Fa'side castle was built in the 14th century by the De Quincey
family.
The name dates from 1189, when the monks of Newbattle Abbey
granted land to the De Quincy family to build the castle on the
site. The land was lost to Robert the Bruce after the De Quincy
family declared their loyalty to Edward I of England. (An
alternative view is that it was held by Alan la Zouche, 1st Baron
la Zouche of Ashby.) Bruce granted the castle to the Seton
family.
The castle was burned by the English before the Battle of Pinkie
Cleugh in 1547 (See my other cache Bloody Saturday GC2AGZ3) ,
suffocating or burning all those inside. It was rebuilt in the late
16th Century and sold in 1631 to an Edinbugh burgess and merchant
called Hamilton. By the 19th Century, it had fallen into ruin, and
was close to being demolished altogether in the 1970s. However, the
castle was saved and underwent restoration by Thomas Moodie Craig.
Nigel Tranter set up the Fa'side Restoration Society in 1970
through the St. Andrews Society of East Lothian, and introduced Tom
Craig to the castle in 1975. After investigation it was discovered
that the original name of the castle was Fawside Castle and this
remains its name today. The restoration work began in 1976 was
completed by 1982. The castle is now privately owned. The Fa'side
Estate includes a stud farm and a Bed & Breakfast business.
The cache can be approached via the single track road that runs
from Tranent to Crookston or from Wallyford which has very good
public transport links (44 bus service or Edinburgh-N Berwick
trains).
