Carberry Tower
Encyclopedia
Carberry Tower is an historic house in East Lothian
, Scotland
. The house is situated off the A6124 road, 2 miles (3.2 km) south-east of Musselburgh
. Carberry
, like Musselburgh is in the parish of Inveresk
. It now is in use as a Hotel/Christian conference centre, and is protected as a category A listed building.
granted "Caerbairin" (Carberry) to the monks of Dunfermline Abbey
. The first landowner or lessee was John de Crebarrie, but it was the Johnstone family who were the first owners of Carberry Tower. The original building was a simple square tower house
, built more for strength than ornament. In 1541, Hugh Rigg, the King's Advocate, leased the lands from the abbey. It appeared Hugh Rigg had an agreement with the Abbot of Dunfermline
to lease until 1585.
In June 1567, on Carberry Hill, part of the Carberry Estate, Mary, Queen of Scots, faced an army assembled by a confederation of her lords. She quickly surrendered herself to the lords, and was then imprisoned. A monument, the Queen's Mount, still stands in the grounds commemorating the incident.
In 1587, after the Scottish Reformation
, the lands and tower of Carberry were annexed by the Crown and new superiors, the Maitland
s of Lauderdale, were appointed. On 1 April 1600, the Riggs received a charter
from Queen Anne
, wife of James VI of Scotland for a further stay at 'Carberrie'. The estate later, in 1659, passed to Sir Adam Blair of Lochwood, but that family only lived there for 30 years before transferring the property to Sir Robert Dickson of Inveresk, whose son, also Robert, was the Chief Baillie
of Musselburgh in 1745, when the rebel Jacobite
troops passed between Carberry and Musselburgh on their way to the Battle of Prestonpans
on the 21 September of that year. In 1760, John Fullerton moved in to Carberry Tower and it was he who began the alterations and enlargement of the tower. It seemed, over the years, as if the extensions were being built, piece by piece, in an anti-clockwise direction. John's niece, Elizabeth, married the Hon. William Elphinstone in 1774 and the house passed in to the Elphinstone
family in 1801. More alterations on the old tower commenced in 1830.
William Elphinstone, 15th Lord Elphinstone
, succeeded to the estate in 1861 and it was he who was largely responsible for the complete redesign of the estate. The arboretum
, for cultivating plants, was started during his tenure. His son, Sydney Herbert, 16th Lord Elphinstone
, married Lady Mary Bowes-Lyon
, sister of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. The couple made great improvements to both house and estate, particularly the laying-out of the formal garden in 1911. Specimen trees and many other varieties of plants were planted in the park. Sydney Elphinstone died in 1955 and his wife, Lady Mary, died six years later in 1961. Lady Mary bequeathed the tower to the Church of Scotland
. The church used the tower as a conference centre where they built an annexe and a chapel in the park. Much of the estate was sold in small parcels, though most of it is in the ownership of the Buccleuch Estate
.
In 2004, the tower was sold to the Gartmore House
charitable trust, and in 2008 it underwent major refurbishment. It is now used as a hotel and conference centre.
In April 2011 Amazing Retreats (a Clarenco Company) acquired the property and intend further refurbishments adding facilities such as a New bar & lounge (end 2011), Dining room (early 2012), Snooker Room (early 2012), Whisky Bar (early 2012), Courtyard (early 2012), Ceilidh Hall (early 2012)
Over the years, hundreds of Christian artists such as Fischy Music, Suzanne Adam, Vangel, Albert Bogle
, Riding Lights Theatre Company, Yvonne Lyon, Acquitted and many, many more have entertained and challenged festival-goers in a multiplicity of ways on a variety of themes, some crystal clear, others obtusely obscure
After Carberry Tower's new owners (Gartmore House
) (at that time) took over management they have chosen not to continue with this truly unique festival.
East Lothian
East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The house is situated off the A6124 road, 2 miles (3.2 km) south-east of Musselburgh
Musselburgh
Musselburgh is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, six miles east of Edinburgh city centre.-History:...
