Pinkie House

Pinkie was formerly the country seat of the Abbots of Dunfermline, and the tower house was built some time in the 16th century on the site of the Battle of Pinkie. In 1597, following the Reformation, it passed to Alexander Seton. He served as James VI's chancellor, and was created Earl of Dunfermline in 1605. The young Prince Charles, later Charles I, lived here as a boy, after his father's move to London at the Union of the Crowns in 1603. He slept in what is still known as "The King's Room". In 1607 Seton married his third wife, Margaret Hay of Yester, and from 1613 set about expanding the house, adding a long wing to the south, and decorating the interior: The Long Gallery is noted for…

Pinkie House was originally an L-plan tower house, but extensions were added in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The oldest part comprises a five-storey tower, to which Seton added bartizans and a crenellated parapet. This was attached to a strong three-storey main block with a pitched roof, again altered by Seton with square turrets. Inside there is a vaulted basement, and a wide turnpike stair up to the second storey. The interior has been modernised. Seton's main addition was the long three-storey south wing, which includes on its upper floor the 96-foot Painted Gallery. His mason may have been William Wallace, although this attribution is only stylistic. On the south facade is a bay…