Hirendean Castle

The building called Hirendean Castle is badly ruined and occupies the end of a ridge high up in the valley of the River South Esk. It is surrounded by agricultural fields and a long walk, so advice should be sought from the farmer before crossing his fields.

The lands of Hirendean belonged to Newbattle Abbey until 1587, and granted to Mark Kerr, son of the commendator of the abbey. No mention is made of the tower, which first appears on documents of 1620 as the fortalice. In 1624 Kerr suicided here for reasons unknown, after which the building disappears from history altogether. The rectangular building that stands was vaulted, tree storeys tall, and may have had a mural stair by the ground floor doorway. It is badly ruined, robbed of the quality stone, and likely to deteriorate soon with risk of collapse. There is little here to suggest a building of any other sort than a very modest tower house, probably used for hunting for most of its life.

HES Canmore database entry