Edzell Castle, Scotland

The Lindsay family acquired the estate of Edzell in 1358 through the marriage of Katherine, the daughter of Sir John Stirlings of Glenesk and Sir Alexander de Lindsay. The estate remained in their family for the next 350 years. At this time the castle was a motte and bailey castle built of timber. I am again pushing the time period a bit but this is often required in Scottish castles, as many of the castles which remain for us, are 15th and 16th Century tower houses.

Edzell at it's core is a tower house. Today its extensive gardens make it easy to forget this. In the early 16th Century, the Lindsays moved into their new tower house where their family lived for the next 200 years. 

The tower house was the first building to be completed at the new residence and this was the principle accommodation for the Lindsay family, this was completed around1520. A walled courtyard, where the cobblestone floor remains, enclosed this area. The small east range was built soon after, followed by the west range, which was built around 1550, on the west wall of the courtyard. The west range contained the kitchen and storerooms, as well as a dining hall and drawing room on the upper levels. At the end of the 16th Century, the north range was added. 

The appearance of the castle is altered today, as the stonework is visible. In the 16th Century it was covered with a coat of harled lime slurry, which gave the look of rough plaster. It was applied by literally hurling it at the walls using a handheld shovel.

The corbels at the top of the tower house wall have a decorative parapet, made up of a double row of corbels in a chequered pattern, fashionable in the 16th Century and done completely for aesthetic reasons. 

Mary Queen of Scots visited Edzell Castle in 1562 while on Royal Progress. She spent two nights at Edzell on her way north. David Lindsay, the 9th Earl of Crawford, received her.

The gardens at Edzell were created in 1604 as a formal pleasure garden. 

The summerhouse and bathhouse at the south west corner of the garden, was designed as a retreat from the main house. 

 The Seven Planetary Deities are depicted as Greek and Roman Gods and Goddesses. The order is consistent with the medieval idea that the earth was the center of the universe, surrounded by nine heavens. 

The rounded niche at the top of the wall is designed to display a sculpture. The white and blue flowers in the wall recesses represent the colours of the Lindsay arms. 

The garden contains a series of carved panels on the east, south and west walls. These represent the Seven Cardinal Virtues on the west wall, the Seven Liberal Arts on the south wall and the Seven Planetary Deities on the east wall. Each of the three series was given to a different mason to create.