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Summary

Description

Mid 19th century dated 1382. Carriage archway with flanking turrets and adjacent pedestrian archway. Rubble with stugged ashlar quoins and dressings. Base course, raked course, corbelling and crenellated parapet.

E (ORIGINAL ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: pointed carriage arch with segmental bracing inner arch, flanking piers crowned with corbelled circular bartizans and linked with crenellated parapet. Spandrels with small panels, to left with crown, entwined initials and date 1565, to right with crown over shield bearing cross and dated 1119. Bartizans with cross gunloops; centre crenellated parapet with crown over lion on shield and date '1582'. Lower rounded pedestrian archway to right inscribed 'Rossend' and dated '1382', blind tablet above surmounted by semicircular coping and adjoining coped rubble boundary wall to outer right.

W ELEVATION: chamfered corner to outer right and pedestrian archway to left.

Statement of Special Interest

Rossend Castle is situated nearby to the W. Margaret Boyd reports that, "Before 1382 Rossend was in the possession of the Abbots of Dunfermline. In 1382, during the reign of King Robert II, one of them built .... the massive entrance gateway on which are engraved the dates 1119. 1382. MR 1563." Young, on the other hand, was told by Mrs Laurie (wife of W Laurie proprietor of the Castle for many years prior to 1872) that, "the entrance gate was built by him, and is a replica of one in York which he pointed out to her. In inscribing 1119 on one of the three shields above the gate he had satisfied himself that a tower, though possibly not the present tower of the Castle, had existed there at that date." Gifford lends credence to this story, "Self-consciously martial NE Gateway by George Cousin, 1849, with a footgate added in 1932". An old RCAHMS photograph shows that a further pedestrian gate and tower adjoined the existing structure at the S side, this maybe the newer footgate referred to by Gifford.

References

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