Linlithgow Palace

Linlithgow Palace stands beside its loch in West Lothian, the roofless shell of what was once a principal royal residence of the Scottish monarchs. A royal manor occupied the site from the twelfth century, and English forces under Edward I raised a fortification here in the early fourteenth century. The building that survives today owes its form to the Stewart kings: after 1424 James I began rebuilding it as a comfortable residence rather than a stronghold, and successive monarchs — James III, James IV and James V among them — added ranges around a central courtyard, a great hall, a chapel and an ornate courtyard fountain. The palace saw the births of two Scottish sovereigns, James V in 1512 and Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1542. It remained in royal use into the seventeenth century, with Charles I among its last reigning guests. Its ruin came in 1746, when troops quartered here during the Jacobite rising left fires burning and the buildings were gutted. Now cared for by Historic Environment Scotland, the surviving walls, carved stonework and elaborate fountain still convey the ambition of a Renaissance royal court, and the site has drawn fresh visitors through its appearance in the television series Outlander.