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Redbraes Castle

Little seems to be known about the origins of Redbraes Castle, however it dates back to at least the late 16th century, and most probably earlier.

Redbraes Castle is thought to have been built by the Humes of Polwarth, although exactly when is unclear. In the 15th century the barony of Polwarth was owned by the Sinclair family, but following the marriage of Margaret Sinclair, daughter of John Sinclair, of Herdmanston, Polwarth and Kimmerghame, to Patrick Hume in 1451, Polwarth passed into the Hume family.

The Humes of Polwarth seem to have lived in two other properties in the area prior to Redbraes. First was the old tower of Polwarth Castle near the village of the same name, followed by Mains House, and then Redbraes itself.

The Humes are said to have moved permanently to Redbraes following the destruction of Polwarth Castle during the Rough Wooing of the 1540s, however “the towre of Red Brayes” was also burned by an English army led by Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, in September 1545. One of the earliest mentions of Redbraes is when Sir Patrick Hume of Polwarth and Redbraes, a courtier and makar, inherited Redbraes Castle in 1599 upon the death of his father, also Patrick Hume.

A picture of Redbraes Castle from their later home of Marchmont House shows a substantial building that, while it displays styling cues from the 17th century, looks as though it could well have grown from a simpler square keep. It faced approximately south-east, looking over the Howe Burn, and was apparently surrounded by a moat.

At the centre is a tall and narrow six storey tower with a single line of windows running up from an entrance at ground level. Flanking it are two wider towers, each with pairs of windows rising to five storeys. Within the basement of the east tower were the kitchens, while the west tower contained the laundry. Behind these three towers is a wide four storey main block. Attached to the edges of this block are single storey wings.

Today, only the north end of what has been described as the west wing still stands. However, rather than being one of the single storey wings, this would appear to be the remains of the back of one of the flanking towers with the twin windows.

The north wall of this section stands complete to first floor height, and while there are no windows in the ground floor part, on the first floor the bottoms of a pair of window surrounds can just be seen. Attached to this wall are fragments of walls to the west and east returning south.

The west wall features a window at ground floor level, with carved surround, and the partial remains of a second window above it on the first floor. The east wall has a complete doorway, again with carved surround. The corner stones of these walls are carved with a bell-shaped detail.

On Robert Gordon’s map “A description of the province of the Merche”, published in the mid-17th century, there is no mention of Redbraes Castle, but there is a castle marked at Pollart. This is presumably the old tower of Polwarth, although I have seen Redbraes Castle referred to as Polwarth House.

In Joan Blaeu’s Atlas of Scotland, published in 1654 but based in part on Timothy Pont’s maps of the late 16th to early 17th century, Redbraes Castle appears as Ridelbraes. Interestingly it is shown as two castles side by side, each within their own enclosure. One appears to be in the known position of Redbraes, while the other appears to be further to the east, standing closer to a river – possibly the Howe Burn. The second castle may perhaps be Mains House.

By the 17th century the family’s wealth and power was increasing, and the aforementioned Sir Patrick Hume of Polwarth and Redbraes’ son, another Patrick, was created the 1st Baronet Hume of Polwarth in the Peerage of Nova Scotia by Charles I.

In 1690 his son, another Patrick Hume, the 2nd Baronet, was created the 1st Lord Polwarth, and in 1697 he became the 1st Earl of Marchmont. He served as Lord Chancellor from 1696 to 1702.

In the autumn of 1709 alterations were made to Redbraes. In 1724 Alexander Hume-Campbell, the 2nd Earl of Marchmont, commissioned William Adam to design a new house, and make improvements to Redbraes Castle.

However the Earl decided against the new house due to the expense, and only went ahead with remodelling Redbraes and improving the surrounding lands over the period 1726 to 1735. Whether or not this was to the designs of Adam or someone else is not known. In 1726 the Great Avenue was begun. Stretching some 1.3 miles (2.1km), making it the longest avenue in Scotland, it was planted with 10,000 Dutch elm trees.

On Herman Moll’s map of The Shire of Berwick, drawn some time before 1732 and published in 1745, it appears once again as Ridelbraes, with two enclosed castles shown.

Following the death of the 2nd Earl in 1740, his son, Hugh Hume-Campbell, the 3rd Earl, employed the architect Thomas Gibson to build a new house, which took from 1750 to 1754.

William Roy’s Military Survey of the Lowlands, published between 1752 and 1755, shows both the new house and the old castle, and names the whole estate Redbraes, with the Great Avenue and planned landscape shown extending from the house.

It isn’t until the 19th century that maps for this area show accurate representations of buildings, and a map by William Crawford and William Brooke, published in 1843, shows buildings to the south-west of the site of the castle, but none to the north-east.

On the Six Inch 1st edition OS map, published in 1862, as well as the moat being marked, to the north-west of the castle, a building to the north-east of the castle site mirrors that of the west wing to the south-west. It has been supposed by some that this is the east wing of the old castle. However, given that this isn’t shown on the 1843 map, it would appear that the cottages that stand in this position today are what are shown, and were built some time between 1843 and 1862.

It has been suggested that they are built on the site of the east wing, but if the proportions in the drawing of Redbraes Castle are approximately correct then the cottages are too far to the north-east to be in the position of the old east wing. More likely perhaps is that the east wing stood on the opposite side of the road from the cottages.

On the Six Inch OS map from 1899 the buildings to the south-west and north-east of the old castle are again clearly marked, with the remains of a moat marked to the north west. On the same map from 1908 both buildings are again shown, but the reference to the moat has disappeared.

