More detailed information about the choosen country.
Events in United Kingdom
No events to come.
Attractions in United Kingdom
| Entdeckung einer wikingerzeitlichen Bootsbestattung |  |
| Ardnamurchan, Schottland, United Kingdom | |
| Excavation site, Tree |
Bericht über die Entdeckung einer wikingerzeitlichen Bootsbestattung auf der schottischen Halbinsel Ardnamurchan. Dem Toten waren Axt, Schwert und Speer mit ins Grab gegeben worden. Es ist die erste vollständig erhaltene Bootsbestattung eines Wikingers auf der Britischen Insel. (englisch, 02:33)
Read more
| Dirleton Castle | |
| Lothian, United Kingdom | |
| Ruin of castle |
Burg in Schottland, erbaut um 1515Dirleton Castle is a medieval fortress in the village of Dirleton, East Lothian, Scotland. It lies around 2 miles (3.2 km) west of North Berwick, and around 19 miles (31 km) east of Edinburgh. The oldest parts of the castle date to the 13th century, and it was abandoned by the end of the 17th century.
Begun in around 1240 by John De Vaux, the castle was heavily damaged during the Wars of Scottish Independence, when it was twice taken by the English. In the 14th century, Dirleton was repaired by the Haliburton family, and it was acquired by the Ruthvens in 1505. The Ruthvens were involved in several plots against Mary, Queen of Scots, and King James VI, and eventually forfeited the castle in 1600. Dirleton ceased to be a residence, although Oliver Cromwell was forced to besiege the castle to flush out a band of mosstroopers, during the Third English Civil War in 1650. The damaged castle was then acquired by John Nisbet, Lord Dirleton, who decided to build a new country house on the nearby Archerfield Estate. The Nisbet family of Dirleton continued to maintain the castle´s gardens, before handing Dirleton into state care in 1923. The ruins and gardens are now maintained by Historic Scotland.
Dirleton Castle stands on a rocky outcrop, at the heart of the rich agricultural lands of the former barony of Dirleton, and guards the coastal approach to Edinburgh from England, via the port of North Berwick. The ruins comprise a 13th-century keep, and a 16th-century house which the Ruthvens built adjacent. Only the basement levels survive of the 14th- and 15th-century additions built by the Haliburtons, although these comprised a large hall and tower house along the east range. Other buildings within the courtyard have also been demolished. Surrounding the castle are gardens, which may have been first laid out in the 16th century, although the present planting is largely of the 20th century. The garden walls enclose a 16th-century doocot, or pigeon house.
| Dirleton Castle | |
| North Berwick, Lothian, Scotland, United Kingdom | |
| Ruin of castle |
Dirleton Castle And Garden
A residence of three noble families | The de Vaux castle | The Haliburton castle | The Ruthven castle | The gardens
A residence of three noble families
Dirleton Castle has graced the heart of Dirleton since the 13th century. For the first 400 years, it served as the residence of three noble families ? the de Vauxes, Haliburtons and Ruthvens. The subsequent downfall of the Ruthvens saw the castle abandoned as a noble residence.
The siege by Oliver Cromwell?s soldiers in 1650 rendered it militarily unserviceable. When the Nisbets purchased the estate in the 1660s, they built a new mansion house, Archerfield, nearby. But they didn?t forget the ancient castle. The graceful ruins became an eye-catching feature in their new designed landscape. Today, both castle and gardens are attractions in their own right.
The de Vaux castle
The oldest part of the castle dates from the de Vauxes? time in the 13th century. The impressive cluster of towers ? including the imposing keep at the SW corner ? is among the oldest castle architecture surviving in Scotland. The builder, John de Vaux, was steward in the household of Alexander II?s queen, Marie, daughter of the Duke of Coucy, near Amiens in northern France, where a remarkably similar castle can still be seen.
The Haliburton castle
The de Vaux castle suffered badly during the Wars of Independence with England that erupted in 1296. Dirleton was captured in 1298, on the specific orders of King Edward I of England, ?Hammer of the Scots?, and changed hands several times thereafter.
By 1356 Dirleton had a new lord, John Haliburton. He rebuilt the battered castle, adding a new residential tower and great hall along the east side of the courtyard. Although largely ruined, the surviving cavernous storage vaults, family chapel and grim pit-prison convey a wonderful impression of lordly life in the later Middle Ages.
The Ruthven castle
The Ruthvens acquired Dirleton around 1510. It was not their main residence, which lay at Huntingtower, near Perth. Nevertheless, they carried out substantial improvements. They built a new residence, the Ruthven Lodging, and laid out gardens to the west. The present bowling green may once have been a parterre, or formal garden. The fine circular dovecot (pigeon house) was theirs also.
The gardens
The gardens that grace the castle grounds today date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The formal Victorian west garden ? with its foliage plants and pelargoniums ? was faithfully reconstructed in 1993. The beautiful north garden dates from the Arts and Crafts movement of the 1920s, and its fragrant herbaceous borders are the first thing the visitor sees on entering the property.
Read more
A residence of three noble families | The de Vaux castle | The Haliburton castle | The Ruthven castle | The gardens
A residence of three noble families
Dirleton Castle has graced the heart of Dirleton since the 13th century. For the first 400 years, it served as the residence of three noble families ? the de Vauxes, Haliburtons and Ruthvens. The subsequent downfall of the Ruthvens saw the castle abandoned as a noble residence.
The siege by Oliver Cromwell?s soldiers in 1650 rendered it militarily unserviceable. When the Nisbets purchased the estate in the 1660s, they built a new mansion house, Archerfield, nearby. But they didn?t forget the ancient castle. The graceful ruins became an eye-catching feature in their new designed landscape. Today, both castle and gardens are attractions in their own right.
The de Vaux castle
The oldest part of the castle dates from the de Vauxes? time in the 13th century. The impressive cluster of towers ? including the imposing keep at the SW corner ? is among the oldest castle architecture surviving in Scotland. The builder, John de Vaux, was steward in the household of Alexander II?s queen, Marie, daughter of the Duke of Coucy, near Amiens in northern France, where a remarkably similar castle can still be seen.
The Haliburton castle
The de Vaux castle suffered badly during the Wars of Independence with England that erupted in 1296. Dirleton was captured in 1298, on the specific orders of King Edward I of England, ?Hammer of the Scots?, and changed hands several times thereafter.
By 1356 Dirleton had a new lord, John Haliburton. He rebuilt the battered castle, adding a new residential tower and great hall along the east side of the courtyard. Although largely ruined, the surviving cavernous storage vaults, family chapel and grim pit-prison convey a wonderful impression of lordly life in the later Middle Ages.
The Ruthven castle
The Ruthvens acquired Dirleton around 1510. It was not their main residence, which lay at Huntingtower, near Perth. Nevertheless, they carried out substantial improvements. They built a new residence, the Ruthven Lodging, and laid out gardens to the west. The present bowling green may once have been a parterre, or formal garden. The fine circular dovecot (pigeon house) was theirs also.
The gardens
The gardens that grace the castle grounds today date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The formal Victorian west garden ? with its foliage plants and pelargoniums ? was faithfully reconstructed in 1993. The beautiful north garden dates from the Arts and Crafts movement of the 1920s, and its fragrant herbaceous borders are the first thing the visitor sees on entering the property.