Dimensions and Details
The original building was oblong in plan, with two wings of equal size projecting from the North side. The oblong is 66' 6" (approx 20 metres) long, with wings 19' x 14' (about the size of a modern living room).
The original entrance on the inner side of West wing can still be seen, with the pediment above bearing the initials "HW" below a star, the crest of the Wardlaws. This door was the only entrance to the building, although there was a corresponding door in the East wing leading to a blind cellar.
The roof originally had "crow steps" on the gable walls, and dormer windows. The vaulted bottom floor contained the kitchen and a series of cellars opening off a corridor. There were no windows at this level, a defensive feature fairly common in fortified Scottish homes. Access to the upper floors was gained by two circular staircases with slits and gun holes below.
The Eastern staircase has a right-hand thread ascending, while the Western staircase is oppositely handed. There is a theory that this may not have been the original design, and that later reconstructions were made when swords were no longer common weapons. It may be of interest to note that the spiral staircases in Dunbar castle, ancestral home of the Kerr family, are left-handed, as were the Kerrs!
The first floor was a series of interconnected rooms, while on the top floor (the sleeping area), the rooms led directly off the staircase.
The house was extended and modernised in 1885 by Henry Beveridge, a wealthy mill owner whose name lives on in Kirkcaldy as Beveridge Park, and in Dunfermline where the old Erskine Beveridge linen mill has been converted into a block of flats and renamed Erskine Beveridge Court (on the A823 from Pitreavie, between the ASDA store and the Jet filling station).
The North and West walls are probably the only original parts left. Beveridge had windows inserted in the ground floor and created bay windows in the south wall. The original entry path to the living quarters, through the kitchen and up a narrow circular staircase was thought unbecoming for a wealthy man and his guests, and so he created the portico which now forms the entrance to the building. He extended the building to the east, and gutted the east wing to create an elegant staircase. He had a stained glass window inset into the north wall of the east wing. This window contains two sets of armorial bearings complete with two mottos. Above the new entrance door may be seen a third motto - and all three are different!
Beveridge also transformed the grounds, creating the water garden and building a narrow-gauge railway line running from the garden, past the house to the end of the drive. The sundial dating from 1644, which stood on the South lawn, was still in place in 1928, but ten years later had been moved to its present site in Inveresk Lodge Garden, Musselburgh.
The Grounds
An old manuscript note mentions that "the wilderness way of planting" was lntroduced into Scotland in 1699. That year, the then Laird of Pitreavie, Wardlaw of Logie, planted a great many acres with ash, birch and elm trees on "the wilderness system at Pitreavie". Part of the present-day Rosyth was known as "the Wilderness" right up to the 1930's, probably long after the original meaning of the term had been lost. The closest the present grounds get to a "wilderness" is in the overgrown water garden set among the trees to the east of the Castle. The garden was commissioned by Henry Beveridge, and apparently included a waterfall.
The large concrete basins of the formal rectangular and semicircular pools are still largely In evidence, and the path of the stream, complete with small clapper bridge, may still be traced. A wooden bridge leads to a circular island, and there is much evidence of imported plants and trees - bamboo abounds. The garden has only recently fallen into disuse; a retired officer living locally remembers it as a cultivated formal garden complete with stream and pools well into the 80's. His statement is supported by the presence of modem plastic pipes in some of the pools; these acted as soakaways. From this it is presumed that the stream was fed from a piped water supply, and that the garden could be reclaimed with little financial outlay other than labour costs.
External Changes
The effects of Henry Beveridge's extension and modernisation may best be seen from the lawn to the south of the castle. The windows on the ground floor and all the bay windows date from 1884, as does that part of the house to the east of the "Flag Room". The "crow-steps" of the original gable wall have disappeared. The concrete monstrosity housing the kitchens, bar and dining room was built by the Air Ministry.
On the north side, Beveridge added the present portico which allowed family members and guests a more dignified access to the rather splendid home that his interior changes had created. Note the motto above the portico - "Dum Spiro Spero" (While I Breathe, I Hope).
The Interior
Visitors now enter the castle through Beveridge's portico into a Victorian reception hall that leads in to the East wing that is now occupied by a splendid staircase which was once decorated by fresco panels of medieval scenes.
On the intermediate landing between the first and second floors is a stained glass window in which is set two coats of arms, two monograms and two mottos: that for HB (Henry Beveridge?) Is "Laetus Sorte Mea" (Goodwill be my lot), while RB (Isobel Beveridge?) expresses the pious hope that "Deus Providebat" (The Lord will provide).
The panels immediately below these also bear Latin Inscriptions; "Ora et Labore" ("Pray and Work") and "Fortitudine et Perservare" ("Courage and Perseverance"). If these last two are intended to direct the observer to higher thoughts, perhaps the same might apply to the inscription above the portico mentioned in the preceding paragraph.
