Borthwick Castle Borthwick Castle is one of the largest and best - preserved surviving medieval Scottish fortifications . It is located twelve miles ( 19 km ) south - east of Edinburgh , to the east of the village of Borthwick , on a site protected on three sides by a steep fall in the ground . It was constructed in 1430 for Sir William Borthwick , from whom the castle takes its name , History . The castle was built at the site of an earlier structure , and it remains the Borthwick family ancestral seat . Sir William Borthwick , later the 1st Lord , obtained from King James I on June 2 , 1430 a license to erect on the Mote of Locherwart , a castle or fortalice . This was unusual in Scotland as nobles generally did not need to get permission for the building and fortifying of a Castle . He acquired a large part of Locherworth from his neighbour William Hay who was resentful of this and jealous of his neighbour ' s castle . The well - preserved medieval effigies of the builder and his lady can be seen in the nearby parish kirk of St Kentigern , which retains a 15th - century aisle also probably built by him . It was originally a stone enclosure fortress centring on an unusually tall tower house with walls up to thick and in height . The design is a ' U - shaped ' keep with a gap between the projecting , slightly asymmetrical , towers . There was a surrounding defensive courtyard with round towers pierced with shot - holes at the corners . While the tower house itself is exceptionally well preserved for its date , the surrounding wall and towers are much restored . Borthwick Castle was visited twice by Mary , Queen of Scots , in 1563 and 1567 , when she was besieged inside while under the protection of 6th Lord Borthwick . She escaped the siege by disguising herself as a page . Ever since then an apparition of Mary , dressed as a page boy , has been seen . In 1650 the Castle was attacked by Oliver Cromwell ' s forces , and was surrendered after only a few cannon shots . The damage to the walls from this attack is still visible . After a period of abandonment , the Castle was restored by 1914 . During World War II the structure was used as a hiding place to store national treasures . In 1973 it was leased from the Borthwick family and converted into a hotel catering mainly for castle weddings in a medieval setting . In May 2013 Borthwick Castle hosted the 2012 winning GISHWHES team , Badwolf . Along with Misha Collins & Chris Hardwick , the winning team partook in ghost hunting and overnight stays . In June 2013 , the castle closed for extensive refurbishment , and will re - open for bookings from 2014 onwards . Building . Borthwick Castle is built as a double tower , long , in breadth and high . The castle is on a small hill surrounded by a stream . Apart from the large cannon scar on one face , the walls , built of fine sandstone ashlar , are virtually complete , and very unusually , none of the original narrow windows have been enlarged . The battlements , however , no longer survive to their original height , having lost their stepped crenelations . They are carried on massive projecting corbels with corner roundels . The tower has two doorways , both unaltered and round headed . One at ground level leads into the partly subterranean kitchen and storage vaults . The second is directly above it at first - floor level , and leads directly into the stone - vaulted great hall . It is approached by a reconstructed stone bridge . Great Hall . The Great hall of Borthwick Castle is long and of great height . The barrelled Gothic ceiling is painted with pictures of the castle and ' De Temple of Honor ' in Gothic characters is visible . The chimney which is also on a large scale is covered by designs .