Cambusnethan Priory, Scotland

Built, designed and developed in 1820 by James Graham , who was a Scottish architect, he was prominent for his work in the early 19^th century. His most notable work is for his Scottish baronial style, this known architectural style is of 19^th century gothic revival. Some of his work can be seen at Ayton Castle and castles weren’t the only style of buildings he dealt with, James designed country houses and churches, some of those churches that he was responsible for include St Andrews cathedral in Glasgow and St Marys Roman Catholic cathedral in Edinburgh. Other works include Fife county prison, Crawford priory and Grays Hospital in Elgin.

He died in 1855 after a four year illness and is now buried in the sealed south west section of Greyfriars Kirkyard together with his wife and other of his family members, Kirkyard is the graveyard that surrounds Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh and located on the southern edge of the old town.

Built on the site of the 17th century, Cambusnethan House was a mock Priory for the Lockhart family of Castle Hill set in large and beautiful grounds of which there is no remains today. The house was used for mock medieval banquets in the 1970s but was more recently burnt out and is now used as an illegal rubbish dump and a urban explorers paradise. Currently all that remains here are the ruins of a 2-storey high rectangular house with a sunken basement with the stone made from Yellow ashlar sandstone. The Scottish Civic Trust has registered the building as being At Risk.

 It was decorated with turrets, chimneys and castellated roof lines. the Tudor convent style house had beautiful octagonal corner towers and a central entrance with gates. There were pointed arched windows on the first floor and rectangular ones on the second. The coat of arms of the Lockhart family of Castle Hill was carved above the main entrance and on every banister of the main staircase. I would of loved to see this building back in its former glory but it’s amazing to walk the place and imagine the people that would have lived and wined and dined here.

Most of the window and door frames have since rotted out and the roof completely gone since 1998. A lot of the building has become covered in vegetation and some walls have collapsed and you’ll notice graffiti marks. Although highly ruinous, the atmosphere of this building is truly eerie and lost. Coming here is incredible to experience and something we encourage you to do before this hidden gem disappears.

When coming here bear in mind that the road leading down requires a pretty hefty 4×4 vehicle or some silky driving skills with the many potholes and ruined pathways but the reward is worth it. Also remember that with urban exploration your safety is first, assess whether it’s worth venturing inside and around as the building itself is completely ruinous and can be dangerous. It’s open 24/7 and relatively easy to find on google maps but I would say going during the day would be more wise.

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