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Noltland Castle, Westray.

hose in search of our northern antiquities need not proceed further than the subject of our plate, for it represents the most northerly building in Britain of architectural interest, and certainly it has its own peculiar features. In its plan, Noltland Castle is remarkable; and here we must refer to our plate for explanation.

The central portion is an oblong parallelogram, and its lower story (strongly vaulted with one continuous semicircular arch), was devoted to the Great Hall and Kitchen. To two opposing angles of this main figure other buildings are attached. That on the left contains the great staircase, and the mass to the right appears to consist of dungeons below, and the private apartments of the Baron above.

Detached walls, and the arched gateway delineated, are the remains of additional edifices forming a court-yard; but these do not belong to the original fortress. This fact is evident from their inclosing the external page 69 ranges of embrasures or port-holes, if we may so call them. These are plentiful upon the portions of the Castle represented, but the opposite side is so redundant of them, tier above tier, that we can compare it to nothing but the rows of teeth "in a man of war's battery, and the general hulky appearance almost justifies us in attributing the design to a sailor architect. Whoever he was, tradition reports his remains to be immured within the walls of the staircase, and a huge stone on the exterior is pointed out as his coffin lid.

Massive construction in the basement is, however, well relieved by the fanciful design of the upper floors. Here are windows comparatively large, richly ornamented with mouldings, and the continuation of a stringcourse around the windows as labels is peculiarly effective. Nor must we omit calling attention to the ornamental turns of this string-course at the angles of the building. Much irregularity exists in the masonry, for sometimes the layers of rough stone-work are alternately massive or very thin. In nearly all of the first class the effect is peculiar, from the angular direction of the joints, which should be vertical. This has doubtless arisen from the rhomboidal form of the beds in the stone quarry.

Noltland Castle was begun by Thomas de Tulloch, Bishop of Orkney, and Governor of these isles under Eric of Denmark, 1422-48, and the initials T.T., with the kneeling figure of a Bishop, ornament the capital of the pillar supporting the great staircase; but it is not impossible that it owes some of its architectural beauty to Bishop Edward Stewart, who had some difficulty in getting it out of the hands of the lawless tacksman, Sir William Sinclair of Warsitter. It is described by a traveller in 1529 as "Arx excellentissima sed nondum completa the alterations of Stewart being left unfinished at his death. By the shrewd timeserver, Adam Bishop of Orkney (Bothwell), it was conveyed to his brother-in-law, Gilbert Balfour of Westray, Master of Queen Mary's household, Captain of Kirkwall Castle, 1560. This gentleman, a younger son of Andrew Balfour of Munguhany, in Fifeshire, stood high in his Mistress's favour, and tradition affirms that he had her orders to prepare Noltland Castle as a place of refuge for herself and the Duke of Orkney. The loyalty of Balfour to his Mistress sacrificed his estate in her support in 1571; but to her atrocious husband he refused admittance to Kirkwall Castle. Gilbert Balfour died in the service of Eric XIV. of Sweden, and on the death of Archibald his son without issue, his estates devolved on his cousin-german Sir Michael Balfour, who held Noltland during some time against Patrick Earl of Orkney. This siege, and the subsequent imprisonment of Sir Michael and his family in Kirkwall Castle, form one of the long list of crimes and treasons of the tyrannical Earl. Noltland afforded protection to the officers of Montrose, after his defeat at Kibuster, and for this and similar acts of hostility to Cromwell's government, Patrick Balfour suffered, being fined and obliged to fly to Holland. The same persecution, for a similar cause, overtook William Balfour of Trenabie, who, after many hairbreadth escapes and long concealment in caves in the neighbouring cliffs of Noup and Rapness, found refuge in Holland (1745-46). On this occasion the Hanoverian troops committed many excesses, burning the houses and maltreating the families of the disaffected—and though the walls resisted the fire, Noltland has since remained a roofless ruin.

It is the property of David Balfour of Trenabie, the twenty-sixth representative of Siward filz Osulf filz Siward, "cui dat Edgar Rex Scotorum vallem de Or (Balfour in Fifeshire) pro capite Ottari Dani"—and the otter head has since remained the cognizance of the family.—Baronial Antiquities of Scotland.