Lauriston Castle.

Or, at least, the dining room there-in. Our U3A group had a guided tour there this afternoon, and very interesting it was too. The building is more a grand villa than a castle, not being fortified other than having a few bars over some of the downstairs windows. It stands on the site of the original castle that was destroyed by the Earl of Hertford in 1544 and was replaced by the current tower house built in 1590 by the Napier family whose son John devised the logarithms so detested by generations do school children ever since.

Many notable families lived here, and it was finally occupied by William (a prosperous furniture designer) and his wife Margaret Reid. It remains exactly as it was when her ladyship died 90 years ago and bequeathed it to the nation - aka (in this instance) the Edinburgh Corporation.

Bearing in mind its current owners, it is, perhaps, surprising that it has not been converted into town flats or been demolished to make space for a modern housing development..

 There’s still time, but until it happens, the castle is part of our heritage which is the MonoMonday theme for this week. Thanks are due to NickiMags888 for hosting. The extra is the colour version.

I've just posted Saturday's, "Jolly Bed."