Tantallon Castle - Scotland's FORGOTTEN Medieval Fortress

Over the past few years I've visited many different castles and historic buildings, but none come close to Tantalon Castle. This beautiful Scottish ruined fortress lies close to the English and Scottish border, and is situated in a spectacular location. Throughout its history it saw a number of brutal sieges and attacks, in which much damage was caused to the walls of the castle, leaving it today in a ruined condition. Today we explore Tantalon Castle and talk about its history whilst showing you around, and remember to support our channel, please make sure to subscribe. Tantalon Castle is incredibly unique. Its construction featured a single huge curtain wall that secured it on three sides, due to the fact that the coast, seeing steep cliffs, protected it on the final side. Around the year 1300, the castle did exist in this area, and in 1346 William Douglas, a nephew of Robert the Bruce's companion Sir James Douglas came to Scotland from France to claim his inheritance as the chief of the Douglas clan. He murdered his godfather and became the undisputed head of the House of Douglas, later becoming the Earl of Douglas. He built the present day castle around the time of his new found status, and it was a sign of his new power. It was held by the Douglas's over the next few generations, despite a number of attempts to dislodge the family in the area. George Douglas became the first Earl of Angus, and became the first of the Red Douglas's, a divide inside the house, with George becoming the head of this side. In 1397 he married Princess Mary Stuart, the daughter of King Robert III of Scotland, and he made a very powerful ally linking the Red Douglas's to the Royal House of Stuart, with the Stuarts later becoming the royal family that presided over Great Britain including England. During this time, the castle remained in the hands of the Douglas family. During the 15th century, Tantalum was also used as a royal prison, holding Isabella the Countess of Lennox, the widow of the executed Duke of Albany, and also Alexander, Lord of the Isles was held there until he reconciled with James I of Scotland. The third Earl of Angus used Tantalum as his base, and would raid the Black Douglas lands, and the castle remained in the hands of the Earls of Angus. In 1491, Tantalum was besieged by James IV, with guns sent from Edinburgh and Linlithgow, and quickly Angus forfeited the castle, without much damage being done, with the fear of the cannons and guns being enough to put him off. Over the 16th century, sieges would plague the castle. In 1514, Archibald Douglas the 6th Earl of Angus married James IV's widow Margaret Tudor, the daughter of Henry VII of England, and Regent of Scotland for her son James V. The couple tried to take the young king to England, which sparked a civil war, and the regency was given to John Stuart, who then seized Tantalum in 1515. Margaret Tudor left some jewels and clothes at Tantalum, a diamond that had been gifted to her from Louis XII of France. In 1525, Angus who was backed up by Henry VIII of England staged a coup, taking custody of James V, who was still young, and he became the Chancellor. In 1528 though, 16 year old James V escaped and banished the Earl of Angus to the north. Archibald Douglas then retreated to Tantalum, but the king laid siege to the castle on the 23rd October 1528. James V borrowed guns from nearby Dunbar Castle, and besieged Tantalum with great strength. The castle was bombarded by cannon fire for 20 days, and the king's guns did struggle to be close enough to the castle to cause significant damage. The outer ditch of the fortification did its job, but Tantalum was damaged slightly by the artillery. The king later lifted the siege, and Archibald being very determined counter attacked the king and even captured his artillery. In May 1529, Archibald fled to England, and left the castle to James and would later recover it. The king at this time spent time rebuilding and strengthening the castle. On the Earl of Angus's return in 1542, he was still in contact with Henry VIII, and allowed the English Ambassador to Scotland to stay at Tantalum to negotiate a marriage between the infant Mary Queen of Scots and the future Edward VI. During the War of the Rough Wooing, the castle was bypassed by the English when they invaded Scotland due to the Earl's sympathies and links to the English King. The English army laid waste to much of the area, burning down nearby fortifications, but Tantalum was left. Archibald the Sick Fell died at Tantalum in January 1557, and the castle was then sieged by the Queen Regent Mary of Guise. A garrison of 7 horsemen and 22 soldiers were now based there, and Mary Queen of Scots would visit in 1566. The 8th Earl of Angus who looked after Tantalum tried to negotiate a treasonous pact with the English and was forced into exile at the time, with Tantalum being a very rich castle. It was furnished with the best, having a bed of green velvet and damask, a bed of crimson velvet, embroidered with images and beasts of gold, and another bed of gold. There had even been a brew house in the castle established. When the 8th Earl of Angus died in 1588, the Earls then lived in other castles, and tended to neglect Tantalum. In July 1592, James VI took possession of the castle, but then the 10th Earl of Angus William Douglas would move in in November 1608. Tantalum once again was used in a military capacity during the Bishops War of 1639, with the Douglas family