PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, APRIL 9, 1928.

II. THE CASTLES1 OF RAVENSNOOK AND UTTERSHILL, MIDLOTHIAN. . HANNAHC N BYIA , F.S.A.ScoT., P.S.A.

Upo e Norte bank th k th standn f Es ho s a remarkabls e serief o s ancient seats of very different character and date. Brunstane supplies a fine specimen of the work of the sixteenth century. Penicuik House, prematurely in ruin, with its beautiful Square residence e fittew th s closno da , eby , form mosa s t superb exampla f eo great eighteenth-century mansion. Ravensnook, Uttershill, and Wood- houselee are interesting lairds' houses belonging to the sixteenth century. At Rosslyri is a striking castle clinging to the steep valley-side, present- g examplein wore th f differenf ko so t periods ranging downwards from e fourteentth h century. Hawthornde e remainth mediaevaa s f nha so l red sandstone tower, and close beside it stands a picturesque residence e seventeentth of h century, magnificently placed e palacTh t . a e Dalkeith is a huge but not very successful eighteenth-century structure, which incorporates part of the ancient castle of the Grahams and the Douglases. It is the only one of the series that is not peculiarly Scottish. s externait s a r Slo fa architectur concernes i e t dmighi t equally stand in an English park. Other castles and seats stand upon the banks of e rives neveth wa rs a r e Eskt navigablth bu , e they hav speciao n e l connection with each other. Amon e leasgth t t knownassuredlye meano d n an ,e leas y yb th s t interesting, of the buildings named are the little mansions of Ravens- nook and Uttershill, both locally known as castles. The former stands almost hidden among dense woods e latte th conspicuoua ; s i r s object from the road that leads out of Penicuik for Peebles and the south. Ravensnook Castle stand mosa n i st romantic situation overlooking a widk valleEs e ye swee th fro e highef mpth o r ground e wholth ; e countryside is now covered by the plantations of the policies of Penicuik e ruine House verth e w closth ar d syno o t e an long, d an abandoned carriage-drive e thaPeeblee lodgth th t n t eo comea s t ou s road. Separated only by a field is the curiously planned obelisk which Sir James Clerk (builder of Penicuik House) erected to the memory of Allan Ramsa 1759n yi . The name evidently suggested to Scott the well-known line: Rest the Castln ei e Ravensheuch. (Lay of the Last Minstrel: VI. xxiii. 2.) structuree th o S 1 localle sar y termed t the,bu y were merel housee yth inconsiderablf so e lairds. CASTLES OF RAVENSNOO UTTERSHILLD KAN , MIDLOTHIAN3 23 . A rolf Davio l . (1329-71II d ) record a cartas , give Elizabety b n h Auldburgh, of the lands of Braid, Baulay, Colmanstoun, and Ravinis- nuick, to John Burgens Virgin.1 The document is not dated. In 1527 James V. granted to William Sinclare de Rosling (with much else) "Esti t Westie r r Ravinnisnuke t Carnehille , partibusm cu , , le outsettis, tenentibus, &c."2 In 1542 he confirms and gives anew, inter alia, " terra Eistie sd t Westie r r Ravynnysnuk t Carnehille m cu , partibus, &c., ortis, pomeriis, columbariis, tenentibus, &c."3 The further particulars e confirmatiogiveth n i n n seem ratheo t r suggest that some development had been going on at Ravensnook sinc ee characte1527 Th e existinth . f o r g ruins would perhaps suit this date. These entries appea givo t rsuppor o e locaen th lo t ttraditio n that Ravensnoo s onc e propertkwa th e f Oliveyo r Sinclair e favouritth , f o e opponend Jame an e Reformation . th sV f s captureo t e wa th o y db wh , English at Solway Moss in 1542. That he owned Ravensnook is stated as a fact in the first Statistical Account.* The idea may have originated from the circumstance that another Oliver Sinclair undoubtedly occupied Ravensnook. Oliver Sinclair "de Wester Ravynnisnuke" appears as the second witness to a document by which James VI. confirms a charter of Edward Sinclare de Harbertschyre granting to his germane brother William Sinclair the barony, castle, lands, etc., of Rosling, and also "terras de Eister et Wester Ravynnisnuke et Carnehill, cum tenentibus," as well as other property.9 n 159I 4 Oliver Sinclai f Ravensnooo r s cautiowa k r £10,00fo n r 0fo r WilliaSi m Sinclai f Roslino r answeo gt r befor e kincouncild th e gan . Relations between the two branches of the family were far from what might have been n hoped160i 4d Johan , n Fairli f Comistouo e s wa n surety for Sir William Sinclair of Rosling not to do bodily harm to his tenant, Oliver Sinclai f Ravensnook.o r 6 In 1730 Sir John Clerk, the famous antiquary (d. 1755), secured from e Sinclairth f Rosslyo s e superioritnth f Ravensnookyo , whose actual r som sois familfo hi led yearha y s possessed t I stil. l belonge th o t s Clerks, absorbed inte Penicuioth k policies. Of the actual building at Ravensnook most disappointingly little survives. It met, during the eighteenth century, the fate that has over-

