TO THE MANOR BORN
Possibly the quickest way to take ownership of a great estate is to marry an heiress. So it was that Sir Richard Maitland, whose forebears had accompanied William the Conqueror from France in 1066, came into the lands of Thirlestane, Hedderwick and Blythe on his marriage c.1228 to Avicia, heiress of Thomas du Thirlestane. The ruins of the 13th-century tower in which he and Avicia lived can still be seen two miles from the present building on the A697.
However, it was not until the late 16th century that Sir Robert’s descendant, Sir John Maitland, erected the eccentric turreted building that forms the central block of today’s splendid edifice. An oblong block is held between four enormous corner towers, corbelled out to squares on top, while six smaller stair-turrets are evenly disposed along the north and south sides.
In common with the other great landowning families of
