Turret House 150 Metres West Of Manor House Ruins

Turret House, also known as Mary Stuart's House, is a pavilion built around 1574 and restored in 1873 and the late 20th century. It is possibly designed by Robert Smythe. The building is constructed of coursed rubble with ashlar dressings and features a lead roof. It has two triple side wall stacks with lozenge-shaped shafts and copings. At the north-east corner, there is a round stair turret topped with a lead dome and finial. The structure includes a chamfered plinth, string courses, and a crenellated parapet.

Turret House is three storeys high with a square plan and two window ranges. The east front has two cross mullioned leaded windows on each floor, with a blocked doorway to the left and a moulded Tudor arched doorway to the right. The right return features small windows leading to the stairway, while the left return is blank. The rear has two cross mullioned windows on each floor.

Inside, there is a stone spiral stair. The ground and first-floor rooms have brick-lined fireplaces with chamfered stone surrounds. The first-floor south room boasts a strapwork plaster ceiling, while the second-floor south room features a Tudor arched fireplace and overmantel with a coat of arms flanked by single columns, along with a strapwork frieze and ceiling. The north room has a simpler fireplace.

Turret House is reputedly built for the imprisonment of Mary Queen of Scots, who was held here briefly between 1570 and 1584. The nearby Manor Lodge is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.