HU4039 : Scalloway Castle - view from the West
taken 13 years ago, near to Scalloway, Mainland, Shetland Islands, Scotland
Scalloway Castle was built in 1599/1600 for Earl Patrick Stewart, the spectacularly unpopular tyrannical ruler of the Northern Isles. He managed to upset just about everyone from the ordinary people to whom he was an appalling oppressive landlord, through his fellow nobles who he treated with disdain, to, eventually, his former friend (and relation) King James VI (later James I of England). His activities finally caught up with him, and he was executed for treason in 1615 - Not many wept!
The castle itself is an approximate L, with a massive tower 8m square attached to the main hall block 18m by 8m. Originally of four stories above ground plus cellars, only the ground and first floors are now accessible as the interior ceilings above the first floor have gone.