Balcarres Folly

After 21 years in India, the  Hon. Robert Lindsay returned to Scotland and spent part of the fortune he had amassed there by buying the family estate of Balcarres from his elder brother, the Earl of Lindsay and by building an eyecatcher on Balcarres Craig.

He built his archetypal Gothic folly sometime between 1790 and 1820 .He created the perfect sham castle with a ruined arch and walls, built in the local dark stone with the crenelations, windows and doors highlighted in white. There is a flagpole, arrowslits, pointed arches, and a round window. The Craig above Balcarres House is where the Conventicles had held their meetings to be closer to God, in the 17th century.