Fernie Castle
Fernie Castle is a manor house approximately one kilometer northeast of the Scottish village of Letham in the North East of Fife. The house was greatly changed after its construction in the 16th century and expanded, important additions in the style of Scottish Baronials date from the 19th century.
The building complex has been used since the 1960s as a hotel and has since March 1, 1984 as a Listed Building category B listed building.
History
Maybe stood here in the 13th century a castle, which at that time the Macduff, Earl of Fife belonged. The first written mention was the country seat but only in 1353. Of a Macduff's possession came to the Balfour family and from the 15th century to the Fernies. For Andrew Fernie his lands were in 1527 raised to the barony. His family was built around 1530 on the site of the present manor house is a tower house, which was expanded and increased during the 16th century. At the end of that century Fernie Castle had a T-shaped floor plan with a four-storey center, which was joined by a circular tower with cantilevered, square floor in the southwest is a square stair tower with five floors and stepped gables and in the northwest. Due to the unusual round tower, it was in the plan to a variant of the L- plan architecture.
Of the Fernies the Tower house came by marriage to the family Lovell, who sold it in 1586 at the Arnot family of Newton. As a member of the Arnot family in the early 17th century, married the heiress of Balfour of Burleigh he changed his name to his wife, so that the plant was then recaptured Balfour possession. The family added to the existing building may be in the early 18th century on the east side of a three- storey extension added, which henceforth contained the main entrance. This was previously found in the south-west stair tower. The cultivation comprised a ground floor vestibule, while there were reception rooms on the first floor. And thus Fernie Castle - - Because of their participation in the First Jacobite Rising the Balfourschen goods was confiscated in 1715, but a son of the family, who had remained loyal to the House of Hanover, received the property back in 1720.
By 1815, had Francis Balfour of Fernie various extensions in the style of Scottish Baronials make. He added the building to the west an elongated, single-storey wing added, possessed as top end a parapet with battlements, and put the stair tower a functionless gate construction before. His son of the same dedicated to 1844-1849 the architect Alexander Blyth, in order to realize further change at Fernie Castle. For this, the increase in the low west wing belonged to a projectile and its equipment with stepped gables. In addition, Francis was built at the northeast corner of the building a massive round tower with conical roof and make transformations in the state rooms.
Description
The present structure was built from a tower house of the 16th century and is surrounded by 6.9 hectares of forest. Your complex shape resulting from permanent extensions, alterations and renovations throughout its history.
The oldest part is the western, 39 × 27 feet (about 11.9 × 8.2 meters ) measured portion of the main edifice, with its four floors. Your adjoins the south side of a short wing on, which consists of an attached square tower with a staircase inside it. In the tower of the main entrance was formerly the castle. Its gable is surmounted by a stone cross. This former tower house includes a three-storey located in the eastern part of the 18th century. In the first floor, a double room from the 1840s has been preserved. A fireplace made of gray marble might still come from the tags around 1815. To find various extensions on the north side of modern times, including a circular ballroom from the late 20th century, which supports the use of Fernie Castles as a hotel bill. As a northern equivalent of the southern stair tower served a round tower, which is now integrated into a horseshoe-shaped attachment. The three wings were previously used for business purposes and are now used as accommodation.