Ballinbreich Castle

Cupar, United Kingdom

Ballinbreich Castle is a ruined tower house castle in Fife. The castle was built in the 14th century by Clan Leslie, and subsequently rebuilt several times. There may have been an outer curtain-wall though this no longer survives. Much of the present structure is of 16th-century date. It is a three-storey L-plan castle and overlooks the Firth of Tay.

Early maps of the castle by Timothy Pont and John Adair at the National Library of Scotland show the castle within a curving wall or earth bank. From the air, two curving enclosures can be seen, the crop mark remains of ditches. The inner area was probably the 16th-century garden, and rectilinear crop marks within the larger enclosure may have been later garden features.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 14th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in United Kingdom

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

3.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Ian Soutar (9 months ago)
There is a note on the outside warning you not to go inside , looks amazing from the outside/air though
Terry Meyers (12 months ago)
Huge structure, with some unique architectural remnants surviving. Recommend to maybe go in winter or very early spring as the vegetation is extremely overgrown.
cindy young (15 months ago)
No where 2 park and have 2 go round the farm 2get 2 it
James Randal (17 months ago)
Unable to access as land owner has restricted parking, and ploughed the field you used to be able to walk on.... wasted journey
D3tour (18 months ago)
Absolutely cracking castle well worth a look , don’t park in the private grounds there is a small lay-by on otherside of the road have a walk down and about 100 yds to your left the farmer has kindly left part of the field unploughed as a walkway.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Gamla Uppsala Church

The stone church of Gamla Uppsala, built over the pagan temple, dates from the early 12th century. Due to fire and renovations, the present church is only a remnant of the original cathedral.

Before the arrival of Christianity in Sweden, Gamla Uppsala was the seat of Swedish kings and a ceremonial site known all over northern Europe. The settlement was home to royal palaces, a royal burial ground, and a great pagan temple. The Uppsala temple, which was described in detail by Adam of Bremen in the 1070s, housed wooden statues of the Norse gods Odin, Thor and Freyr. A golden chain hung across its gables and the inside was richly decorated with gold. The temple had priests, who sacrificed to the gods according to the needs of the people.

The first Christian cathedral was probably built in the 11th century, but finished in the 12th century. The stone building may have been preceded by a wooden church and probably by the large pagan temple.