Rossend Castle, Burntisland

Rossend Castle, Burntisland

A Grade B listed building of exceptional historical complexity, Rossend Castle is a tower house incorporating 13th century ground floor construction within a 16th century structure. The building takes the form of a 4-storey T-plan tower house, substantially remodelled in the 17th century when the top was raised to 4 storeys with the addition of a garret and western wing. It was further enlarged in the 19th century and underwent comprehensive refurbishment and conversion to offices in 1977 by the Hurd Rolland Partnership, which included the addition of a western stair tower and a glass-gabled caphouse.

The exterior is harled with dressed stone margins, featuring a distinctive battered base course, corbel table and chamfered arrises. Clay pantiles and graded grey slates cover the roof, with harled shouldered stacks (some with cans), coped ashlar skews, skewputts and finials.

The north (entrance) elevation features a projecting face to the left with a timber door in a roll-moulded doorcase. An important heraldic panel, a canopied plaque with barley-twist columns bearing the Arms of Abbot George Durie dated 1554, is positioned above an adjacent first floor window. A small stair window is set between ground and first floors on the outer right, with a further window above at third floor level. The central bay contains a small window offset to the right at first floor, a narrow window at second and third floors, the latter below an inset window pediment inscribed with initials 'SJ' and 'W' dated 1665. A bay to the outer left holds small windows at second and third floors. The return wall to the right and recessed wing display irregularly-sized windows at intervals, with a finialled pedimented dormerhead breaking the eaves to the right of centre at third floor level of the wing, accompanied by a chimneybreast to the left.

The south elevation presents a recessed wing with a blocked gunloop at centre, flanked by small irregular gunloops close to the base course. A small lancet window sits to the right of centre, with a small window to the outer right abutting the underside of a forestair in the re-entrant. A further small lancet appears to the left. The forestair features a small platform leading to a first floor timber door at the right. Irregular windows are disposed at intervals at all floors. The tower to the outer right contains a window at ground floor centre, and at first floor a window at centre and to the right with a small opening to the left. The second floor has a window at centre below a corbel table with angle-rounds and a centre window above below a further corbel table and crenellated parapet. The return face to the left displays a timber door to the right and small opening to the left on the forestair, a first floor centre window with a small window at second floor left close to the corbel table, a centre window above and a further corbel table giving way to a crenellated parapet.

The east elevation features a small window to the right of centre close to ground, and at first floor a window at centre and a further window in a bay to the right. A significant heraldic panel bearing the Arms of Margaret of Scotland in a canopied plaque with barley-twist columns is centrally positioned above and between these windows. At second floor, a window sits at centre with a window to the right and in a bay to the outer right, a further window to the left below a corbel table. The third floor mirrors the second and features a crenellated parapet to the left.

The west elevation displays a timber door to the left at ground level, with windows to each floor in a bay above, and a modern round stair tower to the right with a timber door on the return to the left.

Windows throughout employ small-pane glazing patterns in timber sash and case and casement windows.

Interior

The broad turnpike stair features a notable stucco panel depicting an upright thistle with mirrored flanking fish or dolphins. All ground floor rooms are tunnel-vaulted, with the kitchen (now office) containing a massive segmental-arched fireplace. A small circular stair at ground floor south-east leads to Queen Mary's Room.

The first floor Great Hall contains a fireplace to the west and a bolection-moulded fireplace to the north, with a similar fireplace in the office to the east. A painted ceiling dated 1616 was removed from this room. Queen Mary's Room (south-east office) features fine pine panelling with two working secret doors, architraved doors, timber cornicing and Corinthian pilasters all imported from Polton House, Lothian in the 1970s. A basket-arched marble fireplace and decorative plasterwork at ceiling corners enhance this space. Fielded panelling adorns the timber door of each office.

The second floor contains an office with segmental-arched window heads and another office with decorative ceiling corners (casts of which were taken from mouldings in the castle in the 1990s).

Various masons marks are visible throughout the interior.

Boundary Features

Square-coped rubble boundary walls with decorative cast-iron railings are located immediately to the south and along Sailor's Walk. Rubble bastions also flank the southern boundary.