• Welcome to Floors Castle
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• History
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• Duke of Roxburghe
• Ancestral Research at Roxburghe

The Castle - History

The site for the building of Floors Castle is a natural terrace overlooking the River Tweed and facing the Cheviot Hills, the heartland of the Roxburghe Family Estate.

It lies on the opposite river bank to Roxburgh Castle, once the strongest fortress along the former border with England.

In 1721, William Adam was commissioned by the 1st Duke to make additions to the eastern end of an existing tower-house to create a plain, but symmetrical, Georgian country house.

The 6th Duke invited on the Scotland's leading architect, William Playfair, to remodel the castle between 1837 and 1847. He drew his inspiration for Floors from the highly ornamented picturesque style of Heriot's Hospital in Edinburgh.

The result is a romantic fairytale castle with its roofscape of turrets, pinnacles and cupolas.

When looking at the history of the Castle, you cannot forget to mention the 8th Duchess - May Goelet. Duchess May, as she is commonly known, brought and collected a vast collection of furniture, tapestries and artwork. Much of the internal decoration is credited to her.

 A visit to Floors Castle is certainly not one to be missed. In one building you will see collections from across the world and throughout the ages from 15th century tapestry to the 20th century post-impressionist artwork by the likes of Matiesse.