Cramond Tower

The area around the Tower has had human settlement since the time of Ancient Rome, and there are relics from that time in the area.[1] The Tower was probably built in the late 15th or early 16th century, primarily as a defensive feature, although it could have been built earlier, and may have been mentioned in 1409.[2][3][4] It was at one stage part of the bishop of Dunkeld's summer residence.[5]

It became the property of James Inglis, an Edinburgh merchant, in 1622.[4] He repurposed the tower to make it more comfortable for occupation, adding and enlarging windows and creating internal recesses to increase the available living space.[4] His grandson moved to the nearby Cramond House in 1680, and the tower was abandoned for the next 300 years.[5]

It was portrayed as a romantic ruin by James Skene in 1837, and was in a poor state of preservation by the middle of the twentieth century.[6][3] In the 1960s, the City of Edinburgh Council put a concrete cap on the roof and cleared the vegetation.[3][4]

In 1978, it was acquired by Eric Jamieson, an amateur antiquarian.[5] Between 1979 and 1981, it was restored by architects Robert Hurd & Partners into a private residence.[4][1]

It was damaged by a fire in 2011.[7]

The castle is a nearly square four-storey tower house, around 25 feet (7.6 m) on each side and with walls up to 5 feet (1.5 m) thick.[5] In the south-east corner is a round staircase that protrudes from the building.[4] Currently, the tower has a store at ground level, a living room on the first floor, kitchen on the second, and bedrooms and bathrooms on the third and fourth floors.[4][8] A pitched roof has been re-erected as part of the restoration.[9] In the 1990s, a stone extension was added on the east side.[8]

It is a category B listed building.[4]