| There has been a castle on this site since 1189 and it has seen many years of war. During the wars of independence the castle was destroyed and rebuilt many times. It was in English hands in 1303 and then after victory at Bannockburn in 1314 put back in Scottish hands.
It also has strong links to past Scottish kings, in the period of 1406-1437 it was where James I received much of his education and in 1445 it was the birthplace of James III. During this period the castle also served as a prison with the 24 foot deep “bottle dungeon” where prisoners were dropped in and forgotten about.
The bloodiest period of the castle history was during the reformation in the 16th century, this was the period where Scotland was changing from a mainly catholic society to Protestantism. In 1546 the Lutheran reformer George Wishart was burned at the stake in front of the castle. In retaliation for this the Cardinal George Beaton was stabbed to death and hung naked from a window in the castle tower.
Today the ruins of the castle remain to be explored, including the famous “bottle dungeon”. |
