Newark Castle

St Monans, United Kingdom

Newark Castle is a ruin located just west of St Monans, on the east coast of Fife. The building stands in a dramatic location, overlooking the North Sea. The upper storeys are ruinous, but vaulted cellars survive, hidden from view.

Building on the site probably dates back to the 13th century, at which time the Scottish king Alexander III (1241–1286) spent some of his childhood there.

The current building was begun in the 15th century by the Kinloch family. It then passed, through marriage, to the Sandilands of Cruivie, who sold it in 1649 David Leslie. Leslie was a prominent figure in the English and Scottish Civil Wars, becoming Lord Newark after the wars. Following Leslie's death in 1682, the castle passed to the Anstruther family, and finally to the Bairds of Elie.

The castle attracted the attention of Sir William Burrell, the Glasgow shipping magnate and collector of art and antiques, in the late 19th century when Sir Robert Lorimer produced a plan for its restoration. The scheme never went ahead as the owner of the site, a Mr Baird of Elie, refused to sell.

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St Monans, United Kingdom
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Details

Founded: 15th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in United Kingdom

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.1/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Kellie Castle (4 km)
St Monans Church (0,5 km)
Pittenweem Priory (3,4 km)


St Giles' Cathedral (37,9 km)
Edinburgh Castle (38,4 km)
Edinburgh Old Town (37,7 km)
Greyfriars Kirk (38,2 km)
National Museum of Scotland (38,1 km)
Calton Hill (37,1 km)
National Monument of Scotland (37,1 km)
St Cuthbert's Church (38,5 km)
McManus Gallery (31,4 km)

User Reviews

Shona Norman (2 months ago)
There are only ruins, which are fenced off, but you can see that this would have been a substantial castle with amazing views over the Firth of Forth. Off to the left of the castle is what I think might be a round Doocot. I love castles no matter what state they are in, so Newark Castle was lovely to see.
Paul Vine (2 months ago)
It's a nice enough ruin. In a bad state these days, you only have to look at the coastal erosion to see why. There is fencing around it to keep you away from venturing inside it but that fencing has also seen better days.
Richard Payne (5 months ago)
A great old ruin, sadly not in a great state on the coastal path. It was fenced off when we were there, but clearly been breached many times as there were gaps in the fencing and a lot of rubbish inside the site - a big shame. Lovely setting. Well worth a stop on the coastal walk.
Katarzyna Mikołajek (5 months ago)
It beautiful place with mystery atmosphere
Austin Yoder (6 months ago)
we could basically go anywhere we wanted on the castle, great town lovely view.
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Glimmingehus

Glimmingehus is the best preserved medieval stronghold in Scandinavia. It was built 1499-1506, during an era when Scania formed a vital part of Denmark, and contains many defensive arrangements of the era, such as parapets, false doors and dead-end corridors, 'murder-holes' for pouring boiling pitch over the attackers, moats, drawbridges and various other forms of death traps to surprise trespassers and protect the nobles against peasant uprisings. The lower part of the castle's stone walls are 2.4 meters (94 inches) thick and the upper part 1.8 meters (71 inches).

Construction was started in 1499 by the Danish knight Jens Holgersen Ulfstand and stone-cutter-mason and architect Adam van Düren, a North German master who also worked on Lund Cathedral. Construction was completed in 1506.

Ulfstand was a councillor, nobleman and admiral serving under John I of Denmark and many objects have been uncovered during archeological excavations that demonstrate the extravagant lifestyle of the knight's family at Glimmingehus up until Ulfstand's death in 1523. Some of the most expensive objects for sale in Europe during this period, such as Venetian glass, painted glass from the Rhine district and Spanish ceramics have been found here. Evidence of the family's wealth can also be seen inside the stone fortress, where everyday comforts for the knight's family included hot air channels in the walls and bench seats in the window recesses. Although considered comfortable for its period, it has also been argued that Glimmingehus was an expression of "Knighthood nostalgia" and not considered opulent or progressive enough even to the knight's contemporaries and especially not to later generations of the Scanian nobility. Glimmingehus is thought to have served as a residential castle for only a few generations before being transformed into a storage facility for grain.

An order from Charles XI to the administrators of the Swedish dominion of Scania in 1676 to demolish the castle, in order to ensure that it would not fall into the hands of the Danish king during the Scanian War, could not be executed. A first attempt, in which 20 Scanian farmers were ordered to assist, proved unsuccessful. An additional force of 130 men were sent to Glimmingehus to execute the order in a second attempt. However, before they could carry out the order, a Danish-Dutch naval division arrived in Ystad, and the Swedes had to abandon the demolition attempts. Throughout the 18th century the castle was used as deposit for agricultural produce and in 1924 it was donated to the Swedish state. Today it is administered by the Swedish National Heritage Board.

On site there is a museum, medieval kitchen, shop and restaurant and coffee house. During summer time there are several guided tours daily. In local folklore, the castle is described as haunted by multiple ghosts and the tradition of storytelling inspired by the castle is continued in the summer events at the castle called "Strange stories and terrifying tales".

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