Pitreavie Castle

Pitreavie Castle is a country house, located between Rosyth and Dunfermline in Fife, Scotland. It was built in the early 17th century, and was extensively remodelled in 1885. The house remained in private hands until 1938, when it was acquired by the Air Ministry, and became RAF Pitreavie Castle. The RAF station closed in 1996, and the building was converted into residential apartments.HistoryThe Pitreavie estate was owned by Lady Christina Bruce, sister of Robert the Bruce, in the 14th century, and by the early 17th century, it was owned by the Kello (or Kellock) family. Henry Wardlaw of Balmule (later Sir Henry Wardlaw, 1st Baronet of Pitreavie) bought the estate in 1608 for 10,000 merks Scottish. Wardlaw was Chamberlain to Queen Anne, wife of James VI of Scotland. When James acceded to the English throne in 1603 and travelled south to London, he left Dunfermline Palace in Wardlaw's care. Henry Wardlaw became a Baronet of Nova Scotia in 1631, and died in 1637, succeeded by his eldest son, also Henry. Wardlaw's granddaughter, Elizabeth Wardlaw, was the reputed author of the poem Hardyknute and the ballad Sir Patrick Spens.