. Carberry
Carberry, East Lothian
Carberry is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, UK.It is situated off the A6124 road, a mile east of Whitecraig, two miles south east of Musselburgh, and 2 miles south west of Dalkeith....
, like Musselburgh is in the parish of Inveresk
Inveresk
Inveresk is a civil parish and was formerly a village that now forms the southern part of Musselburgh. It is situated on slightly elevated ground at the south of Musselburgh in East Lothian, Scotland...
. It now is in use as a Hotel/Christian conference centre, and is protected as a category A listed building.
History
The lands on which Carberry Tower stands were first mentioned in the 11th century when King David I of ScotlandDavid I of Scotland
David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...
granted "Caerbairin" (Carberry) to the monks of Dunfermline Abbey
Dunfermline Abbey
Dunfermline Abbey is as a Church of Scotland Parish Church located in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. In 2002 the congregation had 806 members. The minister is the Reverend Alastair Jessamine...
. The first landowner or lessee was John de Crebarrie, but it was the Johnstone family who were the first owners of Carberry Tower. The original building was a simple square tower house
Tower house
A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation.-History:Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountain or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strategic points with reduced forces...
, built more for strength than ornament. In 1541, Hugh Rigg, the King's Advocate, leased the lands from the abbey. It appeared Hugh Rigg had an agreement with the Abbot of Dunfermline
Abbot of Dunfermline
The Prior, then Abbot and then Commendator of Dunfermline was the head of the Benedictine monastic community of Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, Scotland. The abbey itself was founded in 1128 by King David I of Scotland, but was of earlier origin. King Máel Coluim mac Donnchada had founded a church there...
to lease until 1585.
In June 1567, on Carberry Hill, part of the Carberry Estate, Mary, Queen of Scots, faced an army assembled by a confederation of her lords. She quickly surrendered herself to the lords, and was then imprisoned. A monument, the Queen's Mount, still stands in the grounds commemorating the incident.
In 1587, after the Scottish Reformation
Scottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...
, the lands and tower of Carberry were annexed by the Crown and new superiors, the Maitland
Maitland
Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" , or it may be a locational reference to Mautalant, a place in Pontorson, France...
s of Lauderdale, were appointed. On 1 April 1600, the Riggs received a charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
from Queen Anne
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark was queen consort of Scotland, England, and Ireland as the wife of King James VI and I.The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark, Anne married James in 1589 at the age of fourteen and bore him three children who survived infancy, including the future Charles I...
, wife of James VI of Scotland for a further stay at 'Carberrie'. The estate later, in 1659, passed to Sir Adam Blair of Lochwood, but that family only lived there for 30 years before transferring the property to Sir Robert Dickson of Inveresk, whose son, also Robert, was the Chief Baillie
Baillie
A baillie or bailie is a civic officer in the local government of Scotland. The position arose in the burghs, where baillies formerly held a post similar to that of an alderman or magistrate...
of Musselburgh in 1745, when the rebel Jacobite
Jacobite Rising of 1745
The Jacobite rising of 1745, often referred to as "The 'Forty-Five," was the attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for the exiled House of Stuart. The rising occurred during the War of the Austrian Succession when most of the British Army was on the European continent...
troops passed between Carberry and Musselburgh on their way to the Battle of Prestonpans
Battle of Prestonpans
The Battle of Prestonpans was the first significant conflict in the Jacobite Rising of 1745. The battle took place at 4 am on 21 September 1745. The Jacobite army loyal to James Francis Edward Stuart and led by his son Charles Edward Stuart defeated the government army loyal to the Hanoverian...
on the 21 September of that year. In 1760, John Fullerton moved in to Carberry Tower and it was he who began the alterations and enlargement of the tower. It seemed, over the years, as if the extensions were being built, piece by piece, in an anti-clockwise direction. John's niece, Elizabeth, married the Hon. William Elphinstone in 1774 and the house passed in to the Elphinstone
Lord Elphinstone
Lord Elphinstone, of Elphinstone in the County of Stirling, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1510 for Alexander Elphinstone who was killed at the Battle of Flodden three years later. He was succeeded by his son, the second Lord, killed at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh in 1547....
family in 1801. More alterations on the old tower commenced in 1830.
