Ferniehirst Castle Ferniehirst Castle ( sometimes spelt Ferniehurst ) is an L - shaped construction on the east bank of the Jed Water , about a mile and a half south of Jedburgh , in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland , and in the former county of Roxburghshire . It is an ancient seat of the Clan Kerr , and after a period of institutional use it was restored by the 12th Marquess of Lothian in the late 20th century . It is currently used by his second son , Lord Ralph Kerr , who also owns Melbourne Hall in Derbyshire , and is the heir presumptive to the marquessate as his brother the 13th Marquess ( Michael Ancram ) has no sons . The castle is open to the public without charge at limited times . Sixteenth century conflict . The original castle , built by the Ker ( or Kerr ) family around 1470 , was occupied by English forces in 1547 , during the war of the Rough Wooing . The English were dislodged by a force of Sir John Ker ' s clansmen , and the Earl of Huntly reinforced by André de Montalembert and French auxiliaries led by Captain Pierre Longue in February 1549 . The gate was fired , then Montalembert d ' Essé brought more artillery and the soldiers set about the wall with picks and mattocks . The French soldier Jean de Beaugué described the recapture and the fate of the English captain and garrison , and the aristocrat and priest Alexander Gordon wrote an eyewitness account . An English army led by the Duke of Rutland recaptured the castle in June 1549 , but the war was nearly over . Ferniehirst was damaged by an English retaliatory raid in 1570 , after Sir Thomas Ker had raided northern England , and again in 1573 by Queen Elizabeth ' s army on their way to Edinburgh Castle . James VI attacked the castle in 1593 as the Kers had assisted Francis Stewart , 1st Earl of Bothwell , who had conspired against the king . The Kers were for a long period Wardens of the Middle and East Marches . As the building had been undermined , reconstruction of the castle began in 1598 . Later and recent uses . The castle was unused in the 18th century , and re - roofed and repaired circa 1830 , with a further major restoration of a part of it in 1890 . It was used as a Youth Hostel from 1934 to 1984 , apart from during the Second World War , when it was requisitioned as a billet for troops . In 1988 major repairs , restoration , and alterations were carried out , and the castle is once again a private home . The Ker Chapel , dating from the 17th century , is part of the property . Probably originally a mortuary chapel , it was re - roofed in 1938 and had restrained conversion and repair in 1988 . Description . The shorter arm of this L - plan fortalice is the 16th century tower , containing the stair turret . The stair is in a spiral , corbel led out in the angle : apparently more for elegance than for necessity . There are many shot - holes , allowing a wide angle for musket fire , and of the more restricted shut - holes used for ventilation . Ferniehirst also has a romantic array of conically - capped corner turrets . These - known as studies - are not primarily defensive : they open from the rooms of the upper floor . There is some renaissance decoration around the windows and doors . The castle is approached through a classically - styled archway .