Edzell Castle Edzell Castle is a ruin ed 16th century castle , with an early 17th - century walled garden . It is located close to Edzell , and is around north of Brechin , in Angus , Scotland . Edzell Castle was begun around 1520 by David Lindsay , 9th Earl of Crawford , and expanded by his son , Sir David Lindsay , Lord Edzell , who also laid out the garden in 1604 . The castle saw little military action , and was , in its design , construction and use , more of a country house than a defensive structure . It was briefly occupied by English troops during Oliver Cromwell ' s invasion of Scotland in 1651 . In 1715 it was sold by the Lindsay family , and eventually came into the ownership of the Earl of Dalhousie . It was given into state care in the 1930s , and is now a visitor attraction run by Historic Scotland ( open all year ; entrance charge ) . The castle consists of the original tower house and building ranges around a courtyard . The adjacent Renaissance walled garden , incorporating intricate relief carvings , is unique in Scotland . It was replanted in the 1930s , and is considered to have links to esoteric traditions , including Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry . History . Origins . The first castle at Edzell was a timber motte and bailey structure , built to guard the mouth of Glenesk , a strategic pass leading north into the Highlands . The motte , or mound , is still visible south - west of the present castle , and dates from the 12th century . It was the seat of the Abbott , or Abbe , family , and was the centre of the now vanished original village of Edzell . The Abbotts were succeeded as lords of Edzell by the Stirlings of Glenesk , and the Stirlings in turn by the Lindsays . In 1358 , Sir Alexander de Lindsay , third son of David Lindsay of Crawford , married the Stirling heiress , Katherine Stirling . Alexander ' s son , David , was created Earl of Crawford in 1398 . Edzell became the property of a junior branch of the Lindsay family descended from the 3rd Earl , and in 1513 it was inherited by David Lindsay ( d . 1558 ) . Around 1520 , David Lindsay decided to abandon the original castle , and built a tower house and barmkin , or courtyard , in a more sheltered location nearby . The selection of a site overlooked by higher ground to the north suggests that defence was not the primary concern . David became the Earl of Crawford in 1542 , on the death of his cousin the 8th Earl , who had disinherited his own son Alexander , the " Wicked Master " . He proceeded to extend the simple tower house , in around 1550 , by the addition of a large west range , incorporating a new entrance gate and hall . Lord Crawford also built Invermark Castle , north of Edzell , possibly as a hunting lodge , at around the same time . Sir David Lindsay , Lord Edzell . David Lindsay , the 9th Earl ' s son , was educated in Paris and Cambridge , and travelled in continental Europe . His father had nominated the son of Alexander , the Wicked Master , as heir to the earldom , returning the title to the senior line of the family , and thus Lindsay did not succeed to the earldom on his father ' s death . However , he was knight ed in 1581 , became a Lord of Session ( a senior judge ) , taking the title Lord Edzell , in 1593 , and in 1598 was appointed to the Privy Council . A Renaissance Man , he undertook improvements to his estates , including mining and woodland planting . Two German prospectors from Nuremberg , Bernard Fechtenburg and Hans Ziegler , were invited to search for precious metals around Edzell . In August 1562 , David Lindsay received Mary , Queen of Scots , at Edzell . The Queen was on a Royal progress , with the aim of subduing the rebellious Earl of Huntly , and spent two nights at Edzell . During her stay she convened a meeting of the Privy Council , attended by the nobility of Scotland . Her son , King James VI , visited Edzell twice ; on 28 June 1580 , and in August 1589 . Sir David further extended the castle in the late 16th century , with the addition of a large north range with round corner towers . He laid out the garden in 1604 , with symbols of England , Scotland and Ireland , to celebrate the Union of the Crowns of the previous year , when James VI acceeded to the English throne on the death of his cousin , Elizabeth I . Sir David died in 1610 , heavily in debt as a result of fines handed down for the unruly conduct of his son , and with both the garden and the north range incomplete . Damage and decline . Edzell was not affected by the campaigns of the Royalist Marquess of Montrose in the 1640s , although other properties of the Covenanting Presbyterian David Lindsay ( son of Sir David ) , were attacked . During the Third English Civil War , Oliver Cromwell invaded Scotland and , in September 1651 , his troops took Edzell , and were stationed there for one month . By the time of the Presbyterian settlement of 1689 , the Lord of Edzell , David ' s son John Lindsay , had switched allegiances from Presbyterianism to Episcopalianism . Along with the parish minister , he was barred from the parish church , and Episcopal services were held in the great hall at Edzell . The castle began to decline around the time of the 1715 Jacobite Rising . The last Lindsay lord of Edzell , another David , was a Jacobite , a supporter of the exiled James Stuart , the " Old Pretender " . Faced with mounting family debts , David sold the castle to the 4th Earl of Panmure , a fellow Jacobite , for £192 , 502 Scots , equivalent to £16 , 042 sterling . Lord Panmure , however , forfeited his lands and property for taking part in the failed rebellion . Edzell was sold , by the Crown , to the York Buildings Company , a London waterworks company which had branched into the buying and selling of forfeited property . They proceeded to " asset strip " the property . The castle saw its last military event in 1746 , when a unit of government troops , of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders , occupied the building , causing further damage . By 1764 , the York Buildings Company was bankrupt , and the remaining contents of the castle , including the roofs , were removed and sold to pay the company ' s creditor s . The avenue of beech trees , which linked the castle and the village , was felled , and the property was sold to William Maule , Earl Panmure , nephew of the attainted Earl of Panmure . He died in 1782 , and the property passed to his nephew , George Ramsay , 8th Earl of Dalhousie . Later history . The castle remained the property of the earls of Dalhousie , who appointed a caretaker from the 1870s , and built a cottage for him in 1901 , which is now in use as a visitor centre . In 1932 , the walled garden passed into state care , followed by the rest of the castle in 1935 . The castle and garden are currently maintained by Historic Scotland and are open to the public year round . The motte and castle are protected as Scheduled Ancient Monuments , while the castle is also a Category A listed building , the highest level of protection for an historic building , and the garden is included in the " Inventory of Historic Gardens and Designed Landscapes " , the national listing of significant gardens . The caretaker ' s house is a Category B listed building . Description . The motte . The motte , still known as Castlehillock , is the only remainder of the first Edzell Castle . It lies 300m south - west of the later castle , by a bend in the West Water , and comprises a low , partially natural mound . The motte is aligned north - west to south - east , and is around long by across at its broadest point , and around high . An outer bailey , or courtyard , up to across formerly surrounded the motte , and was bordered by a deep ditch . The castle . The castle comprises the early 16th - century tower house , the slightly later west range , and the late 16th - century north range . Other buildings to the east and south have now vanished . The red sandstone walls were originally harl ed . The four - storey tower house was named the Stirling Tower after the original lords of Edzell , the Stirlings of Glenesk , although it is not old enough to have been built by them . It is high , and measures by on plan . The walls are over thick at the basement , narrowing to on the first floor . The tower house is entered from the north , via a door protected by " inverted keyhole " shaped gun holes . A slot adjacent to the door would have held a draw - bar , to reinforce the entry , and several mason ' s mark s remain around the door . The hall occupies the first floor , above two vaulted cellars . Marks in the wall show the position of a minstrels ' gallery and a timber screen , which concealed a serving area accessed via a narrow stair from the cellar . The broad main spiral stair led up to three further storeys of private chambers , before reaching a caphouse , a small rooftop chamber giving access to a parapet walk . The four corners of the tower have bartizan s , or open turrets , and similar projections occur halfway along each wall . The parapet is supported on projecting stones , or corbel s , arranged in a pattern of two tiers which alternate , rendering the lower tier purely decorative . Edzell represents an early occurrence of this style , known as chequered corbelling , which became more widespread later in the 16th century . The two - storey west range contains the main entrance , which enters the courtyard via an arched passage . Above the outside gate are spaces where armorial panels were once displayed . The windows on this front , larger than the original ones in the tower house , had iron grilles , and small gun holes beneath them . Beside the entrance was a kitchen , and above , a larger hall and drawing room . Only the western part of the three - storey north range was completed , although the Lindsays planned to complete the courtyard . This range had another kitchen , as well as private chambers within the round tower at the north - west corner . It was entered via a stair turret in the courtyard , fragments of which remain , including parts of an intricately carved door surround . Only the foundations of the east and south buildings remain , which probably contained a bakehouse and stables . The walled garden . In addition to extending the castle , Sir David Lindsay also created Edzell ' s most unusual feature , the walled garden , or " Pleasaunce " . Similar gardens were probably relatively common in Scotland during the Renaissance , but Edzell is a rare survivor . The garden would have provided a retreat from the castle , and was intended to delight , entertain , and instruct Sir David ' s distinguished guests . It was started around 1604 , and shows signs of being hastily completed at his death in 1610 . It is a rectangular enclosure some north to south , and east to west , surrounded by a high wall . The north wall is part of the castle courtyard , but the remaining three are intricately decorated . The walls are divided by