Scottish Castles

Local information

Kellie Castle, Fife

Location: Pittenweem, Fife KY10 2RF (map and directions)

Kellie Castle stands just outside of Arncroach, 3 miles north of Pittenween in Fife. While the exact date when Kellie was built is not known, the first record of the castle dates back to 1150 when a charter from King David I was witnessed there.

Kellie Castle © Paul Taylor

History of Kellie Castle

In 1266, Kellie was passed to the Siward family, and though Richard Siward lost Kellie after supporting the English king, his daughter, retained the castle and signed it over to Walter Oliphant, a relative whose family lived there for 250 years. Sir Thomas Erskine purchased the property in 1613, and King James VI stayed at Kellie in 1617 during his only visit to Scotland after the Union of the Crowns.

Kellie Castle was abandoned in the 19th century until taken over by Professor James Lorimar, whose family then stayed on at Kellie until buying the castle in 1948. Kellie Castle, along with its gardens and an organic walled garden, was finally sold to the National Trust for Scotland in 1970.

Map and directions

Other castles in Fife