Midhope Castle

In the 14th century the lands of Midhope, at the hamlet of Abercorn west of South Queensferry, were owned by Henry Graham of Mannerstoun. When he died without a male heir, Midhope passed to his two daughters: one married Robert Livingstone of Drumry and Mannerstoun, while the other, Christian, married John Martin of Midhope, who held the lands from the Livingstones of Drumry.

Through the 15th century Midhope belonged to the Martins. John Martin of Midhope, laird in 1438, is thought to have built the original tower house, and his widow, Lady Christian Martin, retained the right to occupy Midhope under a contract she signed with James Livingston of Mannerston. In 1537 Sir James Hamilton of Finnart received a grant of half the lands of Midhope and Mannerstoun and half the mill of Abercorne from Elizabeth Martin, Lady of Falscastell, who held them from John Lindsay, 5th Lord Lindsay of the Byres.

In the later 16th century the castle belonged to Alexander Drummond of Midhope, brother of Robert Drummond of Carnock, Master of Work to the Crown of Scotland. Drummond served the Earl of Huntly, who regarded him as a cousin, and on 7 August 1573 he returned jewels belonging to Mary, Queen of Scots to Regent Morton at Holyrood Palace on Huntly's behalf. A stone inscribed "AD 1582 MB" commemorates Alexander and his wife Marjory Bruce, daughter of Robert Bruce of Airth; he was buried at Airth Old Kirk.

A painted ceiling from the tower survives in the care of Historic Scotland in Edinburgh. Its cinquefoil motifs probably commemorate the marriage of Sir Robert Drummond, who became laird in 1619, to a Hamilton heiress. Fragments of another painted ceiling carried gold stars on a blue ground, a device represented in the crest of the family's coat of arms, whose motto was "ad astra per ardua".

The five-storey oblong tower that stands today, on the Hopetoun estate, is a much-altered building. In 1678 it was given a facelift: an entrance tower was removed, the extension to the east was heightened and extended, and a new doorway was added along with a small courtyard, 114 by 61 feet, to the south. A large two-chambered dovecot of the late 17th century sits about 140 metres to the south-east. The castle has been Category A listed since 1971.

Midhope has found unlikely fame as a screen castle: it appears in the Outlander television series as Lallybroch, also called Broch Tuarach, the family home of Jamie Fraser.