Airth Castle

Airth Castle is a castle overlooking the village of Airth and the River Forth, in the Falkirk area of Scotland. The castle is currently operated as a hotel and spa.

History

According to an account attributed to Blind Harry, in 1298 a previous wooden fortification on this site was attacked by William Wallace, in order to rescue his imprisoned uncle, a priest from Dunipace. A later castle was destroyed after the defeat of King James III at Sauchieburn in 1488. The south west tower is the earliest part, dating to the period immediately thereafter. An extension was added on the east side in the mid 16th century. Airth Castle was owned by the Bruces, Jacobite sympathizers who were forced to sell after the failure of the 1715 rebellion.

The castle is a major historic building, and retains much medieval fabric, and is designated as a Category A listed building by Historic Scotland.

Within the castle grounds stand the ruins of the former parish church of Airth.

Ghosts

The castle is said to be haunted and reported phenomena include: Sightings of a nanny with two young children who are said to have died in a fire at the castle. The sound of children playing being heard in rooms 3, 4, 9 and 23. People have also reported hearing cries and screams believed to be from a maid who was attacked by her master. Additionally a ghost dog, with a predilection for biting ankles, is believed to roam the hallways.

Airth

Coordinates: 56°04′01″N 3°46′34″W / 56.067°N 03.776°W / 56.067; -03.776

Airth is a Royal Burgh, village, former trading port and civil parish in Falkirk, Scotland. It is 8 miles (12.9 km) north of Falkirk town and sits on the banks of the River Forth. Airth lies on the A905 road between Grangemouth and Stirling and is overlooked by Airth Castle, the village retains two market crosses and a small number of historic houses. At the time of the 2001 census the village had a population of 1,273 residents. but this has been revised to 1,660 according to a 2008 estimate.

In July of each year it hosts a traditional Scottish Highland Games.

History

The village has long association with the River Forth and it was on the banks of the river that a royal dockyard was created. It was used during the years 1507-1513 in the reign of James IV to build ships of war at the pool of Airth. History reveals that a primitive form of dry dock was used. Strong timbers would be used to form the “stocks” for the vessel and a clay dam would prevent the river from penetrating the working area. When the ship was ready, the dam would be breached, at high tide, to enable it to float out into the river. The shipping fleet was destroyed in 1745 by Bonnie Prince Charlie when some ship to shore skirmishes took place by batteries set by Jacobites to drive off the government ships. A number of smaller vessels from the village were burned by loyalist troops and that proved damaging to Airth's subsequent development as a port. However, as late as 1820 sloops built in the shipyards at Airth were among those recorded as operating in the middle of the Forth .