonald Marine Hotel & Spa
hotel, restaurant, barNorth Berwick
11.9km away
Carberry Tower
hotel, bar, restaurantMusselburgh
15.5km away
Premier Inn Edinburgh A1 (Musselburgh)
hotel, restaurantEdinburgh
16.2km away
The Birdcage
restaurant, barMusselburgh
17.4km away
The County Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barDalkeith
19.1km away
Best Western Kings Manor Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barEdinburgh
19.6km away
Premier Inn Edinburgh A1 (Newcraighall)
hotel, restaurantEdinburgh
19.7km away
more food.... / more drink....

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Published on the 17th of April 2017 at 12:24 pm. Updated on the 22nd of April 2020 at 1:16 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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