Lauriston Castle

Lauriston Castle
Edinburgh, Scotland NT2021676093
Lauriston Castle from the south
Lauriston Castle
Coordinates	55°58′16″N 3°16′42″W / 55.9711986°N 3.2784641°W / 55.9711986; -3.2784641
Type	L-plan tower house with a Jacobean range
Site information
Owner	Edinburgh City Council
Open to the public	Yes
Site history
Built	c. 1590
Built by	probably Archibald Napier, 7th Laird of Merchiston
In use	16th century to 21st century
Materials	Stone

Lauriston Castle is a 16th-century tower house with 19th-century extensions overlooking the Firth of Forth, in Edinburgh, Scotland. It lies on Cramond Road South, between Cramond, Davidson's Mains, and Silverknowes. The substantial grounds, Lauriston Castle Gardens, operate as a local park.

A Lauriston Castle stood on this site in medieval times but was almost totally destroyed in the raids on Edinburgh in 1544 by the earl of Hertford.

A tower house was re-built around 1590 by Sir Archibald Napier of Merchiston, father of John Napier, for his younger son, also named Archibald. Later, it was the home of John Law (1671–1729), the economist, Right Hon. Andrew Lord Rutherfurd (1791–1854), and Thomas Macknight Crawfurd of Cartsburn and Lauriston Castle, 8th Baron of Cartsburn from 1871 to 1902. In 1827, Thomas Allan, a banker and mineralogist, commissioned William Burn (1789–1870) to extend the house in the Jacobean style.

On 3 December 1827 Sir Walter Scott wrote in his journal: 'Went with Tom Allan to see his building at Lauriston where he has displayd good taste; supporting instead of tearing down or destroying the old Chateau which once belonged to the famous Mississippi Law. The additions are in very good taste and will make a most comfortable house.'

William Robert Reid, proprietor of Morison & Co., an Edinburgh cabinetmaking business, acquired Lauriston Castle in 1902, installed modern plumbing and electricity, and he and his wife Margaret filled the house with a collection of fine furniture and artwork. The Reids, being childless, left their home to Scotland on the condition that it should be preserved unchanged. The City of Edinburgh has administered the house since Mrs Reid's death in 1926, which today offers a glimpse of Edwardian life in a Scottish country house.