Kingston, East Lothian
Kingston (also called Balamory as Fenton Tower is Archie's house) is a small hamlet near North Berwick in East Lothian, Scotland, after which Kingston, Jamaica was named.
Kingston was once known as Kings Seat, historic maps of the area show this.[1][2]
Fenton Tower
Fenton Tower in Kingston is a refurbished 16th century tower house. It retains the original footprint of the square keep, but now encompasses 7000 sq. ft. of living space over several levels. Fenton Tower was used as the location for Archie's castle in the BBC children's programme Balamory. [3] The tower is depicted as being bright pink in the show, although in reality it is a more traditional off-white to Stone Grey colour, with the hue added in post-production.
Fenton Tower was built on the lands of 'Fentoun'. "During the reign of King David I of Scots (1124-1153) the lands of 'Fentoun' along with the lands of Gullane, Archerfield, Dirleton and Fidra island were all held by the Anglo-Norman De-vaux family. Who later gifted 'Fentoun' to their English kin the De-vauxs of Lanercost Priory. In the mid 12th century the De-vauxs built a 'castri' on the Fidra, a chapel at Gullane, a tower of 'Eilbote' at Archerfield (which must have been a place of some importance since King David signed a charter for the lands of Carberry witnessed at 'El bottle' ) and finally a stone castle at Dirleton itself during the reign of King Alexander II of Scots (1214-1249)"[4]
Notable Persons
- Prof Alan James Duncan FRSE (1938-1999) atomic physicist[5]
- Sir John Carmichael (died 16 June 1600) Lord Warden of the Western Marches
References
- ^ "Lothian and Linlitquo / Joh. et Cornelius Blaeu exc. - Blaeu Atlas of Scotland, 1654". maps.nls.uk. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
- ^ "Lothian : contains The Shire of Linlithgow or West Lothian. The Shire of Edinburgh or Midlothian. and Haddington or East Lothian / by H. Moll. - Maps of Scotland". maps.nls.uk. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
- ^ "A Historic Scottish Castle Becomes a Home". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
- ^ "Fenton Tower". www.douglashistory.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
- ^ BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX OF FORMER FELLOWS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH 1783 – 2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0 902 198 84 X.
External links
- Fenton Tower official site
- Forth Estuary Forum
- Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (CANMORE) Reports on historical monuments around Kingston
- Groome's 19th Century Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland Kingston entry
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