Fordell Castle is a restored 16th-century tower house, located 1
Fordell Castle is a restored 16th-century tower house, located 1.25 miles (2.01 km) north-west of Dalgety Bay and 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Dunfermline, in Fife, Scotland. Parts of the castle date from before 1566, though most dates from 1580 and later. The chapel was rebuilt in 1650. The interior of the castle was substantially renovated in the 1960s, with additional major renovations to the castle interiors and chapel in the early 2000s. The estate is in private ownership and not available for public tour.
The castle is a fortified house (fortalice) designed on a Z-plan running east-west, with square towers at the north-west and south-east corners, each containing a circular staircase. “Externally, Fordell remains pretty much as it was when first built, a simply treated, dignified dwelling, on which corbelled turetts and projections, happily grouped, relieve the plane wall-surfaces below.” Fordell Castle is the only example of a tower house with two main stairs, each with its own door to the outside. The entrance is at the foot of the north stair tower and is through a studded door with a metal grate (yett) behind. It gives access to a vestibule. Stairs lead down to three vaulted basement chambers. The western chamber included stocks and branks, but the room has since been converted to a wine cellar. A rogue’s collar or jougs hangs near the front entrance to the castle.
The first floor contains the Great Hall to the west; the great stone fireplace has a cast iron grate and stone surround, over which is the Henderson coat-of-arms with the motto ‘Sola Nobilitat Veritus’. A “witch stone” carving above the entrance to the Great Hall is said to depict the Barron Henderson’s sister, Lady Margaret Pittadro, who was accused of witchcraft and imprisoned in 1649. Prior to being tried, she was found dead, apparently from poison.
There is a smaller withdrawing room to the east of the Great Room. The paneled ceiling has star and half moon mouldings, reflecting motifs in the Henderson coat of arms. Reclaimed timber from Edinburgh Castle and reclaimed Italian Carrera tiles floors were added in recent renovations.
At gallery level is the main private apartment, which has a paneled ceiling with star and half moon moulding. Off this room is a modern bathroom. Also at this level is the Laird’s Study, with a stone fireplace and access to the second spiral stair. Above the main stair head is a chamber known as Queen Mary’s Room; it is vaulted and paneled, and has a stone fireplace.
A small area of flat roof is castellated, and has a flagpole and wrought-iron beacon basket. The lintel of the door in the north tower is inscribed I.H (for James Henderson) 25 MCH (March) A.D. 1580. Higher is built in a broken lintel, also inscribed I.H. with I.M. for Henderson’s wife, Jean Murray of Tullibardine, dated 1580. There is a heraldic panel above with the arms of Henderson and Murray dated 1567.
Considered one of the finest details of the castle is the lead gargoyle at the eaves, seen in the north-east view. It “represents a winged four-footed monster, with open mouth and defiant attitude, designed and executed with great spirit.”
The earliest charter in the Henderson of Fordell papers dates from 1217, when Richard, son of Hugh de Camera, with consent of his wife and son, (also) Richard, grants small parts of the lands of Fordell to the Abbey of Inchcolm.
By 1240, William de Hercht held the lands of Fordell. Sir William de Erth was the Lord of Fordell in 1428. The Fordell lands were divided into fractional portions following William de Erth’s death. John Henrisoun was serving as sergeant of Fordell by 1465.
In 1510-1512, James (M. Jacobo) Henrysoun (Henderson) and his wife, Elene (née Baty), redeemed from mortgage his inherited fractional portion of the Fordell estate and purchased fractional parts of the lands of Fordell (Fordalis) from at least five others. The land was consolidated into a barony granted by King James IV in 1511.
The Hendersons became baronets in 1694 during the reign of Charles II.
In the 19th century, the family built a large, new mansion – Fordell House – nearby. Fordell House was demolished in the 20th century, and there is now little visible evidence of its existence.
Between 1726 and 1961, Fordell Castle was rarely occupied. George Mercer-Henderson modernized the castle and installed the gates. The north front was rebuilt in 1855 (designed by Robert Hay).
In 1953, John Hampden Mercer-Henderson, 8th Earl of Buckinghamshire, divided the nearly 2000-acre estate, selling the land to the west of Fordel Burn. The walled garden at Pittadro was sold for use as a commercial nursery.
Author James Henderson CBE (no relation), purchased the estate in 1953. He restored the castle to a good standard and it was inhabited for the first time since 1726.[citation needed] Fordell was acquired in 1961 by the controversial lawyer and Conservative politician Sir Nicholas Fairbairn (1933–1995). The castle was restored and used as a private residence by Sir Nicholas and his wife Lady Sam Fairbairn. Following his death in 1995, Nicholas Fairbairn was laid to rest in the crypt below the Chapel of St Theriot on the castle grounds.
In 1999, the property was sold to local veterinarian Bill Inglis, who died shortly thereafter. The property was purchased by Andrew Berry, a businessman who made extensive, high-quality restorations of the castle, chapel, and grounds. In November 2007, Fordell Castle was sold for £3,850,000 to Stuart Simpson, the 17th Baron of Fordell, making it the fifth-highest-priced home ever sold in Scotland. The Castle remains a private residence, and is a category A listed building.
It is not known when the original castle structure was constructed, but the main entrance tower is believed to date from the 1400s. James Henderson started to extend the castle in 1566.
In 1568 the castle was damaged by fire, then rebuilt. Evidence of the fire can be seen to the left of the main entrance tower.
Mary, Queen of Scots, is said to have stayed here when Marion Scott, one of her ladies-in-waiting, married George Henderson, the laird.
During the late 16th century, the Hendersons began working the estate’s rich coal seams that came to form the basis of the estate economy.
Sir John Henderson rebuilt St Theriot’s Chapel in 1650 for use as a family mausoleum. The castle was damaged by Oliver Cromwell's army troops garrisoned at the castle in 1651.