What is recorded here

Noltland Castle stands unfinished on Westray, its ghostly outline still visible in the grass after centuries of neglect. Gilbert Balfour built it for Mary, Queen of Scots, but local Covenanters burned it during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The ruins keep his loyalty and their rage locked inside stone that never received a roof.

Scotland's National Record of the Historic Environment records Noltland Castle as Cropmark (period Unknown), Structure(s) (period Unassigned). The official map says its point is accurate as follows: NGR given to the nearest 10m. The record does not by itself mean that the public may enter the place.

Noltland Castle, located on the Orkney Islands, was built in the late 15th or early 16th century by the Earls of Orkney, later the Earls of Zetland. It is important as a well-preserved example of a Scottish island castle and as the family seat of the Stewart Earls of Orkney.

The historic-place record does not grant public access. Check current conditions and ownership before entering land or a building.