Dairsie Castle

Dairsie Castle stands in the Fife countryside near the village that shares its name, its origins reaching back to around 1300, when a fortress was first raised here — probably by William de Lamberton, Bishop of St Andrews. For generations the site belonged to those bishops, and in the early months of 1335 a Scottish parliament is recorded as having met within its walls. The building seen today follows a Z-plan, a tower-house form rebuilt during the sixteenth century by the Learmonth family. Under them the castle passed through turbulent years: Patrick Learmonth is said to have held jewels belonging to Mary, Queen of Scots, as security; Regent Morton laid siege in 1575; and in 1583 the young James VI lodged here after the Raid of Ruthven. The following century saw the property pass to John Spottiswoode (1565–1639), Archbishop of St Andrews, who raised the neighbouring Dairsie Old Church in 1621. The castle fell into ruin during the nineteenth century, and its walls stood empty until a careful rebuilding in the 1990s returned it to use as holiday accommodation. It is a Category B listed building, privately owned and not open to the public.