Scheduled Monuments›Scotland›Balvaird Castle

Balvaird Castle

Scotland
HES SM90027
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

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Overview

History & significance

Balvaird Castle is a 15th-century fortress located in Fife, Scotland, built by the Murray family and representing a significant example of late medieval domestic architecture in the region. The castle comprises a substantial stone keep with associated outbuildings, constructed to demonstrate both residential comfort and defensive capability characteristic of its period. Its architecture reflects the transition from purely military strongholds to more habitable fortified residences, a development common among Scottish nobility during the 1400s. The castle remains an important monument illustrating the settlement patterns and power structures of medieval Fife.

Balvaird Castle is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM90027. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Balvaird Castle?

Balvaird Castle is a 15th-century fortress located in Fife, Scotland, built by the Murray family and representing a significant example of late medieval domestic architecture in the region. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM90027.

Who is responsible for protecting Balvaird Castle?

Balvaird Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM90027.

What other scheduled monuments are near Balvaird Castle?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Wester Upper Urquhart,cairn 1700m SSE of,West Lomond (5.6 km), Mawcarse, enclosure 300m E of (6.1 km), Mawcarse Cottage, barrows 200m SSE of (6.5 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Balvaird Castle

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Balvaird Castle's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

Wester Upper Urquhart,cairn 1700m SSE of,West Lomond
Cairn 1700m sse of,west lomond5.6 km
Mawcarse, enclosure 300m E of
Post-Medieval · Enclosure6.1 km
Mawcarse Cottage, barrows 200m SSE of
Barrows6.5 km
Arlary, square barrow 320m W of
Square barrow6.9 km
Maiden Castle, fort
Iron Age · Fort7 km
Arlary, barrow 540m WSW of
Barrow7.1 km
Orwell, rectilinear enclosure 300m N of
Post-Medieval · Rectilinear enclosure7.4 km
Orwell, two standing stones 150m N of
Bronze Age · Two standing stones7.5 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Balvaird Castle

Balvaird Castle stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Silurian To Devonian, bedrock that formed in the Devonian. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.

The wider landscape

Around Balvaird Castle

Battle of Dupplin MoorBattle (1332) · ~9.4 milesBattle of Tippermuir 1644Battle (1644) · ~10.6 milesBattle of InverkeithingBattle (1651) · ~16.9 milesBattle of Inverkeithing IiBattle · ~18.8 miles
All Scheduled Monuments