Creich Castle is a ruined 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...

 near Creich

Creich, Fife

Creich ), is a village in Fife, Scotland. The local parish is named after Creich. The ruins of Creich Castle are located nearby.-Notes:...

, Fife

Fife

Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...

, 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 tower house is L-shaped and three to four storeys tall.

History

Constructed to provide defense against Viking

Viking

The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

 raiders which attacked the rich farms south of the River Tay

River Tay

The River Tay is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in the United Kingdom. The Tay originates in western Scotland on the slopes of Ben Lui , then flows easterly across the Highlands, through Loch Dochhart, Loch Lubhair and Loch Tay, then continues east through Strathtay , in...

 and further added to by Causantín, Earl of Fife

Causantín, Earl of Fife

Causantín of Fife is the first man we know for certain to have been Mormaer of Fife. Causantín's floruit can be placed between 1095 and 1128. Very little is known about his life and reign as Mormaer of Fife. His father, for instance, is not known by name...

during the 11th century.

The castle continued to be owned by the Earls of Fife into the 13th century. The existing ruins date from the 16th century.