"The king sits in Dunfermline toune
drinking the blude reid wine,
"O whar can I get skeely skipper,
To sail this ship o' mine?”

The ballad of sir patrick spens

First recorded in the land history of Scotland as early as the 11th Century , King Robert the Bruce settled the lands of Wormistoune in 1309 in favour of Clan Spens of Crail who were acknowledged as Royal Constables of the Kingdom of East Fife. Wormistoune home to centuries of feudal Barons remains to this day the seat of the Spens Clan, whose most famous son was surely the 13th century Admiral Sir Patrick Spens of the ancient Scots ballad by the same name. The Spens Clan fiercely loyal to the Stuart dynasty were followers of Mary, Queen of Scots but whose downfall at the hands of Queen Elizabeth the First, ultimately led to the loss of their historic lands in 1612.

In 1621 following a decade with Clan Balfour, the castle transferred to Clan Lindsay. The Lindsay’s of Wormistoune were responsible for most of the 17th century architectural changes but in the mid eighteenth century loyalty to the failed Jacobite cause which had been supported at arms by Patrick Lindsay of Wormistoune the infamous Jacobite Grenadier meant through forfeiture there was very little monies for any subsequent enlightenment to the house or gardens.

Wormistoune is by myth and legend the spiritual home of the Scottish Wyrm a fearsome dragon like serpent allegedly slain by a medieval Knight on the mound. Today the family home of Clan McCallum of Wormistoune the house and gardens are fully restored and embellished with a respectful nod to the glories of the Scottish Enlightenment revealing tantalising glimpses at every turn of the rich and bloody history of centuries of Scottish feudal history. A history of loyalty and loss , of Serpents and Sorcery of ancient adventurers and architects of change. Welcome to our home.