pilasters ( now removed ) into regular sections , or compartments , each across . Each compartment has a niche above , possibly once containing statues . Those on the east wall have semi - circular pediments carved with scrolls , and with the national symbols of thistle , fleur - de - lis , shamrock and rose , recalling the Union of the Crowns of England and Scotland , under James VI in 1603 . The pediments on the south wall are square , while there are no niches on the west wall , indicating that work may have prematurely come to a halt on Sir David ' s death . Below the niches , the compartments are of alternating design . Three sets of seven carved panels occupy every other compartment . Between them , the walls are decorated with a representation of the Lindsay coat of arms , with eleven recesses in the form of a fess chequy , or chequered band , surmounted by three seven - pointed stars , taken from the Stirling of Glenesk arms . Several spaces within the walls , including inside the stars , may have been intended as nesting holes for birds . The carved panels . The sets of carved panels depict the seven Cardinal Virtues on the west wall , the seven Liberal Arts to the south , and the seven Planetary Deities on the east wall . Each panel is approximately high by 60 – 75 cm ( 2 - 2½ ft ) wide . The deities are depicted in vesica - shaped ( elliptical ) frames , the arts under arches , and the virtues in plain rectangles . W . Douglas Simpson describes the arts panels as the weakest set of carvings , again suggesting money was short for the west wall . He declared the arts panels to be the finest work , and compares the style of the deities to contemporary carvings found in Aberdeenshire , suggesting that the mason responsible may have come from there . The carvings are all based on popular series of engravings , which were often published in pattern books . Nuremberg was the origin of numerous such books , and one may have been brought to Edzell by the miner Hans Ziegler . Specifically , the images of the deities are derived from engravings of 1528 - 29 by the German artist Georg Pencz ( or Iorg Bentz , c . 1500 - 1550 ) , a pupil of Albrecht Dürer ; the initials I . B . appear on the carving of Mars . The arts and virtues are both based on engravings derived from paintings by the Flemish artist Marten de Vos . The engravings , by Jan Sadeler and Crispijn de Passe , were widely distributed in Scotland , along with those of the deities . Indeed , the image of Prudence is identical to that used by the King ' s Master of Works William Schaw , in the spectacular display to welcome Queen Anne to Scotland , following her marriage to James VI in 1589 . Buildings and planting . To complement the garden , a bath house and summer house were constructed at the corners of the garden furthest from the castle . The bath house is ruined , but the two - storey summer house survives intact . It comprises a groin - vault ed lower room , with an upper chamber , containing the only surviving example of the castle ’ s carved - oak wall panelling . Charles McKean attributes the design and construction of the garden buildings to Thomas Leiper , an Aberdeenshire stonemason , based on the elaborately decorated gun holes in the summer house . The planting was recreated in the 1930s . No original plan of the renaissance garden survives , although records show fruit was grown in the 17th century . The garden has decorative hedges , trimmed into the shapes of the Scottish thistle , English rose , and French fleur - de - lis . Further planting is clipped into letters , spelling out the two Lindsay family mottoes , " Dum Spiro Spero " ( while I breathe I hope ) , and " Endure Forte " ( endure firmly ) . Interpretations . The symbolism of the garden , particularly of the carvings , as well as the repetition of sevens and threes , has inspired many interpretations . The engravings upon which the carvings are based were commonplace in Scotland at the time , and were frequently used in the art of memory , a mnemonic memory technique associated with Freemasonry . The art of memory had become a feature throughout Scottish culture , from the court of Queen Anne , Danish consort of James VI , to the lodges of operative stonemasons . The potential influence of Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe ' s symbolic garden at Uraniborg , which was visited by James IV of Scotland in 1590 , has also been noted . Sir David Lindsay would have been well aware of the symbolic allusions of the carvings . In correspondence with his brother , Lord Menmuir , he discusses the relationship of the planets to the metals , which he had employed Hans Ziegler to search for on his land . Sir David ' s nephew , David Lindsay , 1st Lord Balcarres , was noted for his interest in alchemy and the Rosicrucian s . Historian Adam McLean has suggested that the garden is associated with the Rosicrucians , and " should be seen as an early 17th century Mystery Temple " . McLean describes the garden as a place of instruction , and remarks that the whole structure is reminiscent of " Eliphas Levi ' s description of the ancient Tarot of the Egyptians carved into the walls of their initiation temples , to which the candidate was taken to contemplate the sequence of the symbols " . He backs up this suggestion with the observation that the Mantegna Tarocchi , a set of 15th - century engravings formerly thought to be a tarocchi or tarot deck , includes all these images amongst its symbols .