On the rlght of the reception hall the spiral staircase descends to the domestic area. Most of the rooms leading off the lower corridor are now offices, but there are two areas of historical interest.
The Gun Room
At the West end of the corridor, a door leads into the 'Gun Room', which was the castle kitchen, and retains the original arch over the fire.
Within this arch may be seen fine examples of 'masons' marks'. The stonemasons who built the castle were paid by results, and as each laid a stone in place, he chiselled his mark on it. These marks were used as a record of work, thus determining the mason's wages. This room became, in turn:
a. The Beveridge's gun room where they kept their sporting guns, fishing tackle and associated equipment.
b. Administration offices, when the oak panelling was painted an unattractive shade of dirty duck-egg blue, and finally
c. A small function suite, used for conferences or small private parties.
Around the walls may be seen various artifacts relating to the history of the castle and its owners, including:
A portrait of James I/VI and Queen Anne.
A photocopy of the charter of confirmation of the grant of the lands of Pitreavie to Henry Wardlaw.
A photocopy of the document in which the Scottish Parliament ratified the charter
A print of the castle as it was before 1885.
A map of the battle of Pitreavie.
A print showing the disposition of the British fleet at Trafalgar & Blackwood's account of the battle and,
(on the wall in the fireplace) A precis of the Blackwood line, including a mention of several members of the family who served with distinction in the Armed Forces of the Crown.
A cannon ball fired during the battle of Pitreavie, and discovered during building work in the Air Force years.
The Yett and Beggars' Seat.
The door to the 'Ladies' Powder Room' to the North of the Gun Room leads into the west wing. Here in what was originally the guard chamber, may be seen the great iron yett which guarded the entrance to the castle. The yett is formed of iron bars, and constructed in an intricate interwoven fashion designed to prevent intruders from taking it apart. Of equal interest is the little alcove where the stone benches are now topped with foam cushions. This is the 'beggars seat' part of the original guard chamber, sheltered from the elements but not quite within the castle. Here the poor of the parish would sit, waiting for any food remaining from the family meals.
The Flag Room
Returning to the reception hall, and ascending the stairs to the first floor, the room directly ahead, known as the 'Flag Room' from the time when the squadron standards were kept there. It is presently used as a television lounge, but displays clear evidence of its original purpose: around the top of the oak panelling may be seen carved quotations from the Bible. This was the Beveridge family chapel, probably one of the last private chapels to be built in Britain.
The Ante Room
To the east of the Flag Room a door leads to the Ante Room. This door represents the boundary of the original Castle. All beyond is post-1884. The Ante Room, which is the Mess drawing room, was the Beveridge's dining room. The alcove with its solid oak sideboard is original; the present entrance to the Mess bar was a matching alcove giving a symmetry to this elegant room. The clock on the mantelpiece, set in the boss of a wooden aircraft propeller, is from the "Wardroom, H209, Lerwlck" and came to us from the long-defunct flying boat squadron that served with distinction in the war years.
The Mess bar adjoining the ante room, kitchens and dining room below are all modern, dating from 1938, and contain little of historical or architectural interest.
The Main Corridor
On the walls of the main corridor between the Ante Room and the Air Officer's offices may be seen several items of interest. The first is a local version of the history of the castle, including an account of the Battle of Pitreavie that some may find a little improbable. Would the retreating Scots really have taken time out to attack the Wardlaws?
The silver cabinet displays part of the Mess collection, including items held on behalf of 603 Squadron, the City of Edinburgh fighter squadron which fought with courage and distinction in the 39-45 war. On the north wall maybe~seen a print of the Coastal Command Memorial Window in the Royal Air Force church of St Clement Danes, while an original painting by a serving officer commemorates the activities of the Banff Wing during the war.
AOSNI's Suite
At the end of the corridor is the suite of offices used by the Air Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland (AOSNI). When the house was in private hands, this whole area was the Beveridge's drawing room. AOSNI's inner office retains some of the original elegance, with its elegant arches, mouldings and cornices. On the table in the outer office may be found a photograph of the room as it was in 1885. One wall Of this office commemorates the Air Officers who have served at Pitreavie, while the other displays an outstanding collection of wartime operational photographs recording raids on the Norwegian coast and German submarines.
The Eastern Staircase
A door from AOSNI's suite leads to the western spiral staircase, said to be haunted by the 'Lady In Grey', as is the room leading off it. Henry Beverldge converted this 'haunted' room into a guest bathroom. His guests' comments are not recorded.
The Upper Offices
The staircase leads to two further floors each containing offices with little of architectural or historical interest Beveridge's billiard room was on the top floor, with the billiard table directly below the large skylight.
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