Cramond Tower

Cramond Tower
Edinburgh, Scotland

Cramond Tower
Cramond Tower
Coordinates 55°58′42″N 3°17′51″W / 55.9782368°N 3.2976298°W / 55.9782368; -3.2976298
Site history
Built 15th century

Cramond Tower is a fifteenth-century tower house in the village of Cramond to the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland.

History

The area around the Tower has had human settlement since the time of Ancient Rome, and there are relics from that time in the area.[1] The Tower was probably built in the late 15th or early 16th century, primarily as a defensive feature, although it could have been built earlier, and may have been mentioned in 1409.[2][3][4] It was at one stage part of the bishop of Dunkeld's summer residence.[5]

It became the property of James Inglis, an Edinburgh merchant, in 1622.[4] He repurposed the tower to make it more comfortable for occupation, adding and enlarging windows and creating internal recesses to increase the available living space.[4] His grandson moved to the nearby Cramond House in 1680, and the tower was abandoned for the next 300 years.[5]

It was portrayed as a romantic ruin by James Skene in 1837, and was in a poor state of preservation by the middle of the twentieth century.[6][3] In the 1960s, the City of Edinburgh Council put a concrete cap on the roof and cleared the vegetation.[3][4]

In 1978, it was acquired by Eric Jamieson, an amateur antiquarian.[5] Between 1979 and 1981, it was restored by architects Robert Hurd & Partners into a private residence.[4][1]

It was damaged by a fire in 2011.[7]

Description

The castle is a nearly square four-storey tower house, around 25 feet (7.6 m) on each side and with walls up to 5 feet (1.5 m) thick.[5] In the south-east corner is a round staircase that protrudes from the building.[4] Currently, the tower has a store at ground level, a living room on the first floor, kitchen on the second, and bedrooms and bathrooms on the third and fourth floors.[4][8] A pitched roof has been re-erected as part of the restoration.[9] In the 1990s, a stone extension was added on the east side.[8]

It is a category B listed building.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 "Edinburgh: Survey of Gardens and Designed Landscapes (034 Cramond)" (PDF). edinburgh.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  2. ↑ Wood, John Philip (1794). The antient and modern state of the parish of Cramond. p. 45.
  3. 1 2 3 "Edinburgh, Cramond, Kirk Cramond, Cramond Tower". rcahms.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "4 Kirk Cramond, Cramond Tower (Ref:28018)". historic-scotland.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Cramond Tower - A Derelict Property - Rescued, Restored and Reoccupied". scottishcastlesassociation.com. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "Cramond Tower". capitalcollections.org.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  7. ↑ "Fire causes damage to Cramond Tower in Edinburgh". BBC News. 1 December 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  8. 1 2 "Cramond Tower". scottish-taxidermy.co.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  9. ↑ Lindsay, Maurice (1994). The Castles of Scotland. Constable. p. 167. ISBN 0-09-473430-5.
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Coordinates: 55°58′38″N 3°17′58″W / 55.9773°N 3.2995°W / 55.9773; -3.2995

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