Tantallon Castle, East Lothian, Scotland

Tantallon Castle image, History, Date, Historic Scottish 14th-century fort building, North Berwick architecture

Tantallon Castle, East Lothian

Historic Scottish Building: East Lothian Architecture, semi-ruined mid-14th-century fortress in Scotland

post updated 16 December 2023

Location: 3m east of North Berwick off the A198, East Lothian

Contact Tantallon Castle: 01620 892727

Address: North Berwick EH39 5PN

View of Tantallon from Seacliff beach to the southeast
Tantallon Castle
photo © Adrian Welch

Tantallon Castle East Lothian

Tantallon Castle was built in the mid-14th century by the Red Douglasses. Set on the edge of the cliffs, looking out to Bass Rock, this historic building in East Lothian was a stronghold of the Douglas family. It features earthwork defences & a 50ft-high 14th-century curtain wall with towers.

Views of the fortress from the sea, looking south:
Historic Building East Lothian Tantallon Castle East Lothian
building pictures © Adrian Welch

This mid-14th-century fortress was strengthened to resist artillery in the 16th century. The 8th Earl was the last of the Douglases to reside at the property. By 1650, the Castle had become an army base for raids against Cromwell during his advance on Scotland.

No larger image:
Historic Building in East Lothian
picture © Adrian Welch

Cromwell’s Covenanters, led by General Monk, took Tantallon in 1651 after twelve days bombardment: the castle was never inhabited again. The building has been state property – run by Historic Scotland – since 1924.

Contact / Admission Details

E-mail: [email protected]

This historic East Lothian building is closed Thursday afternoons and Fridays in Winter.

Buildings nearby include the Scottish Seabird Centre in Nortn Berwick

Context just to west of Tantallon Castle
historic East Lothian building
photograph © Adrian Welch

Contact the operators of this East Lothian fortress building: +44 (0)1620 892727

Construction start: 1350

Architecture in Scotland

Scottish Castle

Edinburgh Walking Tours

Castles in East Lothian near to Hailes Castle

Historic Scottish Property Designs – key architectural selection below:

Lennoxlove House, south of Haddington, East Lothian
Lennoxlove House
photo © Adrian Welch
Lennoxlove House

Dunbar Castle, East Lothian
Dunbar Castle

Historic Buildings in Eastern Scotland

Hailes Castle, east of Haddington, East Lothian
Hailes Castle

Crichton Castle, ruined building near the village of Crichton, Midlothian
Crichton Castle
photo © Adrian Welch
Crichton Castle

HES website post for this property: semi-ruined mid-14th-century fortress near North Berwick

Glasgow School of Art, 167 Renfrew Street
Glasgow School of Art
photo © Adrian Welch
Glasgow School of Art

House for an Art Lover, Bellahouston Park, south west of the city centre
House for an Art Lover

Burrell Museum

Comments / photos for the Tantallon Castle building – Scottish 14th-century fort near North Berwick architecture in southeast Scotland, United Kingdom, page welcome.

Website: wikipedia page on this fortress