Scottish Castles

Local information

Dalkeith Palace, Edinburgh and the Lothians

Location: Dalkeith, Midlothian EH22 12A (map and directions)

Dalkeith Palace stands proudly on the 2500 acre Dalkeith Estate south of Edinburgh. The Duke of Buccleuch currently maintains ownership of Dalkeith Palace, along with houses at Bowhill, Branxholme and Drumlanrig. Bowhill is the principal family residence while Dalkeith is leased to the University of Wisconsin as their Scottish base for European study.

Dalkeith Palace © Ben Bilgri

History of Dalkeith Palace

The site was first home to Dalkeith Castle owned by the Grahams and then given to the Douglas family in the 14th century. Ownership of Dalkeith Castle and subsequently Dalkeith Palace has remained in the hands of the Douglas and Scott family for 600 years, changing hands from the Douglas family to Charles I to use as a hunting ground, then back to the Morton family and finally to Francis Scott, 2nd Earl of Buccleuch in 1642.

The Buccleuch family then rebuilt the palace between 1701-1711 using William of Orange’s palace in Holland as a model for Dalkeith Palace, while incorporating remnants of the original castle. Dalkeith Palace has a grand marble interior and breathtakingly beautiful grounds spanning the 2500 acre estate.

Upon its conversion into a palace, Dalkeith was referred to as "the grandest of all early classical houses in Scotland," a status which led to a string of royal visitors, from Prince Charles Edward Stuart, who stayed at the castle for two nights in 1745, to King George IV who stayed one night in 1822 and Queen Victoria who did the same in 1842.

Map and directions

Other castles in Edinburgh & the Lothians