Bedlay Castle

Bedlay Castle is an occupied and extended mansion with an old tower house at the core. It sits on a small ridge surrounded on three sides by the Bothlin Burn, and dates back to the 16th century. It is not open to the public, but is clearly visible from an adjacent footpath. Although much of the surrounding gardens have now been lost, there are remains still to be seen of the historic landscape, which was recently the subject of a (rejected) planning application for housing.

The oldest part of the house is an L=plan tower house of the late 16th century, erected for the fourth Lord Boyd of Kilmarnock, who acquired the lands from the Boyd bishop of Glasgow during the Reformation. This consisted of a main block of two vaulted cellars, accessed by a corridor that ran the full length along the north side of the building. At the eastern end of the north wall was a square tower projecting both north and east of the main building, and which contained the main winding stair to the first floor as well as the entrance. This stair led to the second floor as well originally, but has since been altered, with a corbelled-out turret stair replacing it. The great hall probably occupied the whole first floor, with accommodation above. The building was extended by the addition of a slightly taller squarish wing at the western gable end, round towers at the north-west and south-west corners, and a section squaring off the north side of the older tower house with three vaulted rooms and a smaller square stair tower. These features were added by the Roberton family, who purchased Bedlay and other lands from the Boyds in 1642. The castle has a terrace on the south side which highlights the height of the ridge, but on the north it is the castle which extends downwards, but contains no rooms.

Bedlay Castle remains a private residence, and is undergoing the slow process of refurbishment.

HES Canmore database entry