William Elphinstone, 15th Lord Elphinstone
William Elphinstone, 15th Lord Elphinstone
William Buller Fullerton Elphinstone, 15th Lord Elphinstone and 1st Baron Elphinstone , known as William Elphinstone until 1861, was a Scottish Conservative politician....
, succeeded to the estate in 1861 and it was he who was largely responsible for the complete redesign of the estate. The arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
, for cultivating plants, was started during his tenure. His son, Sydney Herbert, 16th Lord Elphinstone
Sidney Buller-Fullerton-Elphinstone, 16th Lord Elphinstone
Sidney Herbert Buller-Fullerton-Elphinstone, 16th Lord Elphinstone and 2nd Baron Elphinstone KT was a Scottish nobleman.-Biography:...
, married Lady Mary Bowes-Lyon
Mary Elphinstone, Lady Elphinstone
Mary Frances Buller-Fullerton-Elphinstone, Lady Elphinstone and Baroness Elphinstone DCVO was a maternal aunt and godparent of Elizabeth II.-Biography:...
, sister of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. The couple made great improvements to both house and estate, particularly the laying-out of the formal garden in 1911. Specimen trees and many other varieties of plants were planted in the park. Sydney Elphinstone died in 1955 and his wife, Lady Mary, died six years later in 1961. Lady Mary bequeathed the tower to the Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
. The church used the tower as a conference centre where they built an annexe and a chapel in the park. Much of the estate was sold in small parcels, though most of it is in the ownership of the Buccleuch Estate
Duke of Buccleuch
The title Duke of Buccleuch , formerly also spelt Duke of Buccleugh, was created in the Peerage of Scotland on 20 April 1663 for the Duke of Monmouth, who was the eldest illegitimate son of Charles II of Scotland, England, and Ireland and who had married Anne Scott, 4th Countess of Buccleuch.Anne...
.
In 2004, the tower was sold to the Gartmore House
Gartmore House
Gartmore House is a country house and estate in the village of Gartmore, Stirling, Scotland. It was built in the mid-18th century for the Graham family on the site of an earlier house. William Adam prepared plans for Nicol Graham of Gartmore in the 1740s, but according to Historic Scotland, it is...
charitable trust, and in 2008 it underwent major refurbishment. It is now used as a hotel and conference centre.
In April 2011 Amazing Retreats (a Clarenco Company) acquired the property and intend further refurbishments adding facilities such as a New bar & lounge (end 2011), Dining room (early 2012), Snooker Room (early 2012), Whisky Bar (early 2012), Courtyard (early 2012), Ceilidh Hall (early 2012)
Carberry Festival
Carberry Festival was a former Christian arts festival held at Carberry Tower from 1986 for 22 years running until 2008. It brought together a small gathering of like minded people to join in worship and activities.Over the years, hundreds of Christian artists such as Fischy Music, Suzanne Adam, Vangel, Albert Bogle
Albert Bogle (Moderator)
Albert Bogle is a minister of the Church of Scotland. On 25 October 2011 he was nominated to be Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for 2012-2013.-Background:...
, Riding Lights Theatre Company, Yvonne Lyon, Acquitted and many, many more have entertained and challenged festival-goers in a multiplicity of ways on a variety of themes, some crystal clear, others obtusely obscure
After Carberry Tower's new owners (Gartmore House
Gartmore House
Gartmore House is a country house and estate in the village of Gartmore, Stirling, Scotland. It was built in the mid-18th century for the Graham family on the site of an earlier house. William Adam prepared plans for Nicol Graham of Gartmore in the 1740s, but according to Historic Scotland, it is...
) (at that time) took over management they have chosen not to continue with this truly unique festival.