In 1913 the Hume-Campbells sold Marchmont House and the estates to Robert Finnie McEwen of Bardrochat, ending more than three centuries of Hume association with Redbraes Castle. During the Second World War it was requisitioned for use by Edinburgh’s John Watson’s School.

Following the death of McEwen’s grandson Sir James McEwen in 1983, Marchmont House was bought by Sue Ryder Care and turned into a care centre for young, physically disabled people, opening in 1989.

In 2008 the care home closed, and Marchmont House was sold to a private buyer, apparently with the intention of restoring it as a family home.

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Alternative names for Redbraes Castle

Marchmont House; Polwarth House; Red Braes; Red Brayes; Redbraes House; Redbraes Tower; Reidbrayis; Ridelbraes

Clans associated with Redbraes Castle

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Surnames associated with Redbraes Castle

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Hume

Where is Redbraes Castle?

Redbraes Castle is in the parish of Polwarth and the county of Berwickshire.

Grid reference: NT 7465 4853

Lat / long: 55.7295, -2.405244

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OS Map for Redbraes Castle

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


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Directions to Redbraes Castle

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Weather at Redbraes Castle

14°C
max 14°C / min 14°C
31km/h WSW
1006mb
70%
100%
03:25 20:58

Overcast clouds
Weather observed at Greenlaw at 19:22
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References (books)

Marchmont and the Humes of Polwarth
Margaret Warrender
Edinburgh, 1894
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (Volume 1)
Various
Edinburgh, 1854
The Castles of Scotland
Martin Coventry
Prestongrange, 2015
The History and Antiquities of Roxburghshire and adjacent districts, Volume 3
Alexander Jeffrey
Edinburgh, 1855
The Register of the Great Seal of Scotland A.D. 1593-1608
John Maitland Thomson
Edinburgh, 1890

References (websites)

Canmore

Castles near Redbraes Castle

Mains House (possible) (site of)

1.1km away

Polwarth Castle (site of)

1.4km away

Choicelee (site of)

2.8km away

Caldra

2.9km away

Tenandry House (site of)

3.6km away

Greenlaw Castle (site of)

3.6km away

Old Purves Hall

3.9km away

Bite-About

4.1km away

Langton Castle (site of)

4.9km away
more castles....

Ancient sites near Redbraes Castle

Duns Law fort

7.3km away

Broomhouse Mains souterrain

9.8km away

Cockburn Law fort

11.4km away

Edin's Hall broch and fort

12.1km away

Bruntaburn Mill standing stone

14.9km away

Cambridge standing stone

16.2km away

Earlston standing stone

17.3km away

Brothers' Stones standing stone

17.8km away

The Chesters fort

19.8km away
more ancient sites....
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Pictish stones near Redbraes Castle

Borthwick Mains Class I symbol stone

46.1km away

Abernethy No. 2 Class III symbol stone

54.7km away

Abernethy No. 4 Class III cross shaft

54.7km away

Princes Street Gardens Class I symbol stone

55.6km away

The Coves, Caiplie Class I symbols

59.1km away

Abercrombie 1 Class III cross slab

59.3km away

Abercrombie 2 Class III cross slab

59.3km away

Abercrombie 3 Class III cross slab

59.3km away

Abercrombie 4 Class III cross slab

59.3km away
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Pictish sites near Redbraes Castle

Hoardweel silver chain

12.2km away

Whitlaw silver chain

24.7km away

Traprain Law silver chain

30.9km away

Haddington silver chain

34.0km away

Norrie's Law hoard

67.8km away

Borland silver chain

68.3km away

Todholes (possible) silver chain

70.6km away

Whitecleugh silver chain

97.2km away

Dunnicaer fort

136.7km away
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Accommodation near Redbraes Castle

Bank House, Duns
self-catering apartmentDuns
6.7km away
Pavilion Lodge, Duns Castle
self-catering cottageDuns
6.7km away
Garden Cottage, Wedderburn Castle
self-catering cottageDuns
6.8km away
West Lodge, Wedderburn Castle
self-catering cottageDuns
6.8km away
Groom's Cottage, Wedderburn Castle
self-catering cottageDuns
7.4km away
Keeper's Cottage, Wedderburn Castle
self-catering cottageDuns
7.4km away
The Wheatsheaf Restaurant With Rooms
hotelSwinton
8.9km away
Babingtons Cottage
self-catering cottageColdstream
12.6km away
Castle Hotel
hotel, bar, restaurantColdstream
12.9km away
Apartment 76
self-catering apartmentColdstream
13.0km away

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bed and breakfasts
campsites
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self-catering cottages
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more accommodation....

Cafés, restaurants & bars near Redbraes Castle

Hirsel Cottage Tea Room
caféColdstream
11.6km away
Castle Hotel
hotel, bar, restaurantColdstream
12.9km away
Allanton Inn
hotel, bar, restaurantDuns
13.2km away
The Courtyard Restaurant, Floors Castle
café, restaurantKelso
14.2km away
The Terrace Café, Floors Castle
caféKelso
14.6km away
George & Abbotsford Hotel
hotel, barMelrose
24.6km away
Baxters Selkirk
caféSelkirk
33.0km away
Smeaton Nursery Gardens & Tearoom
caféEast Linton
33.7km away
Selkirk Deli
caféSelkirk
34.0km away
Best Western Philipburn Country House Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barSelkirk
34.7km away
more food.... / more drink....

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Published on the 21st of May 2011 at 12:00 am. Updated on the 14th of May 2021 at 6:23 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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