On the north shore of the Forth, in Fife, Aberdour Castle was the residence of one of the most powerful — and most feared — men of Renaissance Scotland: James Douglas, Earl of Morton, regent of the realm. He laid out here one of the oldest terraced gardens in Scotland, before ending on the scaffold.
The home of a regent
Aberdour was the residence of James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton, who was regent of Scotland for the young James VI from 1572 to 1578 — the strong man of the realm during the king's minority. In the 1570s, at the height of his power, he enlarged the Aberdour house in the Renaissance taste. In August 1576, the Privy Council of Scotland met there, a sign of the castle's central role in the government of the realm. Later, in December 1590, James VI and Anne of Denmark were received there.
Renaissance gardens inspired by England
The most remarkable feature of Aberdour is its garden. Morton laid out there terraces inspired by English models — notably Hampton Court, the residence of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. This terraced garden, descending towards the Forth, ranks among the oldest gardens in Scotland — a rare testimony of the Renaissance taste for the pleasure garden, where art met nature. But Morton paid dearly for his past: implicated in the murder of Lord Darnley (the husband of Mary Stuart, assassinated in 1567), he was caught up by this accusation and executed in 1581. To see: the seventeenth-century east wing (the only roofed part) with its heraldic painted ceiling, the Renaissance terraces and walled garden, the beehive dovecote (~600 nesting-boxes).
Did you know?
The regent Morton, who laid out the fine gardens of Aberdour, perished by a machine whose model he had, it is said, imported into Scotland: the 'Maiden', a primitive guillotine. Accused of having had a hand in the murder of Lord Darnley, he was beheaded at Edinburgh in 1581 by this very instrument. The man who cultivated the flowering terraces of Aberdour thus ended under the blade — one of the most striking reversals of the Scottish politics of the time.
Notes
Aberdour Castle lies at Easter Aberdour, Fife; castle and gardens run by Historic Environment Scotland, open to visits. Seasonal hours to check.
Quiz
- Who resided at Aberdour and was regent of Scotland?
- James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton
- John Knox
- James IV
- What is exceptional about Aberdour?
- One of the oldest terraced gardens in Scotland
- The tallest tower in the country
- A hoard of jewels
- How did the regent Morton end?
- Executed in 1581 (Darnley's murder)
- He became king
- He went on crusade