Floors Castle

Floors Castle, Kelso
©2010 Gazetteer for Scotland

A magnificent stately home built between 1718 and 1725 for John Ker, 1st Duke of Roxburghe (c.1682 - 1740), Floors Castle lies just to the north of the River Tweed, a mile (1.5 km) west of Kelso in the Scottish Borders.

Designed by William Adam (1689 - 1748) but greatly influenced by Sir John Vanbrugh, the castle was much remodelled into a Tudoresque manor by William Playfair (1838-49) for the 6th Duke of Roxburgh. It was visited by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1867. Today, Floors is said to be the largest inhabited home in Scotland and remains the seat of the Dukes of Roxburgh, originally the Kers of Cessford.

Floors contains a large collection of art ranging from paintings by Raeburn and Gainsborough, to a collection of porcelain, a Bird Room, a treasure hoard, and 15th-century Brussels tapestries.

In the surrounding estate a holly tree marks the spot where King James II was killed by the accidental explosion of a large cannon, known as The Lion, while besieging the nearby Roxburgh Castle (1460). The impressive gates and lodges were built in 1929 to designs by Reginald Fairlie (1883 - 1952).

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