What is recorded here

Duns Castle is a Category A listed building in the Scottish Borders whose oldest surviving part is a massive tower claimed to date from 1320, when lands were granted to Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray. It later housed General Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven during the First Bishops' War of 1639, and after passing through several owners it has remained with the Hay family since 1698. The house was remodeled in the late 1700s and transformed into a Gothic castle between 1818 and 1822 by James Gillespie Graham, while Sir John Steell carved interior woodwork there during his apprenticeship. Today the castle, outbuildings, park and two man-made lakes form the Duns Castle nature reserve, and the house is let for weddings and other events.

Scotland's National Record of the Historic Environment records Duns Castle as Country House (19th Century), Tower House (14th Century). The official map says its point is accurate as follows: NGR given to the nearest 1m. The record does not by itself mean that the public may enter the place.

Duns Castle was originally a 14th-century tower house, later expanded into a country house in the 19th century. It is important as a surviving example of Scottish medieval and later domestic architecture.

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