remaining Catholic after the Scottish Reformation, and they found conflict because of this with the Presbyterian Covenanters capturing Tantalum. During the Third English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell's forces invaded Scotland in 1650, and in February 1651, a small group of Royalists were based at Tantalum, and they were causing Cromwell chaos, attacking his lines of communication. Cromwell retaliated, sending 2,000 to 3,000 troops to lay siege to the castle, with the majority of his artillery also going. After 12 days of bombardment, a breach in the castle's walls was made inside the Douglas Tower. This forced the defenders to surrender, but only after they would receive no punishment or death for their actions. After the siege, Tantalum was left in ruins, and was never repaired or lived in. Following this, very little happened in the castle until 1944. The castle even played a role in preparing the allied forces for the Normandy invasions of D-Day. A few weeks before, captured German radars were sent to the castle, and were used in training RAF bomber crews including the famous Dambusters. They were used in a huge effort to deceive the Germans as to where the allied invasion would actually take place. On the night before D-Day, thin strips of aluminium foil were dropped by two bombers near to two locations around Normandy. These were dropped in so many large quantities, there was hope that the bombers would be able to create on German radar an illusion of a huge approaching naval fleet, even though it was simply fake. The technique was perfected in the water and sea around Tantalum Castle. What we will now do is show you around the different parts of Tantalum. The outer defences and the curtain wall are the most prominent defensive elements to the castle. One of the first things you notice when entering the site is the pure beauty of the huge castle in the distance, but beauty is one thing, but castles primarily needed to be good at protection. Because of this, a number of different ditches were dug around Tantalum to cause problems to attackers. One of the trenches that surrounds the castle was probably in fact dug by the English who besieged the castle under Cromwell as a place to protect themselves from the defenders fire, and also possibly as a place in which they could launch their cannons from. There is also a raveling found here, this is a triangular shaped fortification found in front of fortresses. The point of this was to have edges that would divide an attacking army, and it was a place to attract fire rather than upon the castle itself. The outer ditch dates back to the 1300s, and was part of the castles original defences, with ditches in history being an effective way of slowing up attacking forces. One of the first structures you encounter is the outer gate. Today you can see how the gate is ruined, and most of this damage was caused by Cromwell's forces. The outer gate would have been guarded by soldiers who controlled access into and out of Tantalum Castle, and no outsiders would have been allowed in. The outer gate also acted as the first line of defence, with guards being stationed here to keep an eye out for invading armies. You can also notice a number of sizeable holes in the side of the gatehouse, and also how an existing archway would have been secured by a door which today has become derelict. Around the back of the gatehouse, you can also see where the outer curtain wall would have been and also how there were other rooms built into the gatehouse. The views from this part of the castle out to sea are spectacular with the coast being literally right in front of you. The outer bailey would have been a hive of activity. There could have been many different buildings based inside this area of the castle, in which many different local people would work performing their roles to serve the castle. Outer courts usually had a blacksmith working here, Fletchers who would craft bows and arrows, and more domestic workers such as cooks or brewers. The purpose of the professionals here was to serve the castles custodian, and to create the best equipment needed for the castles owner and their guards. Inside here in particular was a dovecot, a small building which was used to house pigeons and doves and to breed them in there. They were a very important source of food in Europe during the middle ages and were kept for their eggs. You can see inside here how many pigeons or birds would have been kept, and it would have been hundreds all making extremely loud noises. The outer court may have also featured caponniers, defensive positions found along a ditch to allow covering fire to be directed towards attackers. The curtain wall of Tantalon is over 15 metres high and 3.6 metres thick. Within the walls are a number of chambers that allow guards to walk in between. It's curtain wall is huge and would have been formidable and throughout history did survive some intense artillery bombardment. The castles walls would have completely enclosed the inner court, and this part of the castle is accessible by walking across a small bridge which takes you across a final ditch to reach the main castle. A drawbridge did lead to the main entrance with an outer door. Beyond this was a vaulted passage that was protected by two further sets of doors and a portcullis. From here openings in the ceilings allowed defenders to drop and attack any soldiers who had made it into the passageway, and they could have trapped the attackers inside. These