Description
Denmylne Castle consists of a rectangular main block, with a square tower on one of the long sides that housed a circular stair and contains the entrance. There is a smaller offshoot on the other long side that housed a pair of closets on each floor above basement level. Unusually, the floors were divided by a cross wall into two chambers, with a fireplace in each, and with good provision of windows. At the wall head, the sides of the tower that were outside the principal courtyard have a machicolated wall walk running around them, but this was omitted on the sides that were within the courtyard.
The cross-shaped plan of the tower was most unusual in Scotland, and it is possible that the idea was taken from a French prototype. The tower would once have been part of a larger complex of buildings, some of which may have been on land now occupied by the steading.
History
Denmylne was a possession of a branch of the Balfour family since at least 1500, when the lands were granted to John Balfour by James IV. It is thought that the castle was built after the lands were re-granted in 1541 to John's son, Patrick, with the stipulation that he should build a hall and policies. The Balfours of Denmylne had a number of distinguished members who were notable for their intellectual achievements. Sir James Balfour (1600-57) was a leading courtier of Charles I, and was Lyon King of Arms. Sir Andrew Balfour (1630-94) was a noted botanist.
Status
The castle stands at the side of the A913, in the garden of what was built as a 19th-century farmhouse, and the steading buildings of that farm are to the rear of the castle.
Conservation Options
The shell of castle is largely complete to the wall head, although the parapets of the partial wall walk are lost and there has been significant collapse of the vault over the basement and of the internal cross walls. Despite the castle's very high significance on account of its unusual plan form, it would be possible to restore it for modern occupation without detracting from that significance. It is also considered that the planning of the castle would lend itself to modern requirements with relative ease.
Bibliography
J Gifford, The Buildings of Scotland, Fife, London, 1988, pp 172-3
D MacGibbon and T Ross, The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1892, vol 3, p 291
RCAHMS, The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, Inventory of Fife, Kinross, and Clackmannan, Edinburgh, 1933, pp 3-4