A Tragic Scottish Fortress: Old Woodhouselee Castle and the Vengeful Lady's

Old Woodhouselee Castle, a 16th- or early 17th-century tower house, stood 1.5 miles northeast of Penicuik, Scotland. Its history was marred by division during the 16th or early 17th century. The property belonged to the Hamiltons of Bothwellhaugh. Legend has it that Regent Moray expelled Lady Hamilton and her young from the castle, leaving them naked, and discarding them; the child subsequently died. The lady was said to have gone mad. Her husband, James Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh and Woodhouselee, later avenged her by assassinating the regent at Linlithgow in 1570.

In the late 17th century, the castle was demolished, with its materials used to construct Woodhouselee, another building that no longer exists. Today, only three cellars and a ruined wing of an L-plan tower remain of Old Woodhouselee Castle. A small structure at the site is believed to have served as a kitchen. According to legend, the ghost of the heartbroken lady, dressed in white, is said to haunt the ruins.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata