Kellie castle
Pittenweem

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St Andrews

 

Kellie Castle and Garden

Situated 3 miles (5 km) north of Pittenweem in the East Neuk of Fife, Kellie Castle largely dates from the 16th and early 17th centuries.
Mentioned in charter of David I c.1150, Kellie was owned by the Oliphant family from 1360 to 1613 when it was purchased by Sir Thomas Erskine a childhood friend of James VI who created him Earl of Kellie. Restored by the Lorimer family who bought the castle in the 19th century, the building contains magnificent plaster ceilings, painted panelling and furniture designed by Sir Robert Lorimer. The castle and its organic walled-garden were acquired by the National Trust for Scotland in 1970.

  Kellie castle

Kellie castle gardens

   One of the finest castles in Scotland, Kellie Castle is a tall 16th-century E-plan tower house, consisting of a three-storey main block and three large square towers which form the E. The Vine Room, on one of the upper floors, has a ceiling painted by De Witt, and there are fine plaster ceilings elsewhere. There is a magnificent walled garden. An earlier castle here belonged to the Siwards, but the present castle was built by the Oliphants, who held the lands from 1360 until 1613, when the 5th Lord Oliphant had to sell the property. It was bought by Sir Thomas Erskine of Gogar, who was made Earl of Kellie in 1619, a favourite of James VI. Kellie was abandoned in 1829, but in 1878 James Lorimer leased Kellie as an almost roofless ruin and proceeded to restore it. Robert Lorimer, his son, spent most of his childhood at Kellie, and was a famous architect. In 1970 Kellie passed into the care of The National Trust for Scotland. Limited disabled access to house.
 The Arts and Crafts garden at Kellie Castle was designed by Robert Lorrimer in 1880, for his parents. It has gravel and grass paths, box-edged beds, herbaceous borders and old roses.  
 

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