murder holes were an effective defensive structure found inside gatehouses. The gatehouse itself is absolutely huge. The central gatehouse is square measuring 13 metres across and 24 metres high. It contained four storeys of chambers, with some having fireplaces. Today the floors and internal walls are missing, but this would have been luxury apartments for the guests to stay in. The fireplaces would have kept the rooms warm, and the castles keeper would also be staying here. This was the man in charge of organising security and defence at the castle, and all these rooms were accessed via a spiral staircase found built into the curtain wall. When climbing the stairs of the gatehouse, you can't help but notice the beauty of the surrounding area. Behind you is a sea, and in the distance is base rock, of which a prison existed on there at one time. The sea crashes against the rocks below, and as you look into the distance the other way you can see just green fields and beautiful countryside. The height of the gatehouse shows you what a great view and vision the guards would have had to spot any attacking soldiers. With the main entrance running below this tower, it would have been a good place for the guards to be based. The ramparts on this tower also link up with the different parts of the castle. One of these towers that doesn't exist in its full capacity today is the Douglas Tower. This was a round tower built into the north-western corner of the curtain wall, and was the largest tower inside the castle. The Douglas Tower, named after the Douglas family, was where the Earl's private apartments would be found. It is almost circular in its layout, and originally measured around 12 metres wide. Today the west side of the tower has collapsed, however in its heyday it would have been absolutely colossal, measuring 7 storeys high. A connecting hall would have been found inside this tower too, and it was the Lord's keep, the main castle building in which the Lord or Earl lived inside. Traditional castles place these on top of mots or hills, but at Tantallon it was simply this tower. The Douglas Tower also featured timbered floor chambers, and vaulted guard roads or toilets. Inside this part of the castle was also a dungeon, and a pit prison, found in the lowest storey. This would have been used to house prisoners inside the cold and dark basement structure, which possibly could have been completely pitch black. The enemies of the Douglas family could then have been thrown in here and would have suffered. Next to the Douglas Tower is the Great Hall. This section of buildings located in this area dates back from the 14th century, and the Great Hall in particular would have been used by the Lord for huge parties and occasions. This would have been a brightly decorated space, with tapestries and much colour lining the walls, with feasts regularly occurring inside the hall. Interestingly too, the windows would have provided guests with a beautiful view to enjoy whilst the entertainment was occurring. Also found in this area of the castle was a bake house, in which food would be made to be sent straight to the Great Hall on occasion, and also some more private chambers for people to stay in. This today is partly collapsed into the sea, but below the Great Hall are three vaulted cellars that would have been used to store beer and wine. This area formed the main service block, in which the castle's cooks and kitchen staff would have worked. There is also another tower found in the corner of the curtain wall. This itself is a D shape, and is smaller than the other two. It provided extra accommodation for those staff based inside the castle, and was 5 storeys high, with a different chamber of room found on each level. All of these were then accessed by a spiral staircase in the corner. Large gun ports would also have been found in the basement of this tower. The inner court of Tantalum Castle was the most exclusive part of the fortification, and only a small selection of people would have been allowed access to this area. It was inevitably where the Lord lived, and where security would have been the tightest. As mentioned there was a bakehouse and further living accommodation found here, and there is also a well that was imperative to the castle. When the castle was heavily besieged, it was used for water to be extracted, so that the guards could have a consistent supply of water and would not dehydrate. Tantalum Castle is a fortification that is steeped in Scottish history, and it's linked into the Douglas clan very prominently. It has seen sieges and much action throughout its life, and today remains in the ruined state that was caused by Oliver Cromwell's invading and attacking artillery divisions. It genuinely is one of the most beautiful castles I have ever visited, with the view out to sea being completely spectacular, and also the surrounding area being incredibly picturesque. For this at the moment, Tantalum remains my favourite castle that I have ever visited. The scenery is completely stunning, and when we visited it, it was after lockdown, which was incredibly limiting, and the pure joy of escaping for the afternoon to explore a medieval fortress with these incredible surroundings is a memory that I will hold onto for a long while. Tantalum Castle remains the most incredibly delightful, engaging and alluring castle that I have ever visited. Once again thanks for watching. To support our channel, please make sure to subscribe, and once again thanks for watching.