Page:The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth century (1887) - Volume 1.djvu/344

 THIRD PERIOD 324 NIDDRIE CASTLE NIDDRIE CASTLE, LINLITHGOWSHIRE. Niddrie Castle is familiar to the thousands who travel by rail between Edinburgh and Glasgow, from the glimpse obtained as the train emerges for a moment from the long rocky defile some three miles east of Lin- lithgow. The castle stands on a hillock, once skirted by a burn along the north-west, as shown on the sketch (Fig. 275). This, which must have been a considerable protection on the side of the entrance, has been diverted to suit railway purposes. . ?***? Fio. 275. Niddrie Castle. View from the North-West. The building is of the L plan (Fig. 276), and is quite empty, ruinous, and roofless. The door at the re-entering angle is protected in front by a wall of probably later construction than the castle. It opens into a lobby giving access to the main building, which measures inside 30 feet 9 inches by 18 feet 3 inches, and leading off this is a dark vaulted