A phoenix from the ashes

Roddy Martine pays a visit to the newly renovated Fenton Tower, a castle given a new lease of life

The rich, flat farming land of East Lothian encroaches upon all sides, the surrounding grassland literally swaying in the wind that sweeps across it. To the far distant north is Edinburgh; to the south, Dunbar and Berwick upon Tweed. To the west is the market town of Haddington, and to the east, the North Sea. Strategically, Fenton Tower could not be better placed, but after all, this is what it was built for.

One of the countless small 15th century peel towers and L-shaped keeps that you find dotted all over the Scottish Borders, Fenton may not have had a distinguished career as castles go, but it has certainly had an interesting one.

According to Dr Alison Sheridan of the National Museums of Scotland, there was a settlement here 4000 years ago and a small fortification was built by the Anglo-Norman De Vaux family in the 12th century, probably made of wood and later stone. The present tower was constructed in the late 15th century, possibly by Patrick Whytelaw, a son of the forfeited Lord Ruthven of Gowrie Conspiracy fame, and subsequently lived in by Sir John and Lady Carmichael. Sir John was Warden of
Scotland's Middle March, with duties that included the policing of the Scottish Border. In 1591, King James VI sought refuge at Fenton Tower from the rebel army of the Fifth Earl of Bothwell.

Sir John was killed in a skirmish at Carter Bar in 1600, and three years later the Tower was gifted by the King to Sir Thomas
Erskine, who later became Viscount Fentoun and eventual...

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• By : Roddy Martine
• In : Contemporary Scotland
• Issue : 4
• Page : 14
• Words : 1,001