Scotland · Restored
Craigcrook Castle
Craigcrook Castle is a historic Z-plan stone tower house on the western outskirts of Edinburgh, close to Corstorphine Hill. Largely 17th-century in origin, it acquired 19th-century additions and interior decoration and long served as a literary salon in the 1800s; it is a listed historic building now being adapted for new use.
Its prime
1895
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1895
The shape it held in its prime.
A compact Z-plan tower house of grey-green sandstone with a rounded south‑west tower capped by a conical slate roof and weather vane, and a squarer north‑east tower; three storeys with numerous small multi‑pane sash windows. Crow‑stepped gables and pedimented dormer windows puncture the slate roofline, while tall stone chimneys rise above. An entrance tower with a carved pediment frames the main doorway. The castle sits low in a hollow at the foot of Corstorphine Hill, with a surrounding stone garden wall.
Its story
The story of Craigcrook Castle.
The lands of Craigcrook were held by the Graham family in the 14th century and passed through several owners before 1542, when William Adamson, a merchant and burgess of Edinburgh whose estates took in Craigleith, Groathill and Clermiston, took possession. The Adamsons built — or rebuilt — the Z-plan tower house and kept it until 1659; a garden gateway with a pediment dated 1626 survives from their time within the 17th-century wall.
A run of Edinburgh professional men followed: the merchant John Mein from 1659, then ten years later Sir John Hall of Dunglass — Lord Provost of Edinburgh in 1689 — who sold in 1682 to the advocate Walter Pringle, who sold in turn, in 1689, to John Strachan, Writer to the Signet. Additions piled onto the old tower: a round south-west tower, a square north-east tower, crow-stepped gables and an entrance tower built by Playfair.
In the 19th century Craigcrook became the home of Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey, and the setting for his literary gatherings — Henry Cockburn, Lord Cockburn, was a frequent guest across 34 years. Interior work of that century includes murals by David Roberts. The castle, a category B listed building, is said to be haunted by Lord Jeffrey himself.
Step inside
10 places to explore in 1895.
The record describes 10 distinct spots at Craigcrook Castle — including 5 interiors: library with david roberts murals, jeffrey's drawing room wing (interior), vaulted ground floor (cellar) and more. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
Recreate Craigcrook Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1895 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →Whose castle
Clans who held Craigcrook Castle.
The families that held Craigcrook Castle for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Held the lands of Craigcrook in the 14th century.
Adamson
Held by the Adamson family, merchants and burgesses of Edinburgh, from 1542 to 1659; they built or rebuilt the castle.
Home of Sir John Hall of Dunglass, Lord Provost of Edinburgh in 1689, from 1669 to 1682.
Jeffrey
Home of Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey (1773–1850), in the 19th century.
