Bordie Castle

Bordie Castle is a ruined tower house within the grounds of a farm on ground which slopes gently to the south overlooking the firth of Forth. The site is not defensive in nature, ands the tower can easily be seen from the main road, although farm buildings do obscure the view somewhat.

The National Archive notes a sasine dated 16th October 1546 granted the liferent of the lands of Bordie to Catherine Elphinstone, the widow of Robert Callendar, and her son Andrew Callendar. On 7th February 1586, the commendator of Culross Abbey granted a charter of the lands of Bordie to Walter Callendar, a brother of the late Robert (II) de Callendar. This tells us that the lands of Bordie had been the property of Culross Abbey until the Reformation, and that the Callendar family had previously held the lands from the abbey. The charter lists “the lands of Bordie, with the mansion, fisheries, saltworks, coals, tenants, tenancies, in the dominions of Culross, in the county of Perth; which Adam Erskine, son of James Erskine of Little Sanchy, resigned in favour of the said Walter.” It is nowhere recounted how the Erskines had come to hold the lands. Subsequently they were held from the Lords of Culross, the Colvilles of Easter Wemyss. In 1595, James Callendar, son and heir to the deceased Andrew Callendar, issued a charter to Walter, which reflects an unknown set of transactions within the Callendar family. The family held the lands of Bordie until 1625, when Elizabeth Callendar of Bordie issued a charter to her husband James Bruce of Blair Hall (a couple of miles to the east) which related to the sale of the lands for £6/20d Scots. Robert Bruce of Bordie – likely more than one of the name, then appear on records from the 1660s to the summer of 1696, when they passed to Robert Paterson. Latter references also refer to the coalmine of Bordie, which was presumably the part of most value by that time.

History is pretty silent about the tower, and the property doesn’t appear on any of the early maps – the first that it is definitely on is the mid 18th century Roy map, which mislabels it as “Fordie” – a pair of properties, one of two and the other of three buildings, the larger of which has a pair of small walled enclosures and a possible fourth building on the wall between the two. It is far from clear which building might represent the tower, which 19th century references suggest may have never been completed.

On balance I find this unlikely. Architecturally, there is little to date the ruin. However the roll moulding of the entrance door survives, as does a triangular pediment above a window on the east side, both of which might be interpreted as 17th century, and parts of the barn to the east are also considered to be from this time, as is the doocot to the south. The ruin consists of the south gable of a three storey tower, with parts of the east and west walls surviving, and evidence of a second wing of the building extending to the west. The re-entrant angle was to the south-west, and the ground slopes to the south so that the surviving gable end comes from a slightly lower level. There is a slit window in this section which allowed for visibility to the front door, and there are windows at first and second floor level above this and in the gable end, a further window lit the third attic. The window with the pediment is at second floor level on the east, and although there is probably one at first floor level as well, this is hidden by a lean-to building. Indeed, a lean to building occupies the interior of the tower as well.

Overall it appears most likely that the tower was a secondary property of the Bruce family, although it may incorporate earlier fabric of the Callendars. It is suggested that the building burned down, which is possible, but no record states this – any more than any record actually refers to the tower at all. I am inclined to think that the Roy map shows the tower was in use in the mid 18th century, but “Bordie Ruins” are indicated on Taylor and Skinner’s map of the local roads in 1776, along with the name Dundas Esq which tells us that it had fallen out of use by this date. Bordie was visited and written up in V4 of MacGibbon and Ross, who noted that a wall extended over forty metres to the west of the tower which contained windows, and that other walls were “more or less complete, and indicate a very extensive garden. They also include the remains of three round towers and a dovecot entire” which is far more than survives today. MacGibbon and Ross also provide illustrations, which show there was a timber stair and gantry upon which a flagpole was mounted, apparently used as a point of reference by shipping in the Firth of Forth.

HES Canmore database entry

Original Google Streetview here