Old Photograph Nisbet Castle Scotland

Old photograph of Nisbet Castle located South of Duns in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. This Scottish castle was built in about 1630 by Sir Alexander Nisbet, ancestor of the heraldic authority Alexander Nisbet, born 1657, died 1725. The Nisbet family built two fortified houses or pele towers in the 12th century, East Nisbet and West Nisbet. East Nisbet, now known as Allanbank, was located on the Blackadder Water near Allanton, although the original tower no longer exists. Wester Nisbet remains, and was extended in the 1630s to form the bulk of the present house. The laird at the time was Sir Alexander Nisbet of that Ilk, born 1580, died 1660. Sir Alexander Nisbet overextended his finances in supporting Charles I in the Civil War, and was forced to sell the property to John Ker in 1652. A square tower, with fine interior plasterwork, in the classical style of William Adam was added to the west end in 1774. The house remained with Ker descendants, latterly in the person of Lord Sinclair, until the 1950s, when the estate was sold to Lord Brocket. After partial modernisation, the house was sold again in the mid 1960s to a local farmer, and remained unoccupied until its recent and comprehensive restoration as a private residence.



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