Dalkeith Palace

The estate's origins date back to the 12th century, when a castle belonging to the Graham Clan stood on this site. In the early 14th century, it passed into the possession of the Douglas family, whose member James Douglas of Dalkeith was elevated to Earl of Morton in the mid-15th century. The castle served as a defensive point above a bend in the River North Esk. In 1406, James Douglas, 1st Lord Dalkeith, endowed a collegiate church that served as a burial place for the Douglas Earls. Margaret Tudor, wife of King James IV of Scotland, stayed here in 1503. After an expansion in 1574, the castle was sold in 1642 to Francis Scott, 2nd Earl of Buccleuch.