Tantallon Castle
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Tantallon Castle is located 3 miles east of North Berwick in Scotland. It sits atop a cliff face opposite Bass Rock, looking out onto the Firth of Forth. Currently in ruins, it is now in the care of Historic Scotland.
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[edit] History under the Douglas'
The history of the castle dates back to 1358. Twelve years prior, William Douglas had returned from France to Scotland to claim his inheritance after the Battle of Neville's Cross. By murdering his godfather, William, Knight of Liddesdale, in the Ettrick Forest, William became the undisputed head of the House of Douglas; he was made the first Earl of Douglas in 1358. The building of Tantallon Castle during this time was probably the result of his newly acquired wealth and status. William, Earl of Douglas, died in 1384. His heir James did not long outlive him, dying in 1388 at the Battle of Otterburn.
In 1389 Margaret, Countess of Angus, resigned her Earldom in favour of her son, George. George Douglas thus became the first Douglas Earl of Angus and Mar, and lord of Tantallon Castle. This contributed to the division in the House of Douglas. Archibald, illegitimate son of James Douglas, became head of the main line, known as the ‘Black Douglases’, the Douglases of Angus becoming the ‘Red Douglases’.
[edit] Capture and fortification
In 1491 Tantallon Castle was besieged by King James IV, but did not suffer much damage. It was besieged again in 1528, and this time passed into the hands of James V. To repair the siege's devastation, a new Fore Tower was built up to the battlements. The East Tower was also altered; it had originally consisting of five floors, but the bottom three were reduced to two by inserting stone vaults, which improved resistance to artillery. Defenses were further improved by wide-mouthed gunholes punched through the landward walls of the tower. Crenellated parapets were added to the main curtain wall.
[edit] Destruction by Cromwell
In 1651 Tantallon Castle, was besieged and taken by the army of Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell's forces had invaded Scotland when Tantallon Castle was occupied by a small group of bandits, who set about attacking Cromwell's lines of communication across south east Scotland and were said to be more effective than all the regular troops opposing Cromwell across Scotland combined.
When Cromwell discovered this, he retaliated swiftly. It took a force of 3,000 men, including much of Cromwell's artillery in Scotland, to defeat the fewer than 100 men holding the castle. After the siege Tantallon was left in ruins.
