Tour Scotland Video Ravenscraig Castle Kirkcaldy Fife

Tour Scotland travel video of Ravenscraig Castle on ancestry, genealogy, history visit and trip to Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. This is a is a ruined castle located in Kirkcaldy which dates from around 1460. The castle is an early example of artillery defence in Scotland. The construction of Ravenscraig Castle by the mason Henry Merlion and the master carpenter Friar Andres Lesouris was ordered by King James II who reigned from 1437 to 1460, as a home for his wife, Mary of Guelders. She lived in the castle until her death in 1463, when only the east tower and the basement of the central section were built. Ownership passed to her son King James III who reigned from 1460 to 1488, but in 1471 he gave the castle to William Sinclair, Earl of Orkney and Caithness in exchange for the Earldom of Orkney and associated lands which James annexed from Norway to the Scottish Crown. After 1471 Ravenscraig was finally completed by the Sinclairs, who also had an interest in artillery fortifications.


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