Ravens-craig [Ravenscraig]

Category

Library Item

Item no

24852

Title

Ravens-craig [Ravenscraig]

Description

This image shows Ravenscraig Castle in Fife.

Artist / maker

De Cardonnel, Adam

Date

1788

Size

7.0 x 9.0 cm

Type

Etching

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

The British 19th century engraver and archaeologist Adam de Cardonnel was an educated man who practiced for a short while as a surgeon however his family's wealth gave him the leisure to indulge his interest in antiquities and numismatics. At the end of 1780 he was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland where he also served as curator from 1782 to 1784. Cardonnel later went on to produce work titled as 'Numismata Scotiae' which was published in Edinburgh in 1786 and 'Picturesque Antiquities of Scotland' which was published in London in 1788. Soon after this Adam De Cardonnel took over his cousin - Hilton Lawson's - estates in Chirton and Cramlington in Northumberland where he then served as sheriff for the county in 1796 and became knows as 'Adam De Cardonnel-Lawson'. Cardonnel spent his last days in Bath and after dying at age 73 he was buried at Cramlington in June 1820.

The origins of Ravenscraig Castle date back to 1460 when James II took over the estate here for his queen, Mary of Gueldres. He immediately commissioned work on building a castle, but did not live to see it completed.

Mary of Gueldres ordered work on the castle to continue, and by 1461 some £600 had been spent and enough of the east tower was complete to allow the queen and her retainers to spend the better part of a month here. Mary died in 1463 and in 1470 her son, James III, awarded the castle to William Sinclair, Earl of Caithness as part of a deal that saw the Earl's titles and estates in Orkney and Shetland transfer to the Crown. The castle remained an important and powerful residence, and was visited by James V in 1540 and James VI in 1598.

The castle was used as an ammunition depot during the First World War. In 1929, 85 acres of the estate, including the castle, was given to the town of Kirkcaldy as a public park. Ravenscraig Castle was passed into state care in 1955 and opened to the public in 1971.

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Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Doors and doorways

Architecture > Architectural features > Walls

Homes > Derelict buildings and excavation sites > Ruins

Homes > Residential buildings > Castles and palaces

Places > Scotland > Fife

Places > United Kingdom > Scotland

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