1 Registrum Magni Sigilli Beguin Scotorum, vol. 1306-1424, ed. John Maitland Thomson, . 1402 . 607No Appp ,, .2 . 2 Ibid., vol. 1513-46 . 527 . 117p No , . Ibid., 2768 . 640-1. pp No , .

1 Ed. by Sir John Sinclair, 1794, vol. x. p. 425. 5 Beg. Mag. Sig., vol. 1580-93 . 190-1 . 615pp , No , . ' Joh . WilsonnJ , Annals of Penicuik, Edinburgh, Constable, printed privately. , 189136 . p , 234 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , APRI , 19289 L .

take mananciene o ns th f yo t monument f Scotlandso , including Arthur's O'on. The circumstances are given in an account written by Sir John Clerk himselyeae th r n i 1741f : " I have seen Kavensnook Tower o 0 4 r 5 0s againsfeewa y inclinatiott i m thigh d an , s pullen wa tha t di t down; but as my father, who wanted stones for the park dyke, found her readiese eth t provision I submitted, e towe Th f Penicui.o r s wa k pulle de sam stonedowd th ha en o readinesn I accounti s f i t bu I s, would repair them both. Old houses and Towers are, I think, the Honour and pride of a country."1 The hous s smallwa e , abou fee0 6 t t lond probablan g t morno y e than about a third as much in width. Its remaining Avails are nowhere ove fee6 rheightn o anyoni t t d an ,e wit o interesn h n antiquitiei t s it might appear a most insignificant ruin. It bears little mark of date, but seems clearly to belong to the sixteenth century. It is constructed of the local, gritty, nearly-black whinstone (usually employe r dykesfo d n gooi t ) rougbu d h rubble masonry ,e block somth f eo s quite large, thoxig hproperlo thern e ear y worked quoins. It is rather remarkable for the variety in the thickness • of its walls, the west one being only just over 3 feet, the north one 4, and the east, which was evidently full of mural chambers, over 7 feet. No traces of the south wall appear above ground. Thick and rather clumsy walls are inevitable with such a material;. no worked detail is possible. There are two distinct portions, not regularly bonded together, though therindicatioo n differency s i e an f o n e eas agen i eTh a t. pard ha t tunnel vault of rubble on the same axis as that of the building, but only about 12 feet long. (This was always a favourite way of covering a basement in Scotland; at Whim House, Peeblesshire, it occurs in buildin e latth e f eighteento g h century. e nortth n hI )wall , closo t e the north-east corner of the building, is a water inlet, commonly found in sixteenth-century workchambee Th . r abov vaule extendes eth wa t d into the east wall by one of these mural recesses which are at all periods far more usual in Scotland than further to the south. The wallin completelo s s gi y ruinous tha s characteit t quits i r e uncertain. The halpresumabls lwa westere th n yi n portion y detaio n an t f lo bu , kind is to be seen. As John Wilson in his Annals of Penicuik mentions two gables 57 feet apart, it seems possible that originally there were storeyo tw s wit attin ha c above. Large beec growinw h no tree e gar s within the area of the tower, whose scanty remains are rapidly dis- integrating. Fro mshora t distanc t lookei s little more tha nheaa f po stones. 1 Memoirs of Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, ed. for Scottish History Society, 1892, p. 253, note. CASTLE RAVENSNOOF SO UTTERSHILLD KAN , MIDLOTHIAN5 23 . Nor awayfa t , probabl sighn yi t befor e plantationth e s were made, is the Castle of Uttershill or Outershill, whose ruins are far better preserved, and the tower houses are so similar that the original appearanc f Ravensnooo e y probablma k e largelyb y restored froa m study of Uttershill. Although, till about twenty years ago, in the parish of Lasswade t i stand, s practicall e towth f Penicuiko nn yi , higp u h n Castlo k e abovEs Brae e th e , looking northwards ovee wholth r e settlement, with the Pentlands rising beyond—a perfectly magnificent view. The situation is very fine; below the bluff on which the build- g standin s another stream e —so-calleth d Leadburn, which below Uttershill becomes the Blackburn—flows into the North Esk. Uttershil s formerlwa l properte yth e Prestonth f yo f Craigmillarso , whoo t mt passei d fro e Penicuimth k famile earlth yn yi seventeent h e Register Greate th century th n i f o d Seal,an , under datFebruard e2n y interestinn 1641a s i , g entr whicn yi h Charle . confirmI s a chartes f o r David Preston of Craigmillar granting to George Preston, his son, and Jeanne Gibsoun futurs ,hi e wife theid ,an r heirs male " terra t baroniase m de Prestoun alias Gourtou maneriem ncu i loc Uttershille od , molendinis, piscationibus, tenentibus, &c. parochin ,i Leswaide ad , viEdinburgh."e ed : e centurth f e properto yth d Beforen ye th passee Clerks th o y t db , e paper-millswhoth s sol o t wa n m192di t i 0 n whosi , e possession it remains. The structur slightls ei y longer than tha f Ravensnooko t s wa t i d ,an certainly finer in its appointments. It forms a simple oblong of two storeys wit formea h r attic t havinbu , g loss gableit t t presenti s a s somewhat box-like and unsightly outline. The effect as seen from the road below is certainly poor, but the interior is singularly interesting, giving a very good idea of a compact little Scottish mansion of the sixteenth century. Unifor t appearsi s ma , therdoubo n s ei s t thawa t ti differeno builtw t a t t times. The ruins are very tolerably perfect, except for a large gap on the south. The fabric forms a compact oblong of about 65 by 23 feet, standing easwestd walle e rathean tTh ar s. r ove fee3 r t thick, built of excellent rubble, improving into ashlar in parts and with large ashlar quoins. The stone is nearly all from the local carboniferous beds, but some varied materia s usedi l , includin a gcompac d grittan t y con- glomerate, probabl e rivermasonre yth Th takef .o d s nyi be fro e mth very much neater and better than that of Ravensnook. There are no absolutely clear indication f dateo s , suc mouldings ha s might supplyt bu , e buildinth s evergha y appearanc f belongineo periodo tw o gt s during sixteente th h century. Masons ' t appeamarkno e o existo th d st r t bu , 1 Vol. 1634-51 . 964 . 352p ,No , . Much els includes ei grante th n di . 6 23 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , APRI , 19289 L . weathered, rather gritt vera y t stonyno suitabl s ei e materia r theifo l r preservation. Virtuall e onlth y y detai a plain s i l , bold roll-moulding roun outee dth r door somd an , e windows l square-headedal , , mostly with relieving arches f characteristicallo , y Scottish s i perfectltype t I . y preserved round the east window of the solar. The main entrance was by means of a door in the middle of the south side. deeply-recessea Oves i t i r d panel, from which, most unfor- tunately armoriae th , l bearings have disappeared t openI passag.a o st e across the building, having the hall on the west and the imposing- kitchen on the east. On the lower floor this passage was divided by a walle northerTh . n pars covere wa a rougt y db h tunnel vaulte Th . stairs must have beet int e corridorgo noth t onlbu , ya mas f ruio s n remains. Thre e fronth ee lef f tstepth o t doo n downwardd o s le r o t s e undercrofth e hallth f , o enteret f o e nortd a dooth d als y t hen oa b r

Fig. 1. Plan of Uttershill Castle : Kitchen on the right, undercroft of hall on left.

passagee th lowea ,n whico rs levelundercrofe hwa Th . roofes wa ty b d a very massive, just pointed, tunnel vault, which has unfortunately fallen fro absence protectiomy th an f eo n agains chambee wete th tTh .s rwa evidentl ystorea s nort it n hi ; walnarroa s i l w splayed window piercing e e vaulsprina lintele worth th y Th f b s tveri ko g . y rought bu , substantia welld an l built. This western portioe castlth f s evii eo n - dently a little earlier than the eastern, which was added when greater domestic comfor s desiredwa t . Th efrequentl o halls s a , e cas th yScotland,n i e s thuwa 1s upoe nth upper floor t musi ; rathea t y havwa re s strikin beeit n ni g chamber, feed bette8 1 an t y somb r 0 lightee3 d thaothey nan r chambee th n i r tower. Upon the north are four very depressed mural arches resting upo e vernth y simples f pierso t , case excepon e n wheri t e thinnineth g of the wall necessitates a corbel. Such recesses were provided to permit buttery furniture to be inset. Two of the arches enclose windows; 1 Sometime Englann si d too, e.g.so-callee th d abbot's lodgin Netleyt ga hale Winchestef th , lo r College oldee th , palace r halth n t Chichesteri lea . CASTLE RAVENSNOOF SO UTTERSHILLD KAN , MIDLOTHIAN7 23 . another window in the north part of the west wall has been partly buil beforp u t house s eth allowe ewa falo dt l into decay fireplace Th . e must have been east or south; perhaps the former is more probable. noteworths i t I y thafireplaced en t s were much more usua Scottisn i l h halls than in those of more southern climes, where the fire was usually in the middle of a long side. The roof was clearly a wooden ceiling, having an attic above. The hall was entered by two doors, one at e uppeth f ro eaccorridord en h e northere linteth th ,f o l n projects from the •wall. The kitchen was on the lower floor, and its chief feature is the

