Borthwick Castle

Borthwick Castle is a massive tower that is the most imposing in Scotland. Built by Sir William Borthwick near Edinburgh in 1430, the castle is in the shape of a U, with the back measuring 71' and the slightly longer arm 68'. The tower is 100' tall. The castle was later enclosed by a curtain wall, reportedly ringed by cylindrical towers, of which one by the entrance remains. An early Borthwick lord carried the heart of Robert the Bruce on crusade to Granada, Spain, and distinguished himself by slaying an Moorish chieftain. The 4th Lord Borthwick was slain at the Battle of Flodden in 1513.

The Earl of Bothwell and his bride Mary, Queen of Scots, visited Borthwick in 1567. The castle was besieged but she escaped by dressing as a man. The 9th Lord Borthwick, a staunch royalist, refused to surrender the castle until Cromwell started the actual bombardment with his cannon. The damage to the upper portion of the back wall has never been repaired. The castle was abandoned in the 17th century, but restored in 1890, and initially used as a conference center.

The castle is now a 10-room luxury hotel. Two of the rooms are in the cylindrical tower at the entrance (see upper right). The Red Room is said to be occasionally visited by a ghost. The bottom four photographs were taken during our brief visit on a rainy morning in August 2000. My attempt to make reservations a year in advance were aced out by the wedding party whose elegant breakfast is shown in the picture on the lower right. Next time I'll call two years in advance!


General & Ground Plan	First Floor Plan	Second Floor Plan	Third Floor Plan


West Elevation	South Elevation	Section of Main Block Looking East	Section of Main Block & N Wing Looking North

Photos of the Lego Model Built July 1989

Northwest View	Southeast View	South Southwest View

Photos of the Lego Model Under construction December 2013 and January & August 2014

On December 11 the new castle is laid out, and construction begins on the portion of the basement which is above ground.	Two days later the stair to the drawbridge is almost complete...	And the plan of the main floor is laid out.	On December 14 the first floor plan is gone, replaced by future first floor supports.

A pair of spiral staircases will appear to ascend from the well room and cellars	By December 20 the main floor is beginning to take shape	By December 20 the main floor is beginning to take shape	he castle as it appears on Christmas morning...

After A brief hiatus to work on Neuschwanstein II, by mid-January work has resumed on Borthwick. The main floor is completed...	...and the non-open sections are covered with light grey plates...	...giving the appearance that the castle is solidly rubble-filled.	The model is now rimmed with tiles so the top floors can be removed.

Construction resumes on August 1 and the upper castle base is squared with 4x8 wedge plates to form the open lower portion.	Then construction of the upper 2/3 of the castle begins. Four inches is added the first day!	By August 2, Borthwick is over 22 inches tall (57 layers of bricks!)	At this point the upper floors are lifted off to allow better access to the top floor & roof.

On August 4 1x5x4 arches ring the tower to support the parapets and roof.	The next day the top floor is finished and the corbelled parapet wall is begun.	The appearance of the tower interior.	The 1x5x4 arches are tied together with layers of plates to strengthen the upper tower.

By August 6 large plates build up the wall walk...	...and the light gray wall walk is finally added on top.	As the sun sets on August 6, Borthwick is ready for a roof!	The roof is added the next day followed by a 10 day wait for tiles to trim the chimneys & wall.

Photos of the Lego Model Built December 2013 - August 2014

The completed tower, seen here from the northeast...	measures 25 x 32.5" in size, and is almost 35" tall.	Here is the west side of the tower, which you see as you drive in.	The tower from the southeast.


Here is a more detailed view of the roof with 3 garrets, 3 stairs and 6 chimneys.	The upper floors lift off to reveal the complete main floor of Borthwick Castle.	On the left is the entrance with the drawbridge chain in the next room. Note the murder hole above the main door.	Here is the Great Hall looking east. The great fireplace is on the right, with 2 spiral staircases up to the bedrooms above.


The Great Hall looking west, with tapestries, stuffed deer head and weapons on the walls.	Here is a view of the Borthwick Room, the Lord's parlour.	And the kitchen with its huge walk-in fireplace.	A detail showing a spiral stair and the toilet room (above).

Build Your Own Well, it took almost 5 years -- and a nudge from Jesse Borthwick of Niceville, Florida -- but I finally have put the 2013-4 plans and elevations on this page! Has to be a relation, don't you think? Thanks, Jess!

1989 Top Down	1989 Entrance Detail


2013-4 Ground Floor Plan	First Floor Plan	Gallery Level Plan	Second Floor Plan	Third Floor Plan	Roof & Battlement Plan


West (Front) Elevation	North (Entrance) Elevation	East Elevation