east-lothian-1924/05-141

Transcription

NORTH BERWICK.] INVENTORY OF MONUMENTS IN EAST LOTHIAN. [NORTH BERWICK.

continually with grate canon. Capitane Alex-
ander Setton" (afterwards of Whittingham and
Lord Kingston cf. Art. No. 213) " defendit the
same gallantly ; bot after that the enimeyes
canon had oppind a werey large breache, and
filled the dray (dry) ditche with the wall, he
entred it by storme. The capitane and thesse few
men [which] wer with him, betooke themselves
to [the] tower . . . bot the enimey seeing them
stand gallantly to it, preferrid them quarters,
wich they excepted (accepted)."17 Thereafter
the place was of account only as a residence,
remaining habitable till, in 1699 (cf. Introd.
p. xxii), the barony was sold to Sir Hew
Dalrymple, Lord-President of the Court of
Session, after which it was left to fall into
decay.

In H.M. Register House, Edinburgh, is a
schedule of the munition and artillery equip-
ment of the castle on February 3 1559/7.
Parts of the building are differentiated as East
Tower, Fore Tower, Douglas Tower (i.e., the
tower on the north-west), Mid Tower, Munition
House with a " Chalmer " beside it, a Work
House, the Hall Loft, and a Vault and a
Cellar under the Hall.

An inventory of the contents of the castle
c. 1670 gives some further information as to
plan and equipment. The castle had "four iron
yettis at the entrie and ane iron yet at the
tumbler (sic) with shod perculieris (portcullis)."
There was a well-chamber with a chamber
"next thereto" another chamber "second to the
welchamber "-both furnished-and a stable
" next thereto." These details apparently
refer to the structure within the southern
portion of the great west curtain. A garden
chamber had an " out roume " and an " inner
roume." Kitchen and bakehouse follow, and
then a "dyneing roume," "my ladies chamber,"
" the lang hall,"-all probably in the north
wing-a " chamber in Dowglas towre,"-
that on the north-west-"the reid chamber,"
"the bleu chamber" and a chamber "nixt
thereto." The " turpyk (turnpike) that leades
wp to the turpyk " can be identified in the
inner north corner of the Mid Tower. The
" lang loft " was probably over the rooms and
stable, mentioned above, against the main
curtain. The drawbridge had " four iron bands
thereon."18 There is an inventory also (1582)

67

of the seventh Earl of Angus, but it is a list
[marginal note]
See also info,
p. 156.
only of various domestic fabrics.19

1 Nat. MSS. of Scotland, Part iii, No. ii. ;
2 Liber de Melros, ii., p. 479 ; 3 Acta Parl. i.,
pp. 555, 565 ; 4 Reg. Mag. Sig. i., 324, 503,
631 ; 5 Cal. Docts. iv., No. 391 ; 6 Acta Parl.
p. 555 ; 7 Douglas Book, iii., pp. 32-3 ; 8 Hist.
MSS. Com. v., p. 611; 9 Acta Parl. i., pp. 557-8;
10 Scotichron. Lib. xvi., cap. x., xvi.; 11 Reg.
Mag. Sig. ii., No. 584 ; 12 Historie and Cron-
icles of Scotland, S.T.S. vol. ii., p. 331, Lib.
xxi. cap. xix. ; 13 Ham. Papers ii., p. 121 ;
14 Ham. MSS, ii., p. 169 ; 15 Ibid ii., p. 380 ;
16 Cromwell's Scotch Campaigns, pp. 230-4.
Whitelocke's Memorials (London 1732) pp. 488,
489 ; 17 Balfour's Annales of Scotland vol. iv.,
p. 249. The reference to Cromwell is of course
not personal ; Monk, under Cromwell's com-
mand, conducted the siege ; 18 Douglas Book,
iii., p. 343 ; 19 Cal. State Papers, Scotland, vi.,
pp. 182-3.

iii. S.W. June 1919: September 1924.

107. Fenton Tower.-The ruin of this tower,
which dates from the end of the 16th century,
occupies a con-

[illustration inserted]
FIG. 107.-Fenton Tower
(No. 107).

spicuous posit-
ion on the rising
ground of King-
ston Hill two
miles south of
North Berwick.
The structure
is built on an
L-plan (fig.
107), with the
main block lying east and west and the short
wing projecting southwards in alinement with
the west gable. This main block contained
three storeys and an attic floor, the latter lit
by dormer windows. The wing terminated
some 40 feet above the ground in turrets at
the southern angles, all traces of which, save
the corbellings that bore them, have dis-
appeared. The lowest storey of this portion
is occupied by the main staircase, which
ascended only to the first floor. Above
this level are three storeys, each of one apart-
ment, reached from a turret staircase corbelled
out in the re-entering angle. From the north
wall of the main block a semicircular tower