Melville Castle

Melville Castle is a three-storey Gothic castellated mansion situated less than a mile (2 km) west-south-west of Dalkeith, Midlothian, near the North Esk.

Melville Castle by night
Entrance front of Melville Castle

History
300pxMelville Castle, 2014.

An earlier tower house on the site was demolished when the present structure, designed in 1786–91 by James Playfair for Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, was built.[1]

The original tower house was owned by the Melville family, before passing to Sir John Ross in the 14th century. It subsequently changed hands with the attached lands several times and was sold to David Rannie in 1705. It then passed to Henry Dundas through his marriage to the daughter of David Rannie, Elizabeth Rannie.[1]

The Castle was owned by the Dundas family until after the Second World War, when the ninth Lord Melville moved to a smaller house on the estate and the castle was leased as an army rehabilitation centre and then later as a hotel. By the early 1980s, the hotel fell into disrepair and was unoccupied. In the late 1980s, the estate and the adjoining farms were sold, but remained closed.[1]

In 1993, the castle was bought by the Hay Trust, which extensively restored the property over 8 years. The castle was reopened as a hotel in June 2003, leased by Aurora Hotels. Their lease expired in January 2012. Today it still operates as a hotel and venue for weddings and continues ownership by the Hay Trust.[1]

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See also

References
  1. "Melville Castle History". Retrieved 2017-09-05.
  • The Buildings of Scotland – Lothian except Edinburgh, by Colin McWilliam, London, 1978, p. 320-2. ISBN 0-14-071066-3
  • Coventry, Martin (2006). The Castles of Scotland. Birlinn. ISBN 1-84158-449-5.
  • "thePeerage.com". Retrieved 2007-01-08.


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