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History
Beginnings
The twin towered fortress of Borthwick Castle was built in 1430
by the first Lord Borthwick, whose sepulchre can still be seen
with that of his Lady in the old village church. A charter to
build the Castle was awarded to Sir William de Borthwick by King
James I in thanks for his part in bringing the King home to Scotland
after 18 years imprisonment in England.
The Castle was built as a stronghold
capable of withstanding attack from invaders, particularly the
English. It was also a base from which offensive action could
be launched when needed. The stone used was of the finest quality,
with 100 feet walls, 20 feet thick at the base and originally
had a moat, drawbridge and portcullis.
It was also a home to the Borthwicks,
where lavish entertaining took place in the impressive Great
Hall. You can still see the magnificent canopied fireplace 20
feet (6m) high and 15 feet (4.5m) wide to the right of which
is a "sedile" - a seat of honour for the master of
the house enriched with a carved canopy and a shield bearing
the Borthwick Arms.
The Tragic Queen
The Castle played host to many
distinguished guests and Mary Queen of Scots enjoyed the hospitality
of the Sixth Lord Borthwick on many occasions, including her
honeymoon. So inevitably she and her third husband the Earl of
Bothwell sought sanctuary at Borthwick in 1567 when they learned
that the Scottish nobles (who were suspicious of Bothwell’s
influence on Mary) planned to capture them. A force of 1,000
men surrounded the castle but Mary escaped through a window in
the Great Hall dressed as a pageboy, and rode through the night
after her husband.
Cromwell's Siege
In 1650 Oliver Cromwell laid
siege to the Castle and delivered the following letter to the
ninth Lord Borthwick, on 18 November 1650:
"Sir - I thought fit to
send this trumpet to you, to let you know, that if you please
to walk away with your company, and deliver the House to such
as I shall send to receive it, you shall have liberty to carry
off your arms and goods and such other necessaries as you have.
You have harboured such parties
in your house as have basely and inhumanly murdered our men,
if you necessitate me to bend my cannon against you, you may
expect what I doubt you will not be pleased with. I expect your
present Answer, and rest your servant.
O Cromwell"
Lord Borthwick did not respond
immediately, but after bombardment by cannon which destroyed
the east parapet and tore a large cavity in the stonework, he
came to terms with Cromwell, leaving the castle with his wife
and child and moveable goods. The scars on the stonework can
still be seen today and a copy of Cromwell's original letter
hangs in the Great Hall.
When Cromwell's forces left
the Castle it lay derelict for many years. In 1813 the stones
in the Great Hall fireplace were dislodged by a tree growing
through. The Borthwick family removed the tree and restored the
chimney breast and then in 1903 the Great Hall's woodwork was
renewed.
During World War II the Castle
was considered strong enough to store Scottish Public Records
as well as treasures from the National Library and the Royal
Museums of Scotland
Since then, the castle has
been treated with more respect. Helen Bailey, who leased the
castle from the Borthwick family, brought it up to its current
genteel standards and lovingly and authentically restored their
ancestral home before handing it on to the present owners. In
the early 1970s, electricity and central heating were added and
the Castle has been operating as a hotel since 1973.
Ghosts
Many tales have been told of
ghosts wandering the Castle. Betsa Marsh, writing in a British
Heritage Magazine article said:
"The Red Room has spooked
so many people that the owners called in an Edinburgh priest
to exorcise its lingering spirits. Legend says that a young servant
girl bore an illegitimate Borthwick son in the room. Mother and
baby, potential threats to the title, were quickly put to the
sword. In other era, the Borthwick family chancellor used this
room, and the niches for his safes remain in the stone wall to
this day. According to gossip, the Borthwicks discovered their
chancellor was embezzling money from the family coffers. Eschewing
the nicety of a performance review, they intercepted the chancellor
on his way home from Edinburgh one evening and cancelled his
contract by burning him to death. The ghosts of the young servant
girl and the fired chancellor still wander the stony spiral staircases
of Borthwick, some people say, and even the most stalwart visitors
admit to feeling invisible presences in the Great Hall.
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