Fatlips Castle: A Sixteenth-Century Peel Tower in the Scottish Borders
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.3
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Kingdom of Scotland
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page6 sections
History
Border reiver origins
Fatlips Castle is a sixteenth-century peel tower in the United Kingdom, built on Minto Crags by the Turnbulls of Barnhills. A peel tower was a fortified residential building designed chiefly for defence, and the Turnbulls were Border reivers, raiding families active along the Scottish-English border during the late medieval and early modern periods. The family also owned nearby Barnhills Tower and its farm.
In 1545, during the War of the Rough Wooing, troops led by the Earl of Hertford burned Mantoncrake, also called Mynto Crag. This conflict was an Anglo-Scottish war connected with Henry VIII of England’s attempt to force a marriage alliance between his son Edward and the Scottish heir Mary.
Ownership and changing use
The unusual name Fatlips Castle is traditionally linked to a supposedly indiscreet household greeting. According to the custom, every gentleman entering the ruin had the privilege of kissing one of the ladies. Sir Gilbert Elliot acquired the castle in 1705, and his family later became the Earls of Minto.
The exterior underwent extensive restoration in 1857. In 1897 and 1898, Sir Robert Lorimer renovated the interior for use as a shooting lodge and private museum. Sir Robert was a prominent Scottish architect and designer known for restoration work and historicist architecture. The building remained in use until the 1960s, after which it fell into poor condition again.
A major restoration was announced in November 2011. By the middle of 2013, work on the cap-house, parapet, and roof had been completed. Historic Scotland formerly listed Fatlips Castle as a Category B listed building, while Historic Environment Scotland designates it as a scheduled monument, a legally protected archaeological or historic site considered nationally important to preserve.
Remains
Ridge-top tower
Fatlips Castle is a rectangular rubble-stone peel tower and ridge-top fortification on the crest of Minto Crags above the River Teviot, near Denholm in the Scottish Borders. Its position formed part of the defensive setting of a Border residence. The tower measures approximately 8.15 metres from north to south and 9.84 metres from east to west. It contains four full storeys and an attic, creating a compact vertical plan within its substantial stone walls.
Upper works
The attic is enclosed by a nineteenth-century parapet walk. The surviving upper works include the cap-house, parapet, and roof, which were restored during the major conservation carried out in the early 2010s. These elements complete the visible defensive profile of the rectangular tower above the crags.
