Scottish Castles

Local information

Lauriston Castle, Edinburgh and the Lothians

Location: 2a Cramond Road South, Edinburgh, EH4 5QD (map and directions)

Lauriston Castle is classic fairy-tale 16th century tower house in Edinburgh, 3 miles from the city centre, with views over the Firth of Forth. The grounds at Lauriston Castle include the Edinburgh/Kyoto Friendship Garden, one of the largest Japanese gardens created in Britain during the last 100 years.

Lauriston Castle - Wikimedia Commons

History of Lauriston Castle

Originally built in 1590 by Sir Archibald Napier, Lauriston Castle underwent further extension work in the 19th century to create the castle you see today. In 1827, a Jacobean range was added which converted it to a country manor.

Lauriston Castle has been privately owned since its construction, and claims some very interesting inhabitants. Sir Archibald Napier built the castle for his son, also named Archibald whose brother, John Napier, was the inventor of logarithms. Lauriston was then inhabited by the economist Andrew, Lord Rutherfurd, and subsequently by Thomas Allan, a banker and mineralogist, who ordered the Jacobean extensions to the house in the 19th century. In 1902 the house was modernised by William Reid, who acquired the castle and he and his wife Margaret installed modern plumbing and electricity, and added their collections of fine furniture and artwork to the house. As they had no children, Lauriston Castle and all its contents were gifted to the City of Edinburgh upon Margaret’s death in 1926.

Map and directions

Other castles in Edinburgh & the Lothians