Yester Castle

Overview and Early History

Yester Castle stands in a dense wood about 1½ miles south‑east of the village of Gifford in East Lothian, perched on a crescent‑shaped ridge between the Hopes Water and its tributary. The barony of Yester was granted in the reign of King William the Lion (late 12th century) to the Norman‑born Hugo de Giffard, whose descendants established their seat here. A stone keep or tower house had been erected by about 1267. Sir Hugo de Giffard, grandson of the first laird and guardian of the young King Alexander III, is remembered as a “wizard” and necromancer; folklore credits him with constructing the castle’s remarkable subterranean vault, known as the Goblin Ha’ or Hobgoblin Hall, with the help of supernatural creatures. The Giffards’ stronghold was initially a simple tower on the motte, but by the end of the 13th century it had been expanded into a walled enclosure castle. During the Wars of Independence it was held at times by English forces but was recaptured by the Scots in 1311.

Hay Family and Conflicts

The Giffard male line died out in 1357 when co‑heiress Joanna de Giffard married Sir William (or Sir Thomas) Hay of Locherworth, sheriff of Peebles. Through her the barony passed to the Hay family, who would later become Earls and Marquesses of Tweeddale. The Hays rebuilt and enlarged Yester, erecting a three‑storey east range against the curtain wall in the late 15th century and a western range towards the end of the 14th century. The enceinte was reinforced by curtain walls six to eight feet thick, reaching up to forty feet in height, and flanked by circular towers; deep ditches cut across both the south and north ends isolated the promontory from the surrounding land. A wide gatehouse controlled access, and a stone bridge once spanned the ditch. Within the courtyard stood various service buildings, including a later 15th‑century hall.

The Hays suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. During the Rough Wooing two decades later Yester was repeatedly attacked. English forces burned the castle and village in May 1544. John Hay, 4th Lord Yester, defended his ancestral seat in 1547 but was captured at the Battle of Pinkie and imprisoned in the Tower of London. In 1548 an English army under Sir Thomas Grey seized the castle and installed George Douglas of Pittendreich as commander. Though eventually restored to the Hays, the old fortress had been badly damaged. By the mid‑16th century the family had relocated to a new tower house nearby; the castle at Yester was used only occasionally.

Architecture and the Goblin Ha’

Yester Castle originally formed a roughly triangular plan, enclosing about half an acre. Little of the curtain wall survives, but the northern section still stands about seventy feet long and thirty‑five feet high, with fragmentary returns at each end. Foundations of the eastern range show it once rose through three storeys, while low walls on the western side mark the footprint of another block. A staircase from this western range descends to the Goblin Ha’, a vaulted undercroft measuring about 37 × 13 feet. Constructed of dressed ashlar, the chamber is lit by two narrow pointed windows and roofed with a ribbed stone vault of striking quality. Holes in the walls show where a mezzanine floor may have been inserted, and two pointed‑arched doorways led out through the curtain wall to the steep hillside. Below the hall, an unfinished stairway cut through rock descends some twenty feet and abruptly stops. The hall’s purpose remains uncertain—suggestions include an armoury, storehouse or secret chapel—but its craftsmanship is exceptional for the period and has inspired centuries of legends about witches and goblins.

Decline and Later History

By the late 16th century Yester Castle was eclipsed by newer accommodation. John Hay, 8th Lord Yester, was created Earl of Tweeddale in 1646; his son, elevated to Marquess in 1694, built a grand classical mansion called Yester House (also known as Castle Orchard) about half a mile north‑west of the old castle. As stones were quarried for local buildings, the medieval structures decayed; by the early 18th century only the Goblin Ha’ was still roofed, and it served briefly as the falconer’s lodge. A collegiate church founded by the Hays in 1421 at nearby Bothans was converted into the family mausoleum in the 18th century, while the associated village was moved to Gifford.

Current Status

Yester Castle is now a romantic ruin enveloped by woodland. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument on private land and is not officially open to the public. A public footpath through the Yester estate allows glimpses of the towering pink sandstone walls, but the site is overgrown, the ditches are deep and the masonry unstable. The entrance to the Goblin Ha’ is locked with iron gates because of vandalism and safety concerns. Although walkers can admire the castle from the outside, they should respect the estate’s privacy and follow local access guidance.