Ormiston Castle
Ormiston Castle is a ruined 16th-century tower house in East Lothian, Scotland, situated about four miles east of Dalkeith. The site comprises an L-plan keep with a later 16th-century lean-to and was surrounded by a barmkin wall with a gatehouse, set on a high ridge above a river valley. Today the castle survives as a ruin.
Its prime
1540
Today
Ruin
As it stood in 1540
What Ormiston Castle looked like in its prime.
L-plan stone keep with two wings meeting at a right angle, to which a lower 16th-century lean-to is appended; the whole stood within a barmkin curtain wall that included a gatehouse likely facing east. The complex occupies a high ridge with the river valley falling away on one side and defensive ditches on the other three sides. At its prime the tower house and attached lean-to formed a compact, angular silhouette rising from the enclosed courtyard.
Its story
The story of Ormiston Castle.
The Lindsays first owned Ormiston, and the Cockburns acquired the property in the 14th century. It was from this house that George Wishart, the Protestant martyr, was taken by the Earl of Bothwell to St Andrews, where Cardinal Beaton had him executed. In revenge for events of the war, the regent James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault, brought cannon against the castle in February 1548, retook it and burnt it.
Formerly known as the "House of Ormiston", the castle was an L-plan keep with a 16th-century lean-to, enclosed by a barmkin wall with a gatehouse that probably faced east, set on a high ridge with the river valley on one side and possibly ditches on the other three. John Hope, 2nd Earl of Hopetoun, purchased the property in 1748; the tower house is now a ruin.
Step inside
6 places to explore in 1540.
The record describes 6 distinct spots at Ormiston Castle — including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Create History
Recreate Ormiston Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1540 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate this castle →Whose castle
Clans who held Ormiston Castle.
The families that held Ormiston Castle for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Lindsay
The Lindsays were the first owners of Ormiston.
The Cockburns acquired the property in the 14th century.
Hope
Purchased by John Hope, 2nd Earl of Hopetoun, in 1748.
Nearby
