 WHITTINGHAME Tower was built in the 15th
century and provided a home to the Douglas family during the 1500s.
James Douglas, fourth Earl of Morton, became lord high chancellor to
Mary Queen of Scots in 1563 and was involved in the murder of her
secretary, David Rizzio, in 1566.
After fleeing to England, Douglas returned to Scotland the following
year and became involved in the plot to assassinate Mary’s husband, Lord
Darnley.
The conspiracy was allegedly hatched in the grounds of Whittinghame
estate, with Lord Bothwell among his accomplices.
On the night of February 9, 1567, the house in which Darnley was
staying was blown up, and he was found strangled outside.
Whittinghame Tower later came into the possession of the Hays family,
but became run down during the 1700s. James Balfour, a merchant who made
his fortune in India, purchased the tower in 1817 but decided not to live
there.
He built Whittinghame House on the estate and the classical mansion
became the family seat and the birthplace of his grandson, the former
British Prime Minister AJ Balfour.
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