Yester Castle
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Yester Castle | |
---|---|
General information | |
Location | East Lothian |
Town or city | Gifford |
Country | Scotland |
Completed | Before 1267 |
Yester Castle is a ruined castle, located 1+1⁄2 miles (2.5 kilometres) southeast of the village of
History
Originally known as Yestred (from the
The original stone
In 1298, during the
In 1357, there being no male line left of the Giffards, Joanna, a daughter and co-heiress, of the last Sir Hugo de Giffard, married Sir William [or Thomas] de la Haye of Peebles, of Locherworth (Locherwart), the Sheriff of Peebles. He was invested with the barony and lands of Yester through his wife. The barony has stayed with the Hay family ever since.
David Hay of Yester was in 1487 created a
John, 4th Lord Hay defended the castle from an English force in 1547, and was captured later that year at the Battle of Pinkie and held in the Tower of London for three years. In February 1548 the English commander Grey of Wilton captured the castle and put George Douglas of Pittendreich in charge of Yester and Dalkeith. French soldiers taken at Yester were used at hostages by the English.[6] According to Ulpian Fulwell, the captured garrison was mostly Scottish or Spanish. Two men suspected of shouting insults defaming Edward VI were made to fight a duel at the market place of Haddington.[7]
1557 saw the death of the 4th Lord Hay. His son, also John, abandoned the castle and moved into a new
The Wizard of Yester
Sir Hugo de Giffard was known as the "Wizard of Yester", and was considered to be a powerful
"The death occurred of Hugh Gifford, lord of Yester. Old tales tell that his castle, or at least his cellar and keep, were wrought by witchcraft, for there is there a marvellous underground cavern wonderfully constructed and extending under a large area of ground. It is popularly called Bo' Hall."[8]
Legend supposed that Hugo was able, via a pact with the Devil, to raise a magical army to his aid, and use them to carry out his will. It is this army of hobgoblins that was considered the builders of Yester Castle.
The Colstoun Pear
When his daughter Margaret was to marry, Sir Hugo gave her and her husband-to-be, Broun of Colstoun, a hand-picked pear with the proviso that should anything happen to this fruit it would spell disaster for the Broun family. The pear was encased in a silver box and kept safe; the Brouns prospered.
A few hundred years later however, in 1692, on her wedding night, the fiancée of Sir George Broun, a
Literary references
For his supposed role in the struggles between
A Clerk could tell what years have flown
Since Alexander fill’d our throne,
(Third monarch of that warlike name,)
And eke the time when here he came
To seek Sir Hugo, then our lord:
A braver never drew a sword;
A wiser never, at the hour
Of midnight, spoke the word of power:
The same, whom ancient records call
The founder of the Goblin-Hall.
- Marmion, Canto III, Stanza XIX, lines 324–333.
See also
References
- ^ Pronunciation note: The "Ha'" in "The Goblin Ha'" is normally enunciated "Haw".
- ^ "Yester Castle And Goblin Ha' | Canmore". canmore.org.uk.
- ^ Publications, by Scottish Record Society, Edinburgh. 1898-. Accessed 25 March 2024.
- ^ National Archives of Scotland ref No: GD45/27/141
- ^ Joseph Bain, Hamilton Papers, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1890), p. 386.
- ^ Joseph Bain, Calendar State Papers Scotland: 1547-1562, vol. 1 (London, 1898), pp. 85, 120, 124.
- ^ Thomas Park, Supplement to the Harleian Miscellany (London, 1812), pp. 368-374.
- ^ "The Scotichronicon and the Goblin Ha'". Edinburgh University Archives. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "Unique Scottish Event Venue | East Lothian". colstoun.