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Pittarthie castle, built
or reconstructed 1653, NSA states that the inscription on the front of
the main block (now indecipherable) records the construction of the castle
by Sir William Bruce in 1653. This was most likely the reconstruction
of an existing structure rather than an entirely new building as there
is mention of a fortalice or manor place at Pittarthie prior to this date,
this view being supported by the absence of a charter giving the mandatory
royal assent for the construction of a fortified dwelling.
The ruin of Pittarthie castle
stands on high ground approx 1 mile west from the B9131 linking St.Andrews
and Anstruther. The structure, built of coursed rubble with dressed stone
used for the quoins and door and window dressings, has three storeys with
a four storey stair tower. The plan is that of a modified L, the wing
projecting to both the south and the west, the stair tower being located
in the re-entrant angle. The entrance to the castle is offset to the left
of the southern face of the stair tower and is protected on both sides
by wide- mouthed gun loops. There are numerous gun loops at Pittarthie,
those on the ground floor being either vertical slits or wide-mouthed
loops, those in the upper floors being smaller and usually located in
the window breasts. A turret stair connecting the first floor with the
upper floors projects from the north wall of the main block on a corbelling
of three members. The north-west angle of the wing is circled.
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The ruin of Pittarthie
is in fair condition, the amount of loose rubble lying in and around the
structure suggest there has been little looting of stone, although a steady
deterioration can be detected sine the time of MacGibbon & Ross (1887)
to the present day. The most serious areas of damage are the complete
collapse of the vaulting in the main block, the perilous condition of
the turret stair and widespread water damage to the wall heads. Whilst
the building displays a dangerous structure warning, this would seems
to be due to the threat of masonry falling from the wall heads rather
than a collapse of any major part of the structure, the walls appearing
solid with no visible sagging or bulging and likely to weather a few centuries
yet.
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