Bonhard Castle
Bonhard Castle was an L-plan tower house, dating from the 16th century, around 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south east of Bo'ness, in West Lothian, Scotland.[2] It was demolished in 1962.[3]
Alternative names were Bonhard House, and Polkmyl Tower.[3]
History
[edit]The castle was owned by the Cornwalls of Bonhard. John Cornwall of Bonhard was killed at the battle of Flodden.[4] Peter Cornwall of Bonhard built a house in Linlithgow which included a stone dated 1527 with his coat of arms.[5] Nicholl Cornwall (1537–1607), younger of Bonhard, ignored a summons to fight during the Chaseabout Raid in 1565. Mary, Queen of Scots, gave his property to James Hamilton of Libberton.[6]
Nicholl Cornwall's property was restored and in 1592 he was provost of Linlithgow. He first married Agnes Halkett, a sister of George Halkett, the Conservator of the Scottish Staple. His second wife was Mary Stewart, a niece of Walter Stewart of Blantyre. A dovecote at Bonhard included a 1591 datestone carved with the initials "NC-MS" and conjoint heraldry. However, the heraldry is thought be that of the Setons of Lough rather than Stewart, and may refer to a third marriage.[7] The family motto used on the stone was "We Beig Ye See Warli" – We build, you see, warily.[8]
Archibald Cornwall who worked for Edinburgh burgh council and was executed in 1601 is thought to have been a member of the Bonhard family.[9]
Elizabeth Cornwall, Lady Dalmahoy, died at Bonhard in 1773.[10] Subsequently, the castle was subdivided into farm-servant's dwellings, and altered internally. After it was burned out in 1959, it was blown up in 1962.[3]
Structure
[edit]The tower, which stood in a commanding position, had three storeys and a garret, with a semi-octagonal stair tower in the re-entrant angle. The original doorway was at the foot of the stair tower.
There was a kitchen in the unvaulted basement, while the hall was on the first floor;[2] there was 17th-century plasterwork on that floor.[3]
The site is now occupied by a new house.[3]
References
[edit]- ↑ MacGibbon, David; Ross, Thomas (1887). The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland, from the twelfth to the eighteenth century. Volume 3. Edinburgh: D. Douglas.
- 1 2 Coventry Martin (1997) The Castles of Scotland. Goblinshead. ISBN 1 899874 10 0 p84
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Bonhard House". Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ↑ Joseph Howard, Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica, 2 (London, 1877), pp. 446–447.
- ↑ Joseph Howard, Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica, 2 (London, 1877), pp. 446.
- ↑ Gordon Donaldson, Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland, 5:2 (Edinburgh: HMSO, 1957), p. 26 no. 2562.
- ↑ Joseph Howard, Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica, 2 (London, 1877), pp. 446–447: The Architect (20 April 1888), p. 226.
- ↑ David McGibbon and Thomas Ross, Castellated and Domestic Architecture, 3 (Edinburgh, 1889), p. 537.
- ↑ Duncan Macmillan, Scottish Art, 1460–1990 (Mainstream, 1990), p. 21.
- ↑ Joseph Howard, Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica, 2 (London, 1877), p. 461.
External links
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