Rosyth Castle

Rosyth Castle
©2022 Gazetteer for Scotland

Rosyth Castle

Now located within Rosyth dockyard, a quarter-mile (0.5 km) south of Rosyth and 1¼ miles (2 km) southwest of Inverkeithing, the ruined Rosyth Castle once stood on a small island in the Firth of Forth. The lands here were erected as a barony for Sir James Stewart in 1428. The castle, with its thick defensive walls, began as a three-storey tower-house built by the Stewarts in the later 15th century. It was extended to an L-plan in 1561, along with the addition a courtyard which was once surrounded by a barmkin wall. The castle was given larger windows in the 17th century but sacked by Oliver Cromwell in 1650, despite his mother having said to have been related to the owners. It passed to the Earls of Rosebery in the 18th century and by the 1860s was the property of the Earl of Hopetoun. The surrounding land was reclaimed and became part of the Royal Dockyard by the early 20th century. While the castle itself comprises a substantial ruin, only the foundations of the courtyard buildings remain. The structure is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland.

Nearby is an unusual barrel-vaulted doocot which dates from the 16th century.


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