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Border Castles Trivia Quiz

The Borders' history is full of clashes between England and Scotland, and the landscape has many castles, towers and fortified houses. This quiz is about a few of them.

A multiple-choice quiz by hmacca. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
hmacca

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
270,140

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
371

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Where did Mary Queen of Scots ride out to visit Lord Bothwell on his sickbed? Hint

Sweetheart Castle

Jedburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle

Hermitage Castle

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Question 2 of 10

2. Which castle, according to legend, was named for the Turnbulls' notable characteristic? Hint

Fatlips Castle

Sinister Tower

Strongarm Castle

Handsome House

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Question 3 of 10

3. At which castle were the beacons lit for a French invasion that never happened in 1804? Hint

Hume Castle

Watch Tower

Fleurs Castle

Neidpath Castle

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Question 4 of 10

4. Which castle is the home to the Duke of Roxburghe? Hint

Windsor Castle

Roxburgh Castle

Floors Castle

Hume Castle

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Question 5 of 10

5. Which castle, near Peebles, put up a strong defence against Cromwell's forces in 1650? Hint

Balmoral Castle

Hume Castle

Neidpath Castle

Peebles Castle

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Question 6 of 10

6. Which castle, near Lauder, is the seat of the Earls of Lauderdale? Hint

Lauder Palace

Thirlestane Castle

Maitland House

Saltire Tower

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Question 7 of 10

7. What speedy castle, on a cliff top site, was inspiration for Sir Walter Scott's "The Bride of Lammermoor"? Hint

Fast Castle

Wolverine House

Dog Castle

Quick Castle

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Question 8 of 10

8. Which castle was the scene of a bloody massacre of 300 women and children in 1645? Hint

Covenanters House

Saltire Tower

Yarrow Keep

Newark Castle

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Question 9 of 10

9. Which home of Scottish kings was an English thorn in the Scottish flesh for a hundred years until it was destroyed in 1460? Hint

Bamburgh Castle

Alnwick Castle

Hawick Castle

Roxburgh Castle

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Question 10 of 10

10. Okay, not technically a castle, but which Borders home locked its gates behind Prince Charlie in 1745 and will not open them until a Stuart is back on the throne? Hint

Traquair House

Charlie's Den

Skye Palace

Bear Castle

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Where did Mary Queen of Scots ride out to visit Lord Bothwell on his sickbed?

Answer: Hermitage Castle

The forty mile round trip from Jedburgh to Hermitage castle exhausted Queen Mary and she nearly died of a fever afterwards. Some years later, when a captive of Queen Elizabeth of England, she said, "Would that I had died in Jedburgh..."

2. Which castle, according to legend, was named for the Turnbulls' notable characteristic?

Answer: Fatlips Castle

Fatlips Castle is a tower on Minto Crags near Hawick. One story says that it is named after the big mouths of the Turnbull family; another suggests it is because the head of the clan would greet any woman who entered the castle with a kiss. There is word of another Fatlips Castle, a ruin in Lanarkshire on Tinto Hill.

3. At which castle were the beacons lit for a French invasion that never happened in 1804?

Answer: Hume Castle

This castle is a 17th century folly on the site of a much older fortress. In 1804 a lookout stationed here mistook a charcoal burner's fire for a warning beacon, lit the Hume beacon, and started an alarm that caused 3,000 volunteers to turn out to repel a French force that never appeared.

4. Which castle is the home to the Duke of Roxburghe?

Answer: Floors Castle

Floors Castle is the largest inhabited castle in Scotland. It was built in 1721 to a design by William Adam and remodelled in 1837 by William Playfair.

5. Which castle, near Peebles, put up a strong defence against Cromwell's forces in 1650?

Answer: Neidpath Castle

Neidpath Castle is an impressive tower on the banks of the Tweed near Peebles. The castle lasted longer than any other castle in the South of Scotland against Cromwell's forces.

6. Which castle, near Lauder, is the seat of the Earls of Lauderdale?

Answer: Thirlestane Castle

Thirlestane Castle, on the outskirts of Lauder has been the home of the Maitlands, Earls of Lauderdale since 1590. In the 17th and 19th centuries, the castle was transformed into the substantial country house that is open to the public today.

7. What speedy castle, on a cliff top site, was inspiration for Sir Walter Scott's "The Bride of Lammermoor"?

Answer: Fast Castle

Fast Castle was built on a rocky crag in the sea and connected to the mainland by a drawbridge across a chasm. As well as its historic interest, including being searched for hidden treasure and the home of a plot to kidnap King James VI, it was used by Sir Walter Scott as the basis of "Wolf Crag" the home of the Master of Ravenswood in "The Bride of Lammermoor".

8. Which castle was the scene of a bloody massacre of 300 women and children in 1645?

Answer: Newark Castle

Newark Castle, set high above the River Yarrow near Selkirk, is a picturesque tower, but like many border castles has a bloody history.

After the Covenanters' victory over the Royalists in the Battle of Philiphaugh in 1645, 300 camp followers, mainly wives and children of Irish mercenaries fighting with the Royalist forces, were rounded up in Newark Castle and shot.

9. Which home of Scottish kings was an English thorn in the Scottish flesh for a hundred years until it was destroyed in 1460?

Answer: Roxburgh Castle

From 1124, Roxburgh Castle was a home of Scottish kings for two centuries, but was seized by Edward I of England in 1296. In the turbulent years that followed, it frequently changed hands. The English took it in the mid 1330s and defended it against many assaults until it was torn to the ground in 1460.

10. Okay, not technically a castle, but which Borders home locked its gates behind Prince Charlie in 1745 and will not open them until a Stuart is back on the throne?

Answer: Traquair House

Traquair House is the oldest inhabited home in Scotland. Built in 1107, it celebrated its 900th anniversary in 2007. The fifth Earl of Traquair closed the Bear Gates after bidding farewell to Prince Charlie in 1745 and they have remained closed ever since.

Source: Author hmacca

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor trident before going online.
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