Fig . Mura2 . l Chambe Kitched ran n Fireplace, Uttershill Castle.

enormous fireplace in the eastern wall, placed towards the south. It open huga y sb e segmental arc f abouho fee1 1 t e chimnet th span d an , y being on the south the northern portion of the space behind is covered b ytunnea l vault impinging large upo th side f enth eo arch, whics hha proved strong enoug foro ht msatisfactora y abutment wall-space Th . e north of the great fireplace is used to form a small mural chamber which measures 5 feet 9 inches by 3 feet 9 inches, and is entered through a door whose iron hinge staple sa smal remaind lha windot I . n wo the east, later built up. It was used to store powder in recent times, rifle-rangee e mineth th botd r an shfo . In the south Avail of the kitchen are three ambry-cupboards, the furthest west being a blocked doorway, and to the east of them, close fireplacee th y b a slo, p sink with gargoyl exteriore th n eo , locally known 238 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, APRIL 9, 1928.

as a jaw-box. The low windows on the north have been built up, though without the kitchee mth n must have been rather dark. The holes for the great joists that supported the ceiling are very conspicuous, and above them the walls become a little thinner. The chamber over the kitchen must have formed a very fine bed- roo solar mo r abou foo1 t t lowe floon ri r level tha halle nth . Both were, of course, entered from the upper corridor; it is remarkable that no e staitracth rf eo remains . f woodo Possibl s ,wa thoug t yi h s thiswa very unusual in Scotland at the time. At each end of the corridor was a little square window of the usual simple type, but the northern is • remarkable in that its lintel and jambs have holes for iron bars on what are now their outer edges; possibly these are re-used stones, but e gratin th havy ma ge been purely external. Other windows display less distinct traces of the same feature. The larga solad eha r fireplace ove e kitchenr th tha f o tf whico , h only slight traces remain. The floor at this (east) end was supported on the masonry above the kitchen fireplace and the mural chamber northe th o t . Ove lattee larga th e rsola s th r eha r windo deea n wi p recess. It is of the usual character, a bold roll-moulding surrounding the exterior, a relieving arch of depressed form appearing in the masonry above. Close by in the north wall is a deep cupboard recess. On the south there are two of these close together. That furthest east is rabbeted for a shutter; the other was originally pierced as a door- way, which was probably approached by an outside stair of wood. Further west is a small square window; to the east of the mural cup- board a ver s i ys remarkable ambry which extends inte walth o l eastwards at right angles to its opening. There are now no indications whatever of the nature of the attics above. They were obviously of considerable importance to the house- hold, seeing that without the e wholmth e castle contained only three large roomcapacioua d an s s store. In 1899 there was found among the ruins a stone bearing the date 1511, and (with other marks that could not be deciphered) the letter P. (Penicuik). This has now been lost, but it was seen by the zealous, local antiquary . BlackE . R whoo ,t , m this pape mucs i r h indebted. The date seems probabl belono ywestere t th o gt nbuilde parth f -o t ing. In the Cowan Institute is now preserved a stone bearing, on a shield, the three unicorns of the Prestons, and on each side the initials O. P.—the first letter bearing some resemblanc a bugle o et . This prob- ably came from Uttershill, but for a time it was built into Pomathorn farm. Neither of these stones would fit the panel over the door. There are no traces of any outbuildings. The structure stands NOTEVITRIFIEA N O S D FORVITRIFIED AN T D STONES9 23 . among trees. What remain n excelleni s i s t condition though almost entirely neglected. It is impossible to resist the reflection that it coul restoree db foro dt mdelightfua l little modern residence, though in winter the position might probably be found to be very much exposed to storms. The building is certainly worthy of more careful preservation e kitcheTh . n doors were walle fairlp u d y recently.