Scottish Castles Association

Site of the castle, was visited by Mary, Queen of Scots. The old castle was demolished when the present derelict house, a symmetrical castellated mansion of three storeys, designed by James Playfair, was built at the end of the 18th century.

The property took its name from Norman de Malavilla in the 12th century. It passed to Sir John Ross of Hawkhead in the late 14th century, but was sold to David Rennie in 1705, then passed by marriage to Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, later Duke of Lauderdale. Dundas was a very powerful man in Scotland, and there is a memorial to him in the gardens of St. Andrew Square in Edinburgh. The house was used as a hotel until it was abandoned in the 1980s. It has since been restored as a hotel and is a wonderful venue for weddings and other special events.

Wording taken from The Castles of Scotland Third Edition by Martin Coventry