the history of Melville Castle

The story behind Melville Castle is like a fairy tale come true.

Earliest records indicate that in 1155 in the reign of King Malcolm IV, Malleville was an estate in the ownership of an Anglo-Norman Baron called Galfrid de Malleville, who was Sheriff of Edinburgh and Governor of Edinburgh Castle. It remained in his family until the time of King Robert II in 1371 when through marriage it passed to Sir John Ross of Halkhead. The castle continued as the seat of that branch of the Ross family for many generations.

Henry Dundas, the first Viscount Melville, commissioned the current Melville Castle. He chose the site of the medieval castle, which in its earlier days, was also used by Mary Queen of Scots as a hunting lodge, while her courtiers lived nearby in a district of Edinburgh that is still today called Little France.

This quite magnificent, castellated baronial mansion house with its spacious pillared entrance hall, elegant staircase and fine reception rooms was built in 1786 and designed by the renowned architect James Playfair, and was created principally for entertaining on a grand scale. In the 19th century Queen Victoria came to visit; so too did George IV and the novelist Sir Walter Scott. It is said that former family residents still lurk in the castle today. Some tell us that they have seen the ghost of Elizabeth Rennie, wife of Henry Dundas, during the restoration. They witnessed the apparition glide through a solid wall in the castle, and during later renovations an old blocked-off doorway was found exactly where she disappeared.

Until just fifteen years ago, this great castle had been left unoccupied for some time and allowed to become virtually derelict. This was indeed a tragedy for an A-listed building described as of "outstanding architectural and historic significance." The Hay family came to its rescue, purchased the property and completely restored it into the luxurious and stylish